Peaks and Places | Travel and Adventure Blog

We seemed to be in the city at a fun time, they were celebrating Christmas in July! Christchurch has an incredible food hall, and on this particular Sunday, it was covered head to toe in Christmas decorations. There was a giant tree, lights strewn all over, an elf leading kids crafts, and even a snow blower positioned over the entranceway, blowing “snow” on everyone as they walked in. We got really lucky with our timing, and got to spend the afternoon listening to Christmas music and wandering around. While we were there, we also got a crepe, filled with brownie and caramel, and it did not disappoint.

If you ever spend any time in Christchurch, the Botanic Gardens there is an absolute must. Not only are they HUGE, but regardless of time of year (remember, we were here in the dead of winter), there are always different flowers blooming. Even though the weather was chilly, we spent a lot of time walking around the gardens the few days we spent in the city.
We also spent some time in the Canterbury Museum pop up. The actual museum was closed while we were there – they are redesigning it, and it won’t be open again until 2026. That being said, they moved several of the exhibits to this pop up. We enjoyed wandering around and seeing what they had. There was also a photography exhibit going on, so it was really cool to walk around and see all of the different photography – the majority of which had to do with critters (my favorite).

While in the area, we also drove over to Akaroa, which is on a giant peninsula, jutting off the east side of the island, right beside Christchurch. There was a little cheesery, where we stopped and picked up some cheese for charcuterie. The weather on this peninsula (from our limited observations), seems to be cloudy…all the time. What I’m sure would have been a stunning drive, was actually a little frightening, with low visibility and those notorious New Zealand roads, narrow and winding, along the mountainous terrain. We may have to give it another try in the summer, but we’ll pay better attention to the weather before we attempt it again.

The following week was Eric’s 28th birthday, so we ended up going back to the Riverside Market food court to get some food to celebrate. Of course, we also had a dinner planned (complete with a Pak N’ Save mud cake), so we just grabbed a couple of things for a nice lunch. I opted to get us dumplings, both fried and steamed, while Eric picked up some fish and chips. After we reconvened (all Christmas decor gone), we got to enjoy our food. It was delicious! When we are back in the South Island, we’ve decided that we are going to go back and try something new. There were just so many options, and everything we had was delicious. For the birthday dinner, we went to a lovely little Italian restaurant, where Eric got the lamb, and I had a seafood pasta (all of which was delicious). It was a day of good food for sure.

Overall, while Christchurch isn’t my favorite city that we have visited, it still was a lot of fun and we will be going back next time we are in the South Island. It was bustling and full of life even in the winter, so I’m excited to see what they have going on in the summer time. When I was here in 2019, I remember there being live music and a festival of sorts, so I’m hoping we can catch something of the sort next time we are in town.