Hey, everyone! This past week has been quite packed with some fun events in Queenstown and then a long weekend trip up to Christchurch. While I love Queenstown, it was good to get away and check out the final of the “big cities” in Aotearoa New Zealand – if only for a few days.

Halfway to Christmas Party

Before leaving for Christchurch, some peeps at the hostel organized a “Halfway to Christmas Party” which was exactly what it sounds like. Hosted on June 25th, the idea was for everyone to make different food and hang out in the kitchen. While I knew most people were going to make awesome dishes from their own countries (sushi, empanadas, etc.), I decided to – SURPRISE – make a salad. Something a little healthy haha, and so that people could taste what the hell I eat all the time.

Entering the kitchen was chaotic. SO many people were finishing up their preparations. Rolling sushi, baking, frying and cooking things on the stovetops. Eek!

It was a really cute celebration. Dress code was red or green (or both) and we had some Christmas music playing early on in the night. The food was delicious and it was great to taste so many different dishes. Tiago made this incredible sauce-y chicken dish. Jasper made fried rice which was a massive hit. Nittsy and Ian made empanadas, which were gone within a matter of minutes. Lots and lots of food. YUM!

And then, my favorite. DESSERT. From cookies to little chocolate balls to Victoria sponge cake, and more. There were lots of options. My favorite was a dessert Jerome made called a sugar pie. It is quite famous in Quebec. Delish.

Side note: Tiago was VERY eager for me to try his dessert as he knows I have a huge sweet tooth haha. It was incredible!

After food, we continued to hang out in the kitchen. With music playing, Yvonne and I started dancing.

Eventually, the crowd cleared out. Some of us helped clean up the lingering mess and then called it a night. What a fun celebration, though!

Off to Christchurch

While I’d had plans to meet up with my Auckland friend Ash in Christchurch, he had to cancel the night before. It was definitely a bummer because when we’d met up in Queenstown, we got along super well and I was looking forward to spending more time with him. It was also unfortunate because had I known, I would have just booked a hostel instead of using my staff rates for a hotel. As it turned out, Ash was kind enough to offer to pay for his half of the booking. I was able to enjoy three nights in a hotel room… BY MYSELF!

The flight from Queenstown to Christchurch was also the fastest flight I’ve ever taken in my life. I think it was literally thirty minutes haha.

Upon arriving at the airport, I took the bus into town. It was too early to check in to my hotel, so I had made plans to visit my former coworker Josh to see what his new hotel looks like. Josh ended up showing me around the hotel and then we went for a walk around the city. We did a loop around town, he showed me where my hotel was, and then we made plans to have dinner in the evening since he had to get back to work. What to do? I still couldn’t check in yet. I decided to go to the Botanical Gardens.

P.S. It was funny to see the Canadian geese in the right photo. What are they doing here?

Botanical Gardens

Since it’s winter here in Aotearoa New Zealand, there wasn’t too much to see in terms of flowers. The gardens had a rock garden, and some areas that surely would be really pretty in the summertime. I still enjoyed the walk. The gardens were really large and had many sections to it.

My favorite spot was when I found the greenhouse. They had so many plants in there! Since it was inside and protected from the cold, the plants were thriving.

There were a number of different sections in the greenhouse but my favorite was… the orchid and the carnivorous plants section. It had pitcher plants, venus fly traps (I couldn’t find them), and then at least a dozen different types of orchids. Phalaenopsis, lady slippers, little teeny tiny ones, etc. Loved it. It reminded me of the few times I’d gone with my mom to check out orchid greenhouses back home.

(I also learned that the word “orchid” is a Greek word for testicles, because apparently the “paired tubers” on orchids look similar lol.)

There was also a cactus section and it kind of blew me away. I haven’t yet been to a place where there are large seguora. They’re so cool. One day!

Afterwards, I was able to check in to my hotel. I grabbed a bite to eat at a Thai place and FINALLY had some curry puffs for the first time since leaving Australia. They were so damn good that I decided to go back for dinner another night. Then, it was time for a nap. I had woken up at 4.45am to head to the airport that morning and I was tired.

A funny note on the flight… a few days prior, I’d asked Jasper, “Ugh, how am I supposed to get to the airport? There’s no busses running at that hour.” He said, “Um… a taxi?” After a pause, he said, “Ohhh, sorrrrry, I know what you want to hear. You want me to take you. Of course – why don’t you just ask me?” And that little angel drove me to the airport. Thank you, Jasper! It’s a tough thing to have to wake up so early to take your friend to the airport.

