Christchurch and Lake Tekapo

Christchurch is a new city, or rather most of what has been built was constructed after one of the two major earthquakes. It is clear that the city is still recovering, but also clear that they are quickly rebuilding better and stronger. 

Note the marking on this Christchurch street map, signifying where we ACTUALLY are. It seems nobody knows!

One of the main sights of the city is the Re:Start mall - a shopping centre that has been built out of shipping containers. Originally meant as a quick fix, I'm sure, but now is one of the reasons tourists stop in the city.

Joe and I, however, were bamboozled by two things:

1. Street space invaders - a giant joystick and buttons on the pavement control the action on the large screen on the other side of the road. Essentially playing a computer game right there in the street. You can try it on your own or team up with a mate. Unlike the popular arcade game, this version is completely free, and we thought it was amazing - I'm surprised there was no queue of people waiting to have a go (just us nerds).

2. C1 Espresso Cafe - curly fries and other side dishes are delivered to your table through pneumatic tubes that traveled from the kitchen, across the ceiling and down to your table! To reach the restrooms in this cafe you must walk through a sliding bookcase, and Star Wars figurines tell you which toilet to use. (It did take me a moment to figure out if I was Luke Skywalker, Princess Leia, or even R2D2). You can help yourself to tap water in the restaurant by pumping the old traditional sewing machine. This cafe is a hipsters dream, but we loved it. 

Food delivery tubes in C1 Espresso Cafe

Lake Tekapo

From there, we met up with one of our PGL friends, Serin, and headed for a day out at Lake Tekapo, a small town in the mountains. It was good to see a familiar face on the other side of the world and hang out with someone we know after all this time! The lake surrounded by mountains was absolutely stunning, and was the first time on our journey that there was actual snow around us. 

Lake Tekapo

We spent the afternoon watching the sunset over the mountains from the warmth of the thermal hot pools. Much like those in Rotorua, but without the strong eggy smell. It was luxurious, and to continue this luxury, we treated ourselves to a nice private room at a hostel (because it was far too cold to sleep in the van, and all the dorm rooms were sold out!)

We took a chilly night time walk to the hills to stargaze, saw a shooting star and stood in awe at the view of the galaxy over the mountains. The moon was too bright for decent pictures but the sky was clear and it didn't stop us enjoying this moment. 

Stars over Lake Tekapo

The drive out of the mountains towards Dunedin was spectacular, with an ever changing landscape and crystal clear lakes mirroring the scenery surrounding them. Only disturbed by a single stone being thrown into it, and the ripples go on and on and on...

Crystal clear lake