New Zealand''s Garden City: Christchurch

By Author: Bonny Kominek
Total Articles: 96
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Christchurch is known as the country''s ''garden city''. Its huge park, Hagley Park, Botanical Gardens and the many public gardens, such as Mona Vale, are the reasons why the city has this nickname. Christchurch includes several other attractions as well, such as the Cathedral, the Antarctic Center and the historic town of Lyttleton.

Hagley Park and the Botanical Gardens

Hagley Park consists of 407 acres of green parkland, flower gardens and sporting facilities, such as cricket and football grounds. Walking through the park with its shady trees and vividly colored flowers delights most visitors to Christchurch.

The flowers are spectacular in early spring when daffodils, tulips and bluebells bloom.

There are also many cherry trees with their pretty pink flowers.

Christchurch''s Botanical Gardens were founded in 1863 with the planting of a single oak tree. They include large and fragrant rose gardens which rival those of Hyde Park, London in their size and beauty, azalea gardens and many conservatories. One greenhouse contains a collection of interesting and unusual cacti.

The deep, ...
... green grass, flowers, and the narrow winding river, the Avon, reminds many of the meadows of Oxford and Cambridge. It is even possible to go punting on the river like the students do in these university towns.

Mona Vale

Historic Mona Vale is also worth visiting. Here visitors can enjoy walking through green lawns surrounded by flower beds of irises, peonies and pansies, and looking at the meandering river with its curved bridges. It is very like a huge English country garden.

Christchurch Cathedral

Christchurch was originally founded as part of a Church of England colony in the mid-1800''s by the Canterbury Association, named after the Archbishop of Canterbury. The association required those who wanted to settle in Christchurch to have good references from their Ministers. These settlers planned to have a cathedral and college at the center of the new city and they achieved their dream.

The gothic, Victorian cathedral and the cathedral square certainly dominate the city. The cathedral is one of the most photographed attractions of Christchurch and has become a tourist icon.

The roomy interior should also be explored. Interesting memorials to the early colonists and the exquisite stone carving above the doorway are some of the features of this historic cathedral.

The Antarctic Center

This center was designed to give people an ''Antarctic experience'' and make them more aware of what we owe to the great explorers of Antarctica, such as Robert Falcon Scott. As well as visiting the museum with its displays about Antarctic journeys, it is a joy to watch the cute fairy penguins being fed or nesting. The braver visitors can see how they like an ''Antarctic storm''. After being provided with warm jackets and over-shoes, they enter a temperature-controlled room which becomes progressively darker and windier as the ''storm'' , with its flashing lightning, arrives.

Lyttleton

No visit to Christchurch would be complete without a visit to this historic port. Still a working port in which freight and cruise ships often dock, the small town is built on green hills behind the picturesque harbor. It is an atmospheric place with pubs built in the Art Deco style, fish and chip shops, and several old stone churches. The museum is well-worth visiting ? it has more information about the Antarctic explorers and the whalers and settlers who founded the town.

These are just some of the many attractions of Christchurch. There is also excellent shopping ? leather and merino items abound ? and many sophisticated restaurants and pubs.

The best times to visit are probably spring and summer when the flowers bloom and the notoriously changeable weather is warm. Bonny Kominek wrote this article while on a holiday booked with Dialaflight who provide flights to New Zealand and other desinations.