Christchurch is New Zealand's second largest city, and is the largest city in the country's South Island. It earned some unwanted international fame three weeks ago when it suffered an earthquake measuring 7.1 on the Richter scale, causing substantial damage to the city.
However, most of the most urgent problems have now been resolved, and from a tourist point of view, Christchurch is very much open for business and keen to continue welcoming tourists.
I was there just a few days before the earthquake, and so have created a couple of new pages in my section about traveling to New Zealand dedicated to Christchurch, generally considered to be the most English of New Zealand's cities (the picture above is of its vintage tramcar going through a city shopping and pedestrian zone).
The first page tells you how to get to Christchurch, why you'd want to visit, and where to stay. The second page provides some suggestions for what to see and do while you're in the Christchurch area, including something I definitely want to do next time I'm there – drive a full size army main battle tank (but, alas, not shoot its gun).
