Took the car nearer the city, as we are out in Riccarton, Were told it would be hard getting a park but there was plenty of parking as many of the empty sites after demolition have been turned into Wilson car parks, and there are many sites like this.
Well to explain our first feelings was very emotional , sad and devastating. We walked all round the fenced off red zone and just couldn't believe our eyes. Although most of the demolition seems to have finished, there are still buildings including some hotels, that still have to come down. The rubble has been cleared away and there are many flat cleared areas waiting for re-developing.Hotels in the inner area aren't open for business and need many repairs still.
The place looks so bare, what you would imagine after the clean up of a war zone. Its so hard to accept after what we knew how Christchurch was. So much is just wiped out.
As soon as we hit the red zone area this is what we saw and many of places are fenced off so there are lots of places you can't walk around.
One lonely building been left in the middle of a big cleared area.
We believe this the Forsyth Barr building is still to come down, it looks a mess. All cracked and broken windows. A fenced off area.
The Cathedral, you can hardly recognise it without its steeple.
Cathedral square, what a mess.
So many areas like this.
Old shops just left at this stage.
Fenced off areas
A bit of good cheer, the lovely trees along the banks of the Avon River.
What they have done creating a container village made up from old containers and turned into shops while the new shops are being built.
It has been well done adding a lot of colour into the city.
Container converted into the BNZ . A few of the banks were like this.
One of the few inner city remaining. Its just so hard for us out of town people to realise just how bare the inner city is after most of the clean up.
These chairs have been placed on the empty site across from from where the CTV building was. Each chair is in memory of each of the 185 people that were killed in the earthquake.
The cardboard Church which is to temporary to replace the Cathedral while they decide what they are going to do about the Cathedral. To me it seems such a waste of money (I believe which is $5 million) to put into something that is temporary when there are so many people without homes or still waiting to have theirs repaired. When you speak to local people around here they totally agree and aren't for this temporary church.
On the fence around the CTV site with many flowers. As shows below.
Photo as the Catholic Church was was like.
As is now.
AMI Rugby stadium. So sad to see the waste.
A zoomed in close up, as it is all fenced off, trying to show how the old field has risen so much. Not very clear just how much it has risen. (Don't forget you can click on each picture to get it enlarged.)
Driving around the waters edge to Sumner. The houses at the top of the cliff edge are amazing. Just balancing there. Note the containers all along the bottom of the cliffs to protect against falling rocks down on the road.Taken from the beach looking up.
.
Zoomed in look at them.
We then drove over to Avonside where the residential area was worst hit. These houses have been desserted, gardens left to ruin. Above and below two photos.
Someones wall and fence being braced.
The drove over to Port Lyttleton. The old pub fenced off and left at this stage.
This is PT's attempt at parking at least a metre plus from the curb. Only for 5 mins to get a view below.
Lyttleton Port.
Great outlook over Lyttleton Harbour.We then drove over the Port Hills back to Riccarton over Dyers Pass at 332m asl.
Not a happy day but very interesting just seeing what it is really like. So many photos as I wanted to cover it all. The sun only came out briefly as we drove over the hills.
We leave tomorrow for home after a great trip around the southern end of the South Island.
