Christchurch | New Zealand Travellers

New Zealand Travellers: Abel Tasman; Auckland; Cape Reinga; Christchurch; Dunedin; Franz Josef; Greymouth; Kaikoura; Lake Tekapo; Milford Sound; Mount Maunganui; Napier; Nelson; Paihia; Queenstown; Rotorua; Taupo; Wellington

Christchurch is the largest city on the South Island. It was named after Christ Church College of Oxford University, England. Christchurch has a river running through it, called the Avon, after a river of the same name in Scotland.

The city feels very English, from the architecture to the parks. Because of its size, Christchurch is a good place to stop for a few days and restock and recharge. You can find most things here and the transport links make everything accessible.

An interesting feature of this part of New Zealand is the Nor’wester, a strong northwesterly wind that creates a distinctive cloud formation.

Things to do

Christchurch is a big city and so there’s lots for travellers to do.

Maori Cultural Show

Christchurch has a few different Maori experience tours and if you haven’t been to one on the North Island, they are well worth a visit. The locals seemed to think that the Maori experience shows are better on the North Island because there are is a larger Maori population and more Maori history there. We recommend going to a culture show on both islands as they both have different things to offer. The Christchurch tours are a great experience.
A couple of operators are:
Tamaki
Ko Tane
Punting on the Avon

This is another popular activity in Christchurch. You board a small boat and are pushed along the river by a person standing on the back of the boat with a long stick.
Christchurch Tramway

Take a small tour of the city on one of their vintage trams.
Gondola

Get 360 degree views from 500 metres above sea level on the only gondola in Christchurch.
Hot Air Ballooning
Mountain Biking
The Botanic Gardens
Christchurch Art Gallery
The International Antarctic Centre
Science Alive!

We visited the Tamaki Maori Experience and enjoyed it very much. It was very different to the one in Rotorua, this one was staged like an interactive story being played out in front of you. It was a bit scary at times but a really different kind of experience. This heritage tour is much newer than the one in Rotorua and it shows, some parts of the tour need to be refined and developed but overall the tour accomplished its goal of describing how the arrival of early settlers affected the Maori way of life.

We also went punting on the Avon and enjoyed the novelty. Our only complaints were that we didn’t think it lasted long enough and we didn’t like having to share the small boat with other customers.

Accommodation

We stayed at Stonehurst Acommodation. Stonehurst feels like a small hotel, it has a wide range of rooms from dorms to studio rooms. The rooms were clean and the kitchen was quite large and well looked after. The reception area is open 24 hours a day which is very useful. We had no problems whatsoever with this hotel/hostel and would definitely stay again.