Hi, I'm travelling to Christchurch for the weekend in late November- what should I try and see while I'm there? I'm an amateur happy snapper so I'll be bringing my camera along to record my visit. I'm not a great night lifer, so I'll probably be back at the hotel room at night choosing what photos to upload to Photobucket.

Any suggestions would be well appreciated.

The botanical gardens and the adjacent museum, must sees, IMO, are good for several hours. November should be a great time for the gardens.
There is a great little cafe in the gardens near the fountain, can't remember the name, for lunch.

There's a weekend market at the Arts Centre.

Mona Vale is another garden and old house not far from center of town.

The Art Museum is an interesting building even if you aren't interested in what is inside.

Think about an excursion to Lyttleton and Akaroa (Banks Peninsular by the Summit Road).

Hi,

I was going to suggest Lyttleton too. The view of the harbour as you descend toward it is quite spectacular. You can get there by bus, and there's the Bridle Path to walk - great views though steepish. There's also an aerial "thing" which I thought you could use for some of the journey too. However, it's years since I was last there, so just checked quickly.

It's not really clear from the website how the "Gondola" and Bridle Path connect, but anyway here it is:

http://www.gondola.co.nz/

Cathedral Square is a focal point.

Cheers,

Thanks for your replies. I'm thinking of a day in the city and a day's excursion out of the city. I'll make sure I'll visit the Botanic Gardens, and I am a sucker for museums. Are Lyttleton and Akaroa doable in a day or only one or the other?

Akaroa is a great little day trip. Quaint little town with lots of restaurants and charm. The drive is interesting.

Hi Sydney -

We visisted Sumner, Lyttleton and Akaroa in one day. It was a full day, but certainly doable. Here's an excerpt from my trip report regarding that particular day:
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We woke to a completely cloudless sky with a high of 16c expected. On the advice of Adam, one of the proprietors of De Lago, we decided to explore Sumner and the port town of Lyttelton.

Sumner reminded me of a more populated Nelson with homes perched up on the rocks overlooking the bay. We explored Sumner Beach and the esplanade, very pretty with all the flowers in bloom. We followed the sign to Taylor’s Mistake on a narrow road that led to houses on a hill (Scarborough) overlooking Sumner Beach. We ditched the car at Nicholson Park, embarking on Taylor’s Mistake Walkway, a path of switchbacks along the coastal cliffs, which eventually lead us to the small seaside community of Taylor’s Mistake.

This was a pretty, undulating (yes, that word again!) walk overlooking the sea. Instead of walking down to the beach, we took the 193 steps up to the road and returned to Nicholson Park, walking just under two miles in less than an hour. Back in the car, we drove down to Taylor’s Mistake, literally the end of the road. There were many families out enjoying the Sunday afternoon. We noticed that several walks and bike trails on Godley’s Head originate from here.

We backtracked to Sumner Beach, busy with surfers, and took Evan’s Pass to Lyttelton. We soon found ourselves winding along on some extremely narrow streets, surrounded by houses built into the steep hillside. It reminded me somewhat of Battery Point in Hobart, Tasmania. We parked and explored the tiny town of Lyttelton on foot.

We had a light lunch on the patio at Freeman’s, then popped into the local milk store for our last few scoops of ice cream.

Back on the road, we continued our drive, passing Governors Bay and heading towards Akaroa. It’s pretty through here and we saw many lambs. As we approached Akaroa, we chose the Tourist Summit Road, working our way down to Duvauchelle. We’d walked the Onawe Peninsula on a previous trip and considered walking it again, but decided against it and headed to Akaroa, where we parked and walked along the pier.

We left via the Eastern Bay Tourist Drive, winding along the upper rim of Banks Peninsula. There are some fabulous views of Akaroa and the valley from up here.

On a whim, we stopped at Otepatatu Scenic Reserve and walked to Bluff Viewpoint and on to Laverick’s Peak (50 minutes return, 1.1 mile). This was a great little walk with spectacular 360 degree views from the top. We were surprised to find rainforest up here, on the top of an otherwise dry peninsula. As we sat atop Laverick’s Peak soaking up those incredible views with no one else in sight, we reflected on what a wonderful trip we’d had and only wished we’d had a bottle of wine.

We returned to Christchurch via Tourist Drives 1, 2, 3, unfamiliar territory for us; a really nice drive with gorgeous views.
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If you like museums, be sure to leave time for the Canterbury museum which is also near the Art Museum. One of the best regional museums I've seen, and love the upstairs Antarctic explorers exhibit with the Shackleton artifacts.

You didn't ask for a hotel recommendation, but I'll plug the Windsor Hotel again. Great location for the gardens and museums, and on the tourist tram loop. I like it better than the inner city hotel locations. Can't beat the full breakfast, either.

www.windsorhotel.co.nz

Thanks for your replies. Bill, thanks ofr your description of Akaroa, and Mel, thanks for your travelogue, I'll be sure to take a copy and map it out. I'll be travelling by bus, so I'll be restricted somewhat, but I don't think that much. Mlgb, I'm staying at the Jailhouse hostel, they have been very responsive to my e-mails, and I think they'll be able to map a good bus/foot tour for both the city and Lyttleton and Akaroa.

There's a daily bus run to Akaroa. Check out the times, etc., when you get there. I never rode it , but my son took it many times when he worked in Akaroa for a season.

Oh, yeah, they have a great backpacker lodge in Akaroa also.

If you're keen on photography you might want to consider hot air ballooning for some good pics! It's very affordable in NZ compared to other places.

And now for something completely different..................you could drive a tank in Christchurch.

When we were in NZ earlier this year I saw a small ad for "Tanks for Everything" - near the Christchurch airport. They have a variety of military vehicles you can drive, including a Centurion Tank. Well, I knew my husband would want to do that so off we went. He had a ball!

http://www.tanksforeverything.co.nz/