Mountain Lifestyle: Cricket in Christchurch

We arrived in the city of Christchurch, where it turned out the Cricket World Cup was in full flow! Well that explains why there is not a single hotel room available this week and only a couple of old cars left to hire! Not to worry - we've still got our trusty $30 tent.

We had a very smooth start to the day really. Walked the few metres down the beach to check the surf; but alas there was none. We contented ourselves by dipping our toes in the water before returning for our last breakfast in Wendy the camper. A smooth operation then followed...

We stopped at the surf shop and sold Clare's surfboard, my surf bag and leash for cash. We threw in the remains of Bamboo Barry into the bargain as well as the owner thought he could make a sign out of him! Then, it was on to the airport to pick up a huge Toyota Corrolla (the last car they had - 'don't you know it's the cricket World Cup sir? All cars in Christchuch are booked!). Lastly, we transferred our bags from the camper, returned Wendy to her owners, then drove off in into the city in our shiny new ride.

Evidence of the earthquakes is everywhere still; much of the place resembles war like scene of devastation. You can be walking down a street then suddenly find a bunch of derelict buildings, often with one end of the structure missing. You could see the seats of a theatre with ornate ceilings hanging precariously over them. It was all very eerie. There is a huge amount of building work going on still, but some areas that have been cleared have not all been rebuilt on; many have been made common ground for people to use. A little golf course was at the first place we came across, so we stopped for a quick round and I had to get the drinks in later on, as Clare got a hole in one!

Because the art galleries got destroyed, there are many art installations and sculptures just on the streets...

We stopped in Victoria Park where a giant screen was showing live cricket. Scotland were getting thrashed by New Zealand so there was happy home crowd. The screen was part sponsored by Cadburys, so we enjoyed plenty (a bit too much actually) of the free slabs of chocolate that was being handed out.

Then, we strolled the streets, stopping for a drink at a temporary shopping area made out of shipping containers. It looked very cool, but not once you looked past it at the waste land that it was in and were reminded again of the destruction.

After a stroll through the botanical gardens, we finally found somewhere to eat called C1 Expresso. I unfortunately didn't get a photo of the building, so I'll have to try and describe instead. It was one of the coolest eating experiences I've ever had. It was a 'Steampunk' cafe, which is based on what the Victorian era guessed the future might be like.

Inside there were wood panels, high ceilings and an old fashioned library area. Above, were big bulbed lights and a network clear tubes, inside which, little pods were travelling (see picture above). It looked a bit like the inside of a mad professors study, or somewhere Sherlock Homles might live.

After ordering some food and drinks, would you believe it; a little bell rang overhead and one of the little pods (with my name written on it) landed down the tube which ended next to the table!

Excitedly, we extracted the tube, and opened it up. Hey presto! Dinner was served! Three little burgers and some fries all neatly packaged into a pneumatic pod! Brilliant!