After a calm overnight crossing, at 07:00 we arrived at Lyttleton under a clear sky with a hint of sunrise. We docked near container ships, again the port was dominated by former volcanoes. Lyttleton is the port for Christchurch 10 miles away across a small mountain range pierced by a tunnel, but our coach tour took us on the original road over the mountains with stunning views and a return to sea level in the suburbs of Christchurch.
The city was founded by “The Canterbury Group” – a Church of England Mission entitled “The First for Ships” which arrived in 1850 at what was Õtautahi where the Ngói Tahu tribe lived seasonally. The settlers built the ‘new town’ on the banks of the river which they named Avon. They established what was a genteel society of wealthy farm holders of which some of their institutions are present today.
En route we passed through ‘the Red Zone’, an area of the city that was devastated by the 2011 earthquake. The earthquake began with a 7.1 quake on 4th September 2010, followed by a 6.3 aftershock on 22nd February 2011 which ‘finished the job’’, destroying already damaged buildings. Following this whole communities were destroyed and today because this area is likely to be more prone to earthquakes it has not been redeveloped and passing through one can see family garden plants now being taken by native vegetation.
The city centre has been redeveloped, though some buildings such as the Anglican Cathedral are still under repair. However, by starting with a ’clean sheet’ the city has zones such as medical or retail, rather than the usual pattern identified in Northern Hemisphere cities as concentric rings of land use.
We toured the city on an early 20th century tram which helped us discover more Art Deco and Spanish Colonial style buildings.
We passed the Canterbury Earthquake National Memorial wall which has inscribed the names of the lost people as well as a fleeting glimpse of a stell structure reminiscent to the one erected in New York City after the 9/11 attacks, donated to the city by the New York City Fire Department. Following a lunch of prawns and of course, a Pinot Noir, it was on to the bus, through the tunnel and back to the ship ready for departure.
