I spent today observing Christchurch through tourist eyes - the earthquake damage, the rebuild, and also the artistic efforts to beautify a city in transition.
The tour took an hour and from the perspective of a double decker bus, the view was quite different to the one I'm accustomed to. I could see over walls and was eye to eye with the first floors of some buildings. The guide pointed out the ruined Christchurch Cathedral and explained how many buildings collapsed on the 22nd February 2011. The city centre is a mixture of new buildings, wide open spaces where structures have been demolished, and a large number of cordoned-off ruins. Many spaces have temporary "gap-fillers" which have been put in place to attract people into the CBD and also to add charm to the city.
Hassle-Free Tours operate the above and their guide was informative and engaged well with their passengers.
The Restart Mall
The trams still run in the city centre
New Regent Street has been restored and the shops are open
Christchurch Cathedral is still in ruins
The Catholic Basilica is also ruined
185 white chairs stand as a memorial to the 185 people who died in the earthquake
The yellow sandy area is the site of the CTV building that collapsed in seconds
