Christchurch so far has turned out to be a bit of a bust for nightlife. Everything closes at 9 pm. But, I soldiered on. Today, I got up and walked around downtown Christchurch. 
Their main public library, known as Tūranga, is beyond amazing. I like heading to libraries for a variety of reasons: they are quiet, there is usually free wifi and a café, and you can discover a lot about a people by how prized books and knowledge are. Tūranga is a vast, multi-storied glass building in the middle of downtown Christchurch. Beyond their books and periodicals, they had a Virtual Reality display and, much to my millennial delight, a Super Nintendo. However, from the heights of Tūranga, one can see into the skeleton of the still destroyed Christchurch Cathedral. I remembered reading about it at the time, but in 2011, a massive 6.3 earthquake destroyed large swaths of the city, including a news station. At the time, Christchurch was the second most populous city in the country. There were 185 deaths and thousands of injuries. Put into perspective, given the population was around 3.5 million for the whole country at the time, it would be like if the Big One came to Los Angeles. The cathedral stands as a reminder of not only the earthquake but a quiet sigh in stone of a city that will always remember heartache and tragedy.
After my morning of walking around, I decided to hop a bus and go to the beach town of New Bristol. They had a lovely pier, another library, and a few shops, bars, and restaurants lining the beach. Wanting to comparison shop, I headed into the library that was facing the ocean. I entered on the third floor by the pier and noticed that the library shared a wall with a bar, so that was interesting; prime beachfront real estate. I hopped the bus back to downtown and just walked around downtown after dinner.
I found a bar that served Havana Club, my drink of choice in my younger days when I was a student in Cuba and Spain. I walked to the Bridge of Remembrance (another New Zealand memorial to their war dead) then to a New World shopping center to buy some beer to entertain myself on a Saturday night. All in all, not that bad, but I should have stayed a bit longer in Wellington. Upon returning to my hostel with my bounty, I asked around what more there was to do in this town. Aptly, and through an accent as thick and as whimsical as an Edinburgh bog, my Scottish roommate said it best, “This town never fully recovered from the earthquake.”
Today, I got up, had some brekkie, and had my morning tea with the Aussie mother-daughter traveling duo of Jill and Kim. They were going around the South Island together in a camper van but decided to “splurge” on a hostel. Hot water is quite a draw.
This morning, I decided to set out to the New Zealand Airforce Museum. Luckily, the bus stop I needed was right down the street. I made a German friend at the bus stop, and thank God I did. The stops are not labeled here, so I would not have known where to have gotten off. She helped me out as she knew where we needed to get off, and I helped her out by letting her know that it was necessary to signal the driver directly.
I walked to the museum, which was very well put together for such a small country. It is located in a former airfield, and there were a lot of planes. After walking around on my own, jumping into all the available cockpits I could, I ended up taking a tour with a guide and got to look in the backroom. 
I learned that during the First World War, the engines were greased with castor oil. If anyone knows anything about it, it was also used as an olde timey laxative. This oil caused pilots to need frequent bathroom breaks. Another interesting thing I saw was a Cessna with a rocket launcher. Apparently, it was used to assist American forces in Vietnam. There was also an interesting “Choose-Your-Own-Adventure” aspect of being a downed pilot during the Second World War. There even was a stalag (prison camp) barrack display with a moveable wall to smuggle people and secrets. Based on your choices, they would lead you to the conclusion if you escaped or were shot. It was pretty harrowing. (And for those wondering, I “survived.”)
After the museum, I headed back to the hostel. While waiting for the bus, I got lunch at 
a gas station. My day pretty much ended at 2:30 pm. I came back and figured out Facetime Audio and called my mother and father. I relaxed a little, then went and had a chicken dinner and walked around downtown again. I took a different way home and, at dusk, came across the Earthquake memorial. Much like the Oklahoma City Memorial, they decided to represent the loss of life in the city with empty chairs. While
they are more uniform in Oklahoma, in Christchurch, the chairs give a more human aspect to this tragedy. While all painted white, they are actual dining room chairs, lounge chairs, and the occasional, arresting highchair. I then came back to the hostel for the night. I don’t think my roommates moved all day.
The next day would be my last full day in New Zealand, and I didn’t do that much. Slept in as long as I could (8:26 am), then got up and had brekkie. I needed some Admin Time to upgrade my baggage on my flights in Australia, put together a pitch email for a new client, and got a sales email together for another. I then walked around downtown and went to the actual stone Christchurch memorial after my final trip to Tūranga. 
The Canterbury Earthquake National Memorial was very serene and peaceful. It was a concrete band with all the names of all the victims written on it. It was located next to the Avon River that ran through the city. After some reflection, I then had lunch of my favorite chicken pho cup of noodles and took a nap. I hung out some, then headed back out for some dinner. I went to a small restaurant collective that had an interesting booth called Bacon Bros. I had a bacon and avocado sandwich, which was very good. I mean, how can you go wrong with bacon? I opted not to try NOLA Burger, a New Orleans themed burger restaurant, then came back to the hostel. I had a beer, sat in a bean bag chair like I did at the library, played a little guitar then started writing. Tomorrow, I will try to hang out for a bit before heading to Aus.
On this new Mardi Gras day, I got up, packed, and checked out of my final New Zealand hostel. I had some time to kill, so I walked around Christchurch. I spent a lot of time in Tūranga, reading, and checking the net. I went back, got my bags, and headed to the airport. I am glad I arrived early. There was a policy change in the new year, and I needed to get a tourist visa to enter Australia. I tried doing it on my own on my iPod but felt better leaving it to professionals. $50 NZD later, I got my visa. Trying to get through security, I forgot I still had my Leatherman in the front pocket of my backpack, so I made a sacrifice to the country of New Zealand.
I flew Emirates, which is probably the best airline I had and will ever fly. The female flight attendants we dressed smartly in modest echoes of Muslim dress, and the men were in suits. On a three hour flight, we were given meals, booze (surprisingly), personal entertainment centers, interactive maps, and if one were so inclined, an arrow pointing to Mecca for prayer. Honestly, having been on nearly 70 airlines, this was the best, and their awards prove it. Hopefully, I will be lucky enough to fly with them again.