Matariki

Once I’d woken up from my nap, I walked around town some more. Matariki was on – which is the Māori New Year. Christchurch had a lot of ongoing festivities – from Haka performances (sold out) to food vendors, and more.

So what is Matariki? Essentially, it is a celebration the Pleiades star cluster rising into view. And as mentioned, it is also the Māori New Year.

I walked around town, reading informative art designs with personified deities’ of the stars of Matariki. Each design shared information on each of the nine stars. The designs reminded me of characters from Avatar: The Last Airbender.

Zoom in to read the blurbs about these stars!

I’m ashamed to say that I somehow completely missed the Matariki Parade. I also didn’t know it was happening lol.

Later in the evening, I met Josh for dinner. We ordered like $200 worth of food and shared it all haha. It was v. yum! Akaroa salmon, duck, gnocchi, bread, desserts, etc. A definite splurge. Worth it!

Port Hills

Christchurch has some very large hills just outside of town called the Port Hills. The next morning, I woke up around 10am and walked to the Port Hills.

The Southern Alps are viewable to the west of the city – tall, snow-peaked mountains. The mountains that I live in. Despite how far away they were in Christchurch, it was neat to see them lining the horizon.

I could have taken the bus to the start of my walk. I don’t know why I didn’t. I guess part of me just wanted to listen to music and explore town further. It took about an hour and a half to get to the start of the Rapaki walking trail. Most of that was on flat terrain.

Suddenly, there was a mild incline and I’d begun the walking trail. The views were beautiful. I walked alongside a valley. I could see other hikers walking down below. There were SO many people out and about that day. I couldn’t tell if it was like this all the time, or if it’s because many people had a three day weekend with Matariki being a public holiday.

Of course, the objective for the day was to get to “the summit” – wherever that summit may be. I wasn’t sure where exactly the track ended or how long it was supposed to take. I was just enjoying it.

The trail weaved through some farmland. Sheep scattered along the hills. Cute! One of them was looking at me from higher up on the hill.

What else? Lots and lots and lots of walking.

And then eventually, I’d found my way to the other side of the hill. The views!

I continued on and tried to get to the Witch Hill Reserve summit. I made it a decent way up but it was a very rocky area and I didn’t have proper hiking shoes on. Maybe ten minutes from the top, I called it quits. It felt too dangerous. Still – the area was really nice. I’m so lucky to live in New Zealand where I’m able to see beautiful landscapes practically everywhere I go. Loves it.

Later, I grabbed a bite to eat at the food stalls. I just got some veggie sausage rolls and then went back to the hotel to chill out. I have to reiterate, it was SO nice to be in a hotel room by myself. Honestly, it has been so, so, so long since I’ve had a space to myself where I truly was able to be on my own. Of course, I love being with friends and family when I’m back home, but even then, I’m still kind of “sharing space.” I wonder if the last time I truly had a moment to myself like this was when I was living in Chicago still? Nope – actually, it was in Tasmania.

Other perks of hotel room include: STRONG water pressure. Comfy bed. Lovely hotel room views. AND – Josh had called the GM of the hotel and asked if he could leave me some complimentary soft drinks. They ended up bringing me up a plate of cheese, crackers, and chocolate! So nice.

Quake City

The weekend was going by quickly, as it does when on adventures.

I haven’t mentioned this yet but for those who don’t know, Christchurch suffered a devastating earthquake in February 2011. Over 150 people died and something like 60% of the buildings in the city center were destroyed or had to be demolished following the quake.

There was so much structural damage, that many buildings were unsafe to enter. The whole CBD (central business district) was cordoned off for over a year. It was a red zone, where no one could enter.

Eventually, the city was zoned in different colors and works began to try and repair the city. Still, over a decade later, the earthquake had left its impact.

Lots of buildings were abandoned, and one of the most iconic buildings of the city – the Christchurch Cathedral, was still under construction. From the looks of the cathedral’s status, the earthquake could have happened two years ago, not over thirteen years ago.

I found the earthquake history to be a really morbid, yet fascinating part of Christchurch.

On my second to last day, I went to the Quake City museum, which has all sorts of artifacts, information, and videos related to the 2011 earthquake. Some of the photos were insane. To see the earth ripped in half with large fissures running through the ground. Wow. So much destruction.

Early on in the museum, there was over an hour of footage from people interviewed a year or two after the quakes. They told their stories of where they were, what they were doing, and how they were affected by the earthquake. It was incredible and quite emotional at times. There was one woman who had been slightly outside the city but after the quake, she went in the city to try and find her daughter at school. She recounted how so many people were in shock after the quake, but how she had one mission in mind – “All that mattered was that I had to find my daughter.” I kinda teared up hearing that – especially since I knew my mom was trying to find me at one point in my life where it felt like the world was falling apart, too. THE POWER OF MOTHERHOOD!

