March 21 – Christchurch

We packed up our Hanmer Springs house and headed to the Church of the Epiphany, Hanmer’s Anglican Church, this morning.  We arrived early, and the vicar greeted us in her bedroom slippers. By the time the service began, she had changed into sandals. The smallish congregation was most welcoming to us, inviting us to introduce ourselves at the beginning of the service, praying for us during the service, and offering us a cup of coffee (in the church nave) at the end of the service.

After church we headed toward Christchurch passing through the Weka Pass.  The hills are striking – very dry and golden at the moment.

Never being the sort to pass up lunch at a vineyard, we stopped at Fiddler’s Green Vineyard for lunch.  The proprietors had sailed the world looking for a vineyard.  They arrived in 2016 and bought the vineyard from the previous owner, who had bought it from a sailor.  (“Fiddler’s Green” is an after-life where there is perpetual mirth, a fiddle that never stops playing and dancers who never tire. In 19th century English maritime folklore, it was a kind of after-life for sailors who had served at least fifty years at sea.)  We were very much alive and landed as we enjoyed a delightful lunch (A spiced carrot soup and blue cheese soufflé for Frances and fresh fish for Jim) with a local dry Riesling.

After arriving in Christchurch, George and Hilary gave us a walking tour of the city in which they both grew up.  Christchurch suffered a devastating earthquake more than 10 years ago.  The city is still in the process of recovering and reconstruction is ongoing.  New structures sit beside ruins.  Some of the rebuilding has been wonderfully inventive and there are many murals that enfold the scars of devastation.

There is a memorial along the Avon River to the 185 people who died in the earthquake and another more makeshift memorial of 185 distinctive chairs in an empty lot nearby a church – one for each victim.

The Christchurch cathedral was one casualty of the earthquake.  Since 2013, a transitional cathedral has been in use.  This is known locally as the ‘Cardboard Cathedral’.  Materials used include 60-centimetre (24 in)-diameter cardboard tubes, timber and steel. The roof is poly-carbon with eight shipping containers making up the walls. The foundation is concrete slab. The architect wanted the cardboard tubes to be the structural elements, but local manufacturers could not produce tubes thick enough and importing the cardboard was rejected. 96 tubes, reinforced with laminated wood beams are spaced with two-inch gaps between them so that light can filter inside.  We attended evensong there with the Cathedral Boys’ Choir.  It is a very light-filled, open space.  The acoustics are grand, and the choristers made an angelic sound and the sermon was thoughtful and has stayed with us.

We also visited the new library which seemed like a busy community hub on a Sunday evening.  The newly reconstructed River Market was a place of eateries and food shops.  The Margaret Mahy Playground is a most inventive playspace for families and children young and old, named in honor of one of New Zealand’s famous children’s book authors and a Christchurch native.  We have read her books with our children. 

Somewhat shockingly, right in the middle of the city is a (COVID) managed isolation facility. This was not the one that we were in, but seeing it still gave us goosebumps.  Even with a double fence, it seemed too close.  We could see the ‘inmates’ through the mesh covered fences and we judged that they were walking far too close together!

We drove around Hagley Park – 407 acres of beautiful greens and treed space right in the middle of the city.  We also got a glimpse of the Al Noor mosque, a Sunni mosque, which was the site of the March 2019 terrorist attack.  It was a surprise to us to understand the residential location of the mosque.

We dined at an Italian restaurant.  The food was good, but the other patrons were just too loud.  Enjoying a bit of quiet now.