With its single-family homes on small plots of land intermixed with office buildings, Christchurch reminds me of Campbell, CA, without the air pollution, cars, and litter. It’s a flat, walkable town with more green areas and bird song than Campbell. Christchurch Botanic Garden is huge and offers a unique dining experience among the birds of the garden. I highly recommend stopping for a bite to eat at the ilex café and sitting outside if the weather permits.

The town itself sprawls, as do all New Zealand cities. Devastated in the 2011 earthquake, Christchurch is still recovering. The city got rid of the organically built container mall that sprouted up after the quake in an effort on business’ parts to keep the economy rolling. While a tentative agreement has been reached to rebuild the Anglican Cathedral, it doesn’t look like much movement has been made in the construction.

Mother Nature has claimed some parts of the city as her own. One lot contains Black-billed gulls roosting in the ruins of a missing building. There are plenty of things to do in Christchurch, but perhaps the best is just walking through the city renewal projects and enjoying the gardens and what nature has to offer.