To a City I Barely Recognized...

The flight to Christchurch was long, though not excruciating. I flew from Columbus to Chicago and from Chicago to Los Angeles on relatively small planes, and in both instances the travel division honored my request to be in a window seat.

This time, instead of going to Christchurch via Auckland, I went through Sydney, and instead of flying Air New Zealand, I flew Quantas. I’ll always have a special place in my heart for Air New Zealand, but Quantas was certainly not lacking in amenities, which included food and drink, a large selection of current entertainment, and nifty little features like a camera in the tail with a feed to the seatback screens. The plane was an Airbus A380 (rather than a Boeing 747) and was absolutely massive. The wings were so large they flexed when we were on the ground. It was somewhat disconcerting to see the wings flopping up and down when we hit a bit of turbulence, and I tried to ignore it by burying my face in my food, which was quite satisfactory, as was the complimentary Australian wine.

 I would have really liked to explore Sydney a bit, had it not been a violation of the laws of three countries to leave the terminal during my layover. I got a taste just by looking out the windows and I’ve resolved to include Sydney in my travels on the way back from New Zealand in February.

I arrived to a summery, bright (literally, sunny until 10:00 pm) Christchurch around 4 pm on December 16^th, having been in transit for roughly 28 hours, and was met by a representative from the US Antarctic Program (USAP), who gave me and several other of the arrivals a very brief orientation before sending us off to our hotels.

My exceptionally bright hotel room in Merivale - bit of a wonder how I fell asleep with all that light

Several of us were placed in the Pavilions, a nice hotel in Merivale northeast of the city center. Upon being deposited at reception by the shuttle, I promptly dropped my bags and went exploring, since the Papanui/Merivale area was not one that I seen much the last time I was in town. I meandered down south and west through the neighborhoods of (often juxtaposed) modern and Victorian architecture, small gardens, and parks, and I eventually wound up at the city center, or as close as I could get to it.

I was stunned by what I saw. I was in Christchurch for the 7.1 earthquake of 2010, and I had seen the resulting damage, but I was not quite prepared for the effects of the February 2011 6.4 and other large aftershocks. Much of the city center was closed off and I could only see bits and pieces of buildings in the distance. This was due both to visual obstructions and to the structures being, literally, in bits and pieces. Stone and brick buildings lay partially shattered. Wooden buildings sat in a twisted collection of rubble. Some lots that contained buildings I frequented or knew well were simply empty. Gardens that had simply been left to their own devices since their accompanying edifices had been destroyed, removed, or otherwise abandoned had grown to consume whatever was left of the lots’ previous occupant. Parts of the city resembled a ghost town, but one eerily modern, with an odd assortment of empty skyscrapers alongside abandoned new and historic storefronts.

Knox Church, Victoria Street

Salisbury Street

Rose Chapel, Colombo Street

Victorian Remnants, Colombo Street

Oxford Terrace

But despite this apparent dereliction, there was activity everywhere. There was at least one construction project on every block and everywhere debris was being cleared to make way for liveable and developable space. In some areas imprompteau art exhibits and venues had sprung up. It was truly inspiring and embodied a sort of resilience and unquenchable optimism sustained by this city and the people in it. They are truly taking a part in the reconstruction of this city to such an incredible degree of unity. There is so much infrastructure being repaired, so many city landmarks being spoken for—the restoration of the Arts Centre alone will cost over $35 million NZD—that I find it wonderful and amazing that the people themselves are at the forefront of these efforts. I’m very excited to see how much things have progressed when I return from Antarctica in February.

The Flying Cup, Peterborough Street

Palette Performing Arts Space, Peterborough Street and Durham Street

Colombo Street

Educational Sign, Arts Centre, Worcester Boulevard

Christmas Cheer, Arts Centre, Rolleston Avenue

Cambridge Terrace and Worcester Boulevard, with the Central Business District and the cathedral in the background

Of course, before I return from Antarctica, I must go to Antarctica. Our flight has already been delayed twice: once from 9:00 am to 9:00 pm because the ice runway at McMurdo station is too soft to land craft on during the day; and once from 9:00 pm to 1:00 am, for a reason to which I am not privy. But I have no doubt we’ll get there eventually. We got all of our extreme cold weather (ECW) gear and now we’re just waiting for conditions to be alright. If all goes according to plan, I’ll be in Antarctica by tomorrow morning.

The USAP hangar at the Christchurch airport