I was surprised to see that they had the spire from the cathedral showcased at the museum, as well as some other rather large artifacts that were once on buildings.

There was also information about liquefaction, which I’d never heard of in my life. From what I understand, it is basically when an earthquake causes soil to behave more like a liquid than a solid. It bubbles up into the pipes and makes water undrinkable. Infrastructure damage and all that.

Basically, earthquakes are destructive and awful… but also really interesting.

After the museum, I actually went to a sauna to further relax. Jacuzzi, steam room, sauna, and more. So nice!

In the evening, I went for dinner back at the Thai place and then went to bed early after watching an episode of Anthony Bourdain.

Moana

Prior to coming to Christchurch, I didn’t really have any plans or things I necessarily intended to see. The only mission I had was to get to the ocean (or “moana”, in te reo).

My final morning, I checked out of the hotel and took the bus down to New Brighton Beach, where there was supposedly a cool pier that led out into the ocean.

I walked along the pier and admired the ocean waves as they grew and crashed down into themselves. I so love the ocean. I hoped to see some dolphins or maybe even a whale if I was really lucky, but no such luck this time. They’re waiting for me in Kaikoura.

I didn’t stick around for that long, but just long enough to get my fill of the ocean. I took the bus back into town, grabbed my bag from the hotel, and then met up with Josh for one last meal. He kindly offered to take me to the airport, too. Thanks, legend!

Josh took me to the markets. He got Italian food and I had Indian. Two veggie samosas, a mango lassi, and a lunch set that came with two veggie curries, rice, and naan. YUM!! Needless to say, I wasn’t feeling very hungry at the airport haha.

The ride to the airport was fast. I thanked Josh for the ride and we’ll be seeing each other again soon – he’s in town this Friday for a charity event my workplace is hosting in town.

I really enjoyed my time in Christchurch. It was about the size of Perth, with easy access to nature, but a solid city center, etc. I could have seen myself living there potentially.

Albeit brief, Christchurch was the perfect getaway and was super relaxing. I went to bed early most nights, worked on artwork, chilled out, slept in, and did some nice exploring around town. It is weird to acknowledge that I probably won’t be going back to Christchurch again before leaving New Zealand. As always… there’s so much left to see.

Miscellaneous

What else? Just a few little things.

A forgotten photo of Yvonne and I from last week’s Cowboy’s party.

One night after work, I was listening to music and walking down the hallway to my room. Jasper came walking down the other end, also listening to music and we had a 30sec dance off. I told Emily to check the security footage later and she sent me a video of it the next day haha. Such a cute moment.

And while walking around the Botanical Gardens, I admired these three ducks with very different coloring!

Art of the Week

Reflections

As I mentioned – I enjoyed Christchurch, but I’m glad Queenstown has been The Place for me. Auckland didn’t feel like it. Wellington felt more like it, but not exactly the right fit. But Queenstown… it was almost immediate. The place just felt Right. As mentioned before, Queenstown is a bit of a “bubble.” Being in Christchurch reminded me of what Queenstown is missing. The biggest thing it is lacking is Māori culture. But it is also missing homelessness, gangs, graffiti, etc. It is a tourist town, for sure.

That has its pros and its cons. I’m sure had I lived in Wellington for the past nine months, I would have been exposed to a lot more kiwis (the people) and in that sense, to their culture, community, etc. It is a shame, because becoming good friends with the Ozzies in Australia was one of my favorite things while living there.

On the flip side, I’ve been exposed to all sorts of other nationalities. I know that the exposure to all these different cultures and people at my hostel will be one of my favorite things in New Zealand. It already has been. It’s kind of unbelievable that I only have about two more months left in Queenstown.

So, what’s next? Abby, Yvonne, Jasper, and I are going to go on one final hike/adventure this weekend. We are still undecided on where exactly we’re going. After this weekend, there’s only one weekend left with Abby and then she leaves. It’s bittersweet. While I understand she has her own life and her own plans, it will be sad to see her go. The four of us have been a cute little group for some time. We went to our friend’s birthday party last night (I’ll mention in next week’s post), and there was a moment where Jasper’s Na Na Na song came on and the four of us were dancing together. While it was a fun moment, I couldn’t help feeling melancholy, knowing we wouldn’t have many more dancing opportunities left together.

Other than time with friends, I don’t have much planned at the moment.

Until next time – sending you all my love. xx