Every city has its own personal charms and Dunedin no less than any other. There is the wonderful railway station for one. There is the Cadbury chocolate factory, a feature so popular, that you have to book well in advance to get a tour. ….. at $25 a head. We didn’t. Book ahead, I mean. That didn’t stop us going in to the “souvenir shop” and buying some souvenirs, i.e. bars of chocolate. Some souvenirs don’t last as long as the memories. Dunedin also boasts the “Steepest Street in the world”. In the world, no less. They also do a pretty good breaded plaice in the pub on the hexagon.

   
 Christchurch is a different kettle of fish. Whatever it was like ten years ago, a number of earthquakes in the meantime, have stolen its heart. The whole city centre is like a building site. Street after street of construction sites, empty sites or partially collapsed buildings. And all over ….. industrial containers. They are used as containers, (of course). They are used as site offices. They are used to support shaky facades of buildings that have otherwise disappeared. And they are used as shops, restaurants, boutiques and banks. In fact, almost everything a city needs to maintain commerce, is catered for, by the industrial container. Until they finish all that they are rebuilding and decide what else they wish to build, and where to build it. 

   
 Christchurch is a city mixed with sadness and hope, with colour and grey, with an interesting past and a curious future. It is from here, that we say goodbye to New Zealand. It has been great.