Country Article / Postcards
The Most English City Down Under
Date: 08/24/2004Dear International Living Reader,
Neat and pretty, Christchurch bills itself as New Zealand's "Garden City" and is probably the closest you'll get to an English city outside of England. Lots of Gothic architecture…tidy little brick houses…old-fashioned trams scooting around the city center... It all feels very civilized.
I hoped to see people punting on the Avon river which runs through the vast expanse of Hagley Park, but I guess it's a bit too chilly. But not too chilly for other activities. Like everywhere else in New Zealand, Christchurch's residents are sports mad. Five separate groups of schoolboys are undergoing rugby training, joggers are pounding down paths, and people are out on both the tennis courts and bowling greens. Rated the best in New Zealand, there's also Botanic Gardens within the park--even in fall, roses still bloom.
Heading towards the city center, Cathedral Square, I spy the Gothic Revival buildings of the Arts Center on Worcester Boulevard. Outside tables in a patch of welcome sunshine seem the perfect place to enjoy a NZ$2.50 (US$1.60) "world famous" chocolate and pumpkin muffin. Definitely yummy (I've noticed Kiwis are fond of using the "yummy" phrase). Inside the Arts Center--formerly the University of Canterbury--you'll find lots of little crafts shops. The bone carvings are cute--symbolic Maori pendants mostly sell for between NZ$13 and NZ $26 (US$8 and $17).
I'm staying at the Chateau on the Park hotel--I recommend it. Beside Hagley Park on Deans Avenue, it's set in five acres of flowery grounds full of songbirds. Under their current "Hot Deals", a deluxe room, bottle of champagne on arrival and breakfast for two the following morning costs NZ$159 (US$105). E-mail: enquiry@chateau-park.co.nz.
(Don't collapse on one of the sofas in the Chateau on the Park without first checking that it's not taken--the hotel has a permanent resident called Sebastian, a fat black cat that wandered in one day and never left.)
Steenie Harvey
Roving Editor, International Living
P.S. I wish I had more time in Christchurch--leafing through brochures in the tourist office, the alpine safaris and wine, food and garden tours sound interesting.
Rate this Postcard:
Rating: /5 ( votes cast)