After van camping and volunteering I was able to stay 3 nights in Christchurch. This is the city that was hit with two major earth quakes in the past year and thousands of aftershocks to follow. Unfortunately the buildings of the city are currently being demolished but through the rebuilding, people are still smiling and the surviving businesses are open and eager for visitors.
On my first day I got to reconnect with Andrew, a guy I met in Wellington. This gentleman gave me the “roll down your window” sign and yelled out his number from a cab at a stoplight after the Sevens tournament. Classic! Turns out he’s much fun and was so cool to show me around the city.
Us on the way to the beach
I then resided at a tiny hostel called the “Rucksacker”. This is by far the most cozy hostel I’ve stayed in so far. With just a few rooms and the staff that lives next door, you feel like a regular every time you walk in. There were also quite a few “long termers” that stay there during their work visa, this creates a comfy “home” vibe.
They all knew each other by name and if you forgot a name, you just referred to them by country ex: “Has anyone seen Belgium around?”
Although, you couldn’t use Germany due to the amount of them… They’re everywhere (and some of my favs!)
The building on the left is the hostel and the one next door is the employee residence.
The first night I arrived there was a costume party out back. Well who happened to still have the kitten accessories from the Sevens Tournament? I let this sweet girl borrow it for the night so I could cut some hair…woohoo!
I have never stayed with so many travelers that love to cook with fresh ingredients. This kitchen was full of chefs every night… Fresh veggies, organic meat on homemade pizza dough was the dish of the evening.
Meanwhile, I was out back sewing up a shirt of mine and got some requests. This character had a hole in his shorts so off they went so I could fix them up.
Last day there I took a walk through the outskirts of the city center. I took a lot of photos of the earth quake damage, but didn’t really focus on that part… so here are a few random shots.
Not everyday…
I was so excited to find this. You can buy any amount of eggs you want! I know this isn’t a big deal to most of you, but being a solo traveler, I don’t need a dozen at a time or even half dozen. I bought 3 and skipped out out there so happy!
Found a salon that sells Moroccon Oil, yeah! Can you see the price? So next time you buy a bottle… consider it sale price, haha! The hairspray behind it was $42.
This is a cute little bar lounge made out of shipping containers.
Time to get out of town!
Her Happy Trails 