South Island

Dunedin

Dunedin, per Lonely Planet, is known for two things: its Scottish heritage and students. Indeed, Dunedin comes from the Scottish Gaelic name for Edinburgh, Dùn Èideann. The city is home to two universities, including New Zealand's oldest, and a fifth of the population is between 15 and 24. The area around Dunedin is beautiful, but the city itself, as we would learn about most of urban New Zealand, was rather dire. It had the feeling of a Midlands city, as if it were once beautiful, but had fallen prey to misguided midcentury urban "renewal", only without the Luftwaffe to blame. Everyone kept telling us how lucky we were to be there out of the school season, but it seemed to me that some energy and activity would have done nothing but improve upon Dunedin's empty, forlorn streets.




Central Dunedin



Central Dunedin



The street where our lovely B&B was.

Until recently, Baldwin Street in Dunedin was recognised as the steepest street in the world. The title was lost to Ffordd Pen Llech, in Harlech, Wales, which was deemed to be 1º steeper from bottom to top. However, that's over a meandering, curvy road, whereas Baldwin Steet is an uneasy straight shot up the hill.



House on Baldwin Street.

Dunedin railway station, which claims to be the most photographed building in New Zealand.  I can't imagine that to be true, given the relatively small proportion of tourists who include Dunedin on their itineraries.

Queenstown

Queenstown is the undisputed gem of tourist New Zealand; the home of adventure tourism, it's beautiful, nudged between Lake Wakatipu, Ben Lomond and Queenstown Hill, full of bars and restaurants to suit every taste and budget (well, every budget that can extend to Queenstown to begin with).  It's also on every tourist's itinerary, and it shows.  The town has fewer than 16,000 residents, but over three million visitors a year.  This allows for the myriad bars and restaurants that a normal town of this size could not support, but it means you are never far from a tourist throng following a raised umbrella from one Instagramable point to the next.  In certain spots and at certain times, the pure beauty somehow transcended this; but soon enough we'd be back amongst the throng.

Sushil with Lake Wakatipu behind.

Queenstown with The Remarkables, so named because they are one of only two mountain ranges in the world which run directly North to South, in the distance.

An obligatory day trip from Queenstown is Milford Sound.  I was sceptical as it's a long day out (12 hours), but the journey is broken up and the payoff is certainly worth it.  This is New Zealand at its best.

Milford Sound

The "crack" in the mountain with the waterfall running down it is the Alpine Fault, which separates the Australian Plate and Pacific Plate, and which gives New Zealand its stunning landscapes and shaky existence.

Yes, Sushil did...

...and no, I did not.  

Christchurch

On 04 September 2010, Christchurch was hit by a 7.1 earthquake, centred 40 kilometres West of the city.  There was some damage, but no fatalities, and Cantabrians felt they had dodged a bullet.  Five months later, on 22 February 2011, a 6.3 quake, only 6.7 km Southeast and much shallower, caused intense damage and killed 185 people.  Fully 80% of central city had to be demolished after the quake, turning much of "the most English city in New Zealand" into rubble and barren lots.

I was quite fond of Christchurch.  It’s not immediately beautiful or exciting, but it’s got something - it’s interesting.  Almost ten years later, it's amazing just how much damage is still evident in the centre of the third-largest (second, before the quake) city in a rich, developed nation.  It gives an understanding of just how complete the damage was, and the scale of what is happening in Christchurch: they are quite literally building a whole new city.  It’s a mixture of hipster and corporate regrowth, but most everywhere we gave our custom was pleasantly engaging, and the civic pride was palpable.  I left smitten and honestly wishing nothing but the best for Christchurch's recovery; there is still a long way to go.

On the way to Christchurch, you get a view of Mt. Cook, New Zealand's tallest, across Lake Pukaki.

Central Christchurch

Central Christchurch

Central Christchurch

Though the rubble has long been cleared away, some foundations are still laid bare awaiting future development.

Many buildings that were damaged, but not deemed imminently dangerous, await their fate: demolition or retrofitting?

Many empty lots have been turned over to parking until their turn at redevelopment comes up. Though unsightly, they are practical, allowing easy access to the centre and helping bring much-needed cashflow from the suburbs to the city.

Other lots have been turned into temporary or permanent art exhibitions.

The white building here is one of only three in the central shopping streets that survived, and gives an indication of the character of pre-quake Christchurch.

Some buildings have been structurally lost, but able to have their façades integrated into the new developments.

Oxford Terrace, the city's new hospitality epicentre, full of restaurants and bars, and home to the newly-opened Riverside Market.

Thankfully, New Regent Street sits on one of the few patches of bedrock in the city and survived the quakes.  We had my favourite night in Christchurch, and probably of the whole trip, with delightful cocktails at the oh-so-cool Institution, whose bartender mercifully steered us away from our planned dinner spot to the surprising Story.  Full stars for each.

The most famous destroyed building is ChristChurch Cathedral, the literal and figurative heart of the city.  After years of debate, it has finally been agreed to rebuild the cathedral to its former self.  I think they've missed a more poignant opportunity, such as the Gedächtniskirche in Berlin, but at least they are not demolishing it, which was another option being considered.

The Cardboard Cathedral (formally the Transitional Cathedral) was built to house the functions and services of the Anglican Diocese of Christchurch, pending the final refurbishment/rebuilding of the original cathedral.

Quite a stunning space, and thankfully slated to continue on as a performance space once the diocese decamps.

A temporary memorial to those who died, in the lot behind the Cardboard Cathederal.

North of Christchurch, on the way to the ferry port of Picton, lies Kaikoura, a little hippie beach town where we spent our Christmas Eve, and last night, on the South Island.

Perfect view for our last dinner on this side of the Cook Strait.