185 empty white chairs

All too soon my last day in New Zealand had arrived. The previous day’s drive from Queenstown to Fairlea had seemed to take forever and I wasn’t even the one driving. Jeff was such a good sport throughout my trip and was incredibly accommodating with my many, many stops for photos. Damn you South Island for being so gorgeous!

We started our day with breakfast at the Fairlea Bakery which is well known in the region for its delicious pastries and in particular, its cronuts. For those who haven’t tasted one, the cronut is a cross between a doughnut and a croissant and the Fairlea Bakery version is absolutely enormous. I contemplated having one but it looked like it would send even a non-diabetic into a coma, so I gave it a miss and had a tasty frittata instead.

Judy knew of a popular cafe and store in Geraldine called Barker’s so we decided to stop there for lunch on the way to Christchurch. Geraldine dates back to 1884 and is located in the South Canterbury region in the central part of the South Island. As you’ll see from the photos it’s quite picturesque with a number of beautifully restored buildings. Barker’s was every bit as good as expected and the standout part of lunch was the caramel fudge brownie. The grocery part of the store was also amazing and I could have spent a fortune on shopping had I been staying longer. I did buy a jar of lemon curd though and I’ve been having it on spelt sourdough toast as a treat for breakfast on the weekends. Just quietly, it is sensational.

We continued on to Christchurch after lunch and our first stop was the 185 empty white chairs installation. Local artist Peter Majendie created it as as a memorial to the 185 victims of the earthquake that hit Christchurch in 2011. He had originally intended for the installation to be exhibited for three weeks but it instead became a tourist attraction. It is very moving to see the stark rows of white painted chairs in the middle of a city street. There are also a number of damaged and abandoned buildings in the adjacent streets which have been used by local graffiti artists to display their murals.

Not far from the installation is the Transitional Cathedral, better known as the Cardboard Cathedral. It was was designed by Shigeru Ban, a renowned Japanese architect known for his work in disaster zones around the world and also for his use of environmentally conscious materials. The main component of the cathedral unsurprisingly is cardboard, along with wood, steel and poly-carbonate. It was constructed in 2013 by the Anglican Diocese as a temporary replacement for the ChristChurch Cathedral which was badly damaged by the earthquake. It is a lovely, simple A-frame building and has been designed to last for 50 years.

The last stop for the day was the Christchurch Botanic Gardens. We managed to squeeze in a 20 minute walk before continuing on to the airport for my flight home. After having seen the aftermath of the earthquake, it was beautiful to spend some time in nature which never fails to lift my spirits and restore my sense of peace.