Christchurch is the largest city on New Zealand's South Island and the usual arrival point for it. It was laid out in the 1850s as an English cathedral city on a flat plain, complete with a river called the Avon, Gothic revival stone and a grid of streets named after English bishoprics, and for a century and a half that was its whole identity