Winston Aldworth: Back to Christchurch

9:30 AM Tuesday Nov 13, 2012

It's a remarkable time to be in Christchurch. Photo / Supplied

Is it ghoulish to visit the quake-levelled centre of Christchurch?

No.

The rebuilding of our shaken southern city makes for intriguing viewing, and tourist money rings a till just the same as any other sector. On a recent visit, we sat sipping flat whites in Cashel Mall watching as a wrecking ball whacked the seventh storey off a building less than 100 metres away - you just don't see that sort of thing anywhere else.

The locals were easy to spot: familiar with the muntedness, they chewed the fat or walked along ignoring the building being smashed to pieces. Visitors gawped with slack-jawed fascination.

TripAdvisor says that the number of Australians using their website to research a visit to Christchurch has gone up more than 250 per cent in the past year. Those numbers came a week or so after Christchurch bagged sixth place on Lonely Planet's list of the top 10 cities to visit in 2013, something that would have been unlikely in the pre-quake days.

Smart locals are making the most of it; Cashel Mall is one of the more memorable shopping and cafe areas you'll wander through.

So get on a bus tour or a cycle tour, or just grab your camera and walk the fenceline. It's a remarkable time to be in Christchurch.

* In the next couple of weeks, we're visiting Christchurch and we'd love to share your top tips for the shaken city. Email us at travel@nzherald.co.nz.

By Winston Aldworth @WinstonAldworth

Surdo Oppedere (Auckland Region) | 09:42AM Tuesday, 13 Nov 2012

I heard that for many people the rebuild is difficult because insurance companies only pay for the value of the building or house as it was, but councils now insist on higher standards so the insurance doesn't cover the cost of rebuilding.

Foreign Observer (New Zealand) | 10:09AM Tuesday, 13 Nov 2012

I trully beleive that if there had to be a quake to wake up kiwis about the fact we live atop the ring of fire, it was best to start in ChCh given the remarkable tenacity and grit of Cantabrians! (Not that I would wish that on anyone, it goes with the territory or tectonic plates!) Could you imagine a recovery in Wellington?! We'd still be talking about what sign to put up outside the caved in bowl?! Glad to see you're coming back Garden City!! Have a good Cup Week!

marie wilson (Kaikoura) | 09:57AM Wednesday, 14 Nov 2012

For all the trials and tribulations over the past couple of years Cantabrians are just getting on with it. Even those who have suffered the most through loss and displacement are doing their best. Its still hard and its a long road for many but not one of us would call coming to Christchurch 'ghoulish'. We still have a bustling, busy city and if 'making do' attracts visitors who are we to complain!! Bring it on I say..