Published on Feb, 2025
This was a wonderful tour! Since there was only my husband and I, Andrew asked us right off what types of things we like to do/see; landscape/countryside, shopping (no - not for us), food/wine tasting, city sights and then tailored our excursion to our preferences. Andrew was very enthusiastic and you could tell that he loves his city, Christchurch. Unfortunately, the day started out overcast and rainy but as we drove up into the hills it began to clear a bit so that we could see the snow covered Alps as well as Pegasus Bay and the city below us. We saw the new NZ Stadium that is being built that will be able to host multiple sports, the Cardboard Cathredral; all the murals (must see the 3D mural and the interactive mural); the public library (I was surprised at how busy it was - they have a play area for children and they offer, at no cost, things like sewing machines, 3D printers, computer labs); Christchurch Cathedral which sustained so much damage, it is unusable (and unfortunately, the gov't has put repairs for this iconic church on the back burner due to lack of money and other pressing matters (according to a YouTube video, restoration will be complete in 2028 - I hope it is)); Riverside Market where we at The Butcher's Pie (it was fabulous); saw some "busker" acts. What's a busker you ask?? Andrew asked if we had "busker's back in the states and I had never even heard the word and kept asking him to repeat the word. Then he pointed a busker out and I said "you mean street performers!" Apparently the World's Busker Festival is held in Christchurch and we were able to watch one of the acts. Make sure to ask Andrew to take you to Rollickin' Gelato for some awesome gelato! When it was time to head back Andrew gave us the option of going directly back to our cruise ship or to go by way of Evan's Pass Road along the bay which of course we opted for. It was beautiful!
I can't thank Andrew enough for a wonderful day and for his enthusiasm which came through all day when he was showing us around. Andrew promised we would be back in time to catch the bus back to the pier and we were! I don't think that anyone can do justice to a city by visiting for only one day, and I wish we'd had more time, but this tour showed us the highlights of the city, and the best part is it was customized to our tastes. I would definitely do this tour with Andrew again so I could see the "rest of Christchurch"! I highly recommend Christchurch Tesla Tours!
