New Zealanders are nothing if not resourceful, and they have coped fairly well with this national emergency -- all things considered.
After a year, however, Christchurch is getting tired of being Earthquake City.
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| Hope grows in a toppled wall. |
At the Ellerslie Flower Show held in North Hagley Park, March 7 to 11, the Garden City embraced its horticultural heritage with displays that often seemed to have been inspired by the events of the last year. The results were surprisingly optimistic. As an outsider, I didn't immediately see the symbolism in rubble mingled with moss and flowers, but when I did make the connection I saw it everywhere.
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| Christchurch: Sure to Rise |
I particularly liked the little flower bed designed by the Edmond's Baking Powder company. Their iconic "sure to rise" sunburst label takes on new significance when the "sun" is a pile of reclaimed red bricks.
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| Re:START on Cashel Street |
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| Nancy and Brian, ready to shop! |
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| An eco-mall born of necessity |
In the downtown core, pop-up shops in shipping containers have infused that area with new life. These improvised stores look
amazing with show-case windows, trendy signage, and simple-yet- effective landscaping.
This container mall is known as Re: START; its logo is a heart comprised of multi-coloured rectangles (the stacked and painted containers).
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| This coffee shop has a special Re: START blend |
Hi Nancy,
ReplyDeleteSandi Dowhan sent me the access point for your blog and I'm glad she did. I love your photos, but I really enjoy your descriptive writing.
As a passionate fly fisherman New Zealand has been a dream destination of mine. Susan says, "All you want to go there for is to fish." and she's right. We visited one of our daughters when she was teaching in Sydney and I was torn not to make a quick trip over to New Zealand because I didn't want to short change what should be at least a 4 week trip. We did go to Tasmania for a couple of weeks and it was beautiful but I believe that New Zealand is probably an order of magnitude of beauty again.
Chris Clarke
Great to hear from you, Chris! No fishing happened on our trip, I have to say. Maybe you and Susan can strike a compromise -- she gets to hang out in Queenstown, and you head off with rod and creel. The great thing about NZ is its size -- all that wonderful scenery is packed into a very small land mass. You can do a good trip in a month.
ReplyDeleteWe've never been to Australia -- at the time we would have visited, we became parents and there was no money for travel. Maybe the next time we head down under, we'll have to be more adventuresome.