Our journey begins in Christchurch.

Our travel plans went pretty much to plan, Mum and dad arrived in Christchurch just before midnight and we arrived not long after. We found them at ‘The Long White Cloud Café’ just opposite the rental car desk and it wasn’t long before the luggage was loaded into the boot of our rental car, Andrew had the GPS sorted and we set off to find our apartment. We are very happy with  our lodgings for the first four nights of the journey, it will be a very comfortable and it was about 2am by the time we settled in to our beds for the night…that’s about midnight in Melbourne and 11pm in Brisbane!

We had a bit of a sleep in this morning and headed off to have breakfast. We walked under the spreading chestnuts along the banks of the Avon River to the Antigua Boat Shed Café for a late breakfast...more like Brunch really.

Breakfast was delicious and we had a wonderful view 
of the punts from our table.

We were delighted and surprised to meet Maxine the resident cat 
who seemed oblivious to the surrounding smells and sounds 
as she snoozed on her special stool!

From there we drove through the CBD of Christchurch and were all shocked at the extent of the devastation still evident after the 6.3 magnitude earthquake that struck on February 22, 2011. The earth rose one metre and a short time later, the earth moved horizontally the same distance. In its wake, 185 people died and the city centre became a terrifying scene of collapsed and teetering buildings, falling masonry and giant palls of dust.

Among the worst hit was the 19th century Christ Church Cathedral, situated at the physical and symbolic heart of the city. Today, the cathedral stands forlorn behind hurricane fencing, its nave wall is just a massive gaping hole.

But cathedral worshippers were not down for long. Today, choral music rings out across Latimer Square from the Cardboard Cathedral. Designed by Japanese architect Shigeru Ban, its A-line roof is constructed of 98 cardboard tubes, each up to 20 metres in length and covered in polycarbonate sheeting. There's also lots of steel, timber and, below ground, tonnes of concrete. Conceived as a temporary measure, it now has an estimated 50-year lifespan.

A few steps away from the new cathedral and close to the CTV building where many lives were lost, there's a tribute that's so stark and moving it simply stops you in your tracks. On a grassy, vacant block at the corner of Cashel and Madras streets, 185 white chairs stand starkly in rows of nine. There are dining, office, kitchen & outdoor chairs, stools, a baby's basinet & a wheelchair. Each one represents a life lost.

The rebuilding is progressing slowly but surely, after the earthquake shipping containers were a quick, easy and stable solution to many homeless businesses. Bank branches and ATM’s operate from them along with cafes, bars and beauty salons! Some are used in their original state – often for storage - and others have been given the Grand Designs treatment with the sides opened, windows installed and superior paint jobs. But most are stacked like Lego, supporting crumbling facades.

After a supermarket visit we had supplies for happy hour drinks when we arrived back at the apartment this was followed by an amazing dinner…a take away to remember… Andrew found this treasure before we left Melbourne, listed as the number one restaurant in Christchurch on Tripadvisor… ‘Pedro’s House of Lamb’ it now operates out of a shipping container…we had a shoulder of lamb with a salad and Rosemary roast potatoes.

I’ll leave you with some thoughts from Michael Leunig that were posted at the Latimer Square 128 chair site…