I flew in to Christchurch from Sydney on a rainy, and very Northwest-y autumn day back in April 2008. I had been experiencing a bit of homesick blues, and the similarities between Christchurch and Oregon were really fun.  I stayed in a hostel at Cathedral Square, spent time at the botanical gardens, meandered about town, and then stopped in Christchurch a second time after looping around the south island, so by the time I jumped back to Christchurch for a third time for one night between flights from Auckland and waiting to head to Thailand, it was nice knowing where everything was and a good end to my stay in New Zealand. So seeing pics & video of the destruction around Christchurch feels that much more real.

Forkover Friday Week 8
Who it helps: New Zealanders
What non-profit: Red Cross NZ
Where: New Zealand
Why: 6.3 earthquake that hit Christchurch on Tuesday.

Farewell New Zealand. I’ll miss you.

After the movie, we went out for dinner. I ended up with a gigantic pizza, so I have half of it leftover for tomorrow. :) Then we just hung out at the hostel all evening.

After arriving in Christchurch, we went out for Thai food and checked out rugby tickets. We wanted to go to the Chirstchurch Crusaders vs Auckland Blues rugby game, but the only tickets left were “obstructed view” tickets. So we ended up watching the game at a pub. After the game, we all said goodbye and went our separate ways. And then there was one… I’m traveling solo again. On to the north island.

A Stray bus leaves Christchurch tomorrow and then not until Thursday, so I decided to catch tomorrow’s bus and check out Christchurch today. I spent the day walking, visited the Cathedral, had sushi for lunch, walked through the botanical gardens, visited the museum and the Arts Centre, and had Indian food for dinner. Now I’m glad that I’m leaving tomorrow, as I feel like I’ve seen everything that I want to see in Christchurch.

Kiwi Experience

• The green Kiwi Experience bus is called the F*** Truck for a reason. The Kiwi bus has the worst reputation of all the buses, as it’s often (not always) the party bus.
• Average passenger: 18-22 year old Brits on their gap year.
• Buses book up quick, which means you may be staying places much longer than anticipated. (Although I didn’t take the Kiwi bus, I met several people who had been “stranded” for days in different towns, unable to get a reserved space on the bus. This was not only frustrating for them, but it screwed up their NZ itinerary)
• Fewer stops along the way. That’s either a pro or a con, depending on how you like to travel. Kiwi is usually the last to leave and the first to arrive.

Magic

• The Magic buses don’t seem to have a “typical” traveler like the Kiwi bus. You can see a 65 year old couple and then an 18 year old gapper get off the bus. Definitely recommended for mid-30′s and over.
• Magic seems to have more buses running, I heard no complaints about reservation woes.
• Magic is a very “middle of the road” kind of service.

Stray

• The Stray bus is a smaller bus system than Kiwi and Magic. They tend to “go off the beaten track” more.
• Average passenger: 18-30 year old Europeans and North Americans, also more of an outdoorsy crowd. (You won’t typically see Stray passengers trying to hike the Tongariro Crossing in flip flops, like the Kiwi kids.)
• Stray has fewer buses (and a more limited off-season schedule), some towns they only pick up every other day. The good news is, that since it’s not as crowded as Kiwi and Magic, you don’t even have to reserve a spot. You can usually just show up at the bus stop and hop on. Great for last minute plans.
• More stops along the way. Again, this might be great for you, or might drive you crazy. Stray is typically the first to leave and last to pull in, but you stop more often for quick hikes and “secret spots” the driver wants to stop at.

Unfortunately, I forgot to check what hostel I booked at so after taking the shuttle in to town, I had to go check my email. Thankfully, I ended up being only a few blocks away. I’m staying at Base Backpackers, which is a huge 4 story hostel. I don’t typically like huge hostels, but this one is in a great location (it’s basically part of the Cathedral Square) so it’ll be fine for a few days. I spent the afternoon walking around the Cathedral Square area in the rain, got a Starbucks coffee (Don’t you judge me! It reminds me of home!), and doing laundry.

Oh and the biggest news of the day? I finally had Mexican food! Well, fresh mex, but it was actually good. Expensive for a burrito, but good. Oh and I’ve been laughing all day because Christchurch is so much like home. I love seeing all these fleece wearing, sandle and sock footed, granolas (except they call it muesli here)!