Exploring Christchurch

We spent the first week exploring Christchurch. It is a beautiful city which is very easy to traverse on foot or by an excellent metrobus system. The city was established in 1850 and is centered on a cathedral square. It is bordered by the Southern Alps on west, the Port Hills on the south, the Pacific Ocean on east, and the plains of Canterbury on the north. The city itself is flat with many small waterways to drain the original swamps in the area. The city is known for its parks and gardens. Even now in the dead of winter there are flowers blooming everywhere. Within the city there is also a remnant of the original forest that once covered the Canterbury plain. Riccarton (Deans) Bush is protected by a predator-proof fence to provide a haven for native birds among the hundreds of kahikatea trees, New Zealand’s tallest native tree. The Deans family also planted dozens of imported trees on their property in the 1840s. There is also a lively arts scene. The original, downtown campus of the University of Canterbury is now the Arts Center with galleries, workshops, and venues for all manner of performances. The nuclear scientist, Ernest Rutherford began his experiments here in a cloakroom beneath a lecture hall while still a student at the University. Rutherford’s den is now an interactive exhibition which celebrates his achievements. The University relocated to a larger, suburban campus in the 1960s. The Canterbury Museum, between the Arts Center and the Botanic Gardens, is renowned for its displays of New Zealand and Pacific natural history and ethnology. There is also a particularly fine Antarctic exhibit with relics from the expeditions of Scott and Shackleton. Christchurch has always been a jumping off point for Antarctic exploration. The sundial in the center of a rose garden in the Botanic Garden helps to locate Christchurch on the face of the earth.