After 45 hours of travel (including an overnight stop in Melbourne), I finally touched down in New Zealand for the first time... after a small detour through the quarantine line (they wanted to check my hiking boots), I came out through customs and immediately was greeted with the artwork installed at the airport... this was to be a continuing theme as I walked around the city and there is even an app which highlights all the artwork...
I stayed in central Christchurch and there are still very visible reminders of the earthquake even though it's been more than seven years... there are many empty blocks and facades of building being held up by shipping containers... also lots of new construction right next door to buidling which are boarded up... quite a contrast.... I wandered the streets a bit and got some dinner while also find some spots for photos in the morning
One advantage of the long travel is that I slept well and was up (very) early and able to explore before much activity on the street... still got to chat to a few locals who were wondering why I was up and about so early... got a beautiful sunrise over the city and a few different locations... another advantage of the early start was I was able to go back and have breakfast and a nap before checkout time :-)
After checking out, I wandered around some more and visited some of the other artworks and graffiti locations... lots to see... another highlight was a stop at the Royal New Zealand Air Force museum... when I arrived it was extremely busy in the carpark but I then found out there is a church which holds services in one of the halls and everyone was leaving the Sunday morning worship... much quieter inside... If you enjoy history and flying (that would be me), then it's definitely worth a look... there is no admission fee but you can make a donation or purchase something from the shop and onsite cafe
Enjoy this selection of Christchurch images below...