We left San Fransisco around 11:00 pm on Tuesday January 22 and arrived in Aukland, New Zealand on Thursday January 24. Sorry mom, I missed your birthday! The flight was long but I managed to sleep for at least half of it so it wasn’t as intolerable as I thought it would be. We didn’t leave the airport in Aukland but made our way through customs and a screening of what we were bringing into the country. Everything was ok except for the dirt on our shoes from the redwood hike in California. Not a big deal though, they washed the shoes and we were off. It was back to check in and security for our next flight. We flew from Aukland to Christchurch, which is our starting point for our camper van experience. We checked into a hotel (will pick up van tomorrow), after the flights a bed and a shower were in order. But, that had to wait as we wanted to explore Christchurch. We got an Uber to the centre of Christchurch and hopped on the tourist tram which gave us an overview of the city.
We were so happy to be off the plane and out of the airport. Libby couldn’t resist trying the bean bags.
Riding the Christchurch Tram.
A city under construction…
Christchurch was severely damaged by earthquakes in 2010 and 2011 and while much has been repaired there is still much to do.
The infrastructure was severely damaged after the earthquakes and residents had to improvise and make outdoor toilets, or as they have called them, “long drops”. The last photo above shows shipping containers being used as a protection barrier wall at a damaged building.
But many areas have been restored and Christchurch is a nice introduction to New Zealand for us.
It's All About The Journey 