Middle-earth lies behind me. Christchurch in front of me. The journey on the 1.60 metre high bus takes almost 9 hours. Afterwards I’m a bit dejected. From Cathedral Square I lug 35kg of luggage back to the bus terminal and drive to the nearby Shalom Hostel. Nothing special, but cheap and WiFi.
First day: storm and rain. I walk through Christchurch soaking wet. Everywhere in New Zealand, the city planners have somehow managed to blend different architectural styles into a beautiful whole. In Christchurch they have failed completely. No two buildings fit together. Disneyworld, Brutalism, Victorian, timber house, Bauhaus, tower block, Mies. No two houses are the same scale. Bears!
There are a few beautiful old buildings in the centre. All surrounded by tower blocks. I stroll through a few shopping malls. Christchurch consists of 25% punks and 25% Asians. There are ready-made characters squatting on every corner.
A few weeks ago there was a huge outcry. Just before New Year’s Eve, a study was published that labelled Christchurch the most criminal city in New Zealand. Naturally, this shocked everyone here. So much so that something had to be done. The mayor called in several hundred extra police on New Year’s Eve and extended the public alcohol bans. Many travellers told me about friends who ended up in front of a judge because of a beer.
I think back to balmy summer nights on Bismarckplatz in Regensburg and can only grin. Any New Zealand policeman would have a choleric fit there. Well, the police have cleaned up, now order has returned to Christchurch. After all, vandalism, fights and sexual offences are only committed when people are drunk.
I walk through the rain, whistling. What strikes me is that the people of Christchurch seem to be suffering from back pain since they are no longer allowed to drink their beers in public. There are also far too few bars to do this kind of back training seriously. What remains is symptom relief. That’s why Christchurch has about twice as many massage parlours as pubs. Poor Kiwis :-(
Frank Woelky, born in 1973. Kitesurfer since 1998. Since 2006, I have been combining kitesurfing and web design on trips lasting several months off the beaten track.