No matter what you’re looking for, Christchurch seems to have it. Amazing alpine hikes, fantastic downtown restaurants, endless acres of parks and don’t forget sea kayaking, zip-lining, mountain biking and just about everything in-between.

Of course it’s still New Zealand, so they also have earthquakes. 😬

After a few days of getting settled into our place in the city we decided to head out to the hills to get a few more miles under our feet. This time it was a nearly straight-up (and then straight-down) trek overlooking Arthur’s Pass and Devil’s Punchbowl Falls.

Sorry about the washed out pics…that’s the best we could do with the snow and overcast weather. (amateur 🙄)

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Back in the city Tara & I spent a few days running in and around Christchurch’s expansive Botanical Gardens. Now technically speaking I was walking, but I definitely thought about running at least once or twice.

Anyway, the 52 acre gardens are an amazing (and free) getaway in the middle of the city and are also part of the much larger 400+ acre Hagley Park.

After a few days of exploring Christchurch’s city trails, Tara decided she wanted to head back out to the ocean to check out some of their coastal trails…this time to Taylors Mistake.

The views were incredible and the flowers just as beautiful, but this time they came along with a steep drop into the ocean below. Rest assured, we all survived and successfully found our way back to the Sumner Beach Esplanade food trucks. I cannot overstate this enough, DO NOT skip the Canadian Donuts.

A few friendly hikers we met along the way…

By the way, have I mentioned how insanely many trails they have here?!? Whether you’re into running, biking, hiking or sight-seeing, there are literally hundreds of trails to explore…something you-know-who has somehow turned into her personal mission. Hint, I’m not talking about Keira.

So again we forged ahead, this time to Victoria Park. The picture below doesn’t do it justice, but the crater rim hike overlooking Governor’s Bay & Christchurch (behind us) was incredible. To be fair, Keira & I drove up the majority of the way while our two favorite Gump’s ran up that long trail off in the distance. 🏃‍♀️ 🏃

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Good times at the Adrenaline Forest! 🌳

Over the next week or so we’ll be sharing some more pictures of the reconstruction efforts still underway following the massive earthquakes Christchurch suffered in 2010 & 2011. The scale of destruction that they have endured is staggering, but the city that has risen in its place is beautiful. Yes, there are still scars like the remains of the PWC building pictured below which sits as a flooded basement patiently awaiting development. But throughout the city countless new parks, art installations and outdoor eateries have dramatically filled in the void.

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The playground above is just across the street from our apartment in Christchurch…the playground below is just about everywhere in New Zealand.

Come join in the fun!