THE GARDEN CITY
Known as the "Garden City", Christchurch is generally regarded as New Zealand's most attractive city and is certainly the largest in the South Island. It is where I lived for almost 40 years, now being based in Tawa near Wellington.

SIZE AND LAYOUT
With a population of more than 300,000, Christchurch has about the same number of people as Wellington (and associated cities). Greater Wellington is much more spread out, its various communities (such as Tawa) being separated by hills and valleys. Christchurch however is very flat and geographically "compact" - so that it really doesn't take too long to get from one side of town to the other. It is bounded by the Port Hills at its southern end, by the Pacific Ocean on the east, and the Canterbury Plains north and west (mostly west).

CLIMATE
Its temperature range is more extreme than that of Wellington, often experiencing overnight frosts in the winter, zero celsius down to minus 6 or 7 degrees below (i.e. 32 degrees fahrenheit down to 18) but some rather warm norwesterly days (warm fohn winds) in the summer, with temperatures occasionally exceeding 30 degrees (86 degrees fahrenheit). However, like New Zealand's climate generally, Christchurch weather is inconsistent. A 30 degree summer's day may well be followed by one no warmer than perhaps 15-16 degrees (60 degrees fahrenheit). Summer temperatures generally are more likely to be in the low to mid 20s celsius range (68-78 degrees fahrenheit). Average annual rainfall is around 650mm (26 inches), about half that of either Wellington or Auckland.

A GOOD PLACE TO BE
Christchurch is one of the top three tourist destinations in New Zealand, providing plenty to see and do. The picturesque Avon River meanders through the centre of town (and out into the suburbs), and the city in general is particularly nice in springtime with trees in blossom and again in autumn with many trees "ablaze with gold". Enough good days are experienced in summer for one to enjoy the many beaches (more good days than Wellington enjoys), but the water temperature may take a bit of getting used to! The Port Hills (mentioned earlier) are a great vantage point to view the metropolitan sprawl and, on the other side (of the hills), Lyttelton harbour. Within 90 minutes travelling time one can get to mountains and skifields in the west, or to the pleasant township of Akaroa on Banks Peninsula (southeast), or to "semi-alpine" Hanmer Springs in the north with its distinctive hot pools and many forest walks.

PRIDE IN PROVINCE
With good reason, Christchurch people are generally very proud of their city and province (Canterbury - home of the "red and blacks") and, in terms of parochialism, are likely to display a greater loyalty to their hometown than will be found in New Zealand's major North Island cities. There's a lot of truth in the saying that ..... "You can take the man out of Canterbury, but you can't take Canterbury out of the man." I'm a case in point.


Weather Footnote .....
It's Thursday, January 3rd, 2002 as I add this paragraph. We've been holidaying in Christchurch since just before Christmas. The weather has been a merry mixture of cloudy days, rain and sunshine. On the whole it's been pretty reasonable with temperatures generally in the 19-24 degree range (66-75 fahrenheit). The past two days have been somewhat warmer however. Yesterday started off cloudy but by afternoon that dispersed to bathe the city in brilliant sunshine and a top temperature of 31 degrees (88 fahrenheit). Needless to say, we spent much of the afternoon at the beach. Today's sun was hidden a lot more often by pesky cloud cover, the warm norwest wind was more blustery, but we still reached a high of 30 degrees - according to the television weather people. The maximum temperatures reached at home in Wellington on the same days were 21 and 22 degrees respectively (70 and 72 fahrenheit), not quite as warm!
A week later - Thursday, January 10th, 2002. We're back in Wellington. The maximum temperatures in Christchurch over the past four days have been in the 16-19 degree range (61-66 fahrenheit), a little cooler than when we were there and certainly cooler than in Wellington! The point being made is that you never quite know what to expect in a New Zealand summer, Christchurch fluctuating more than most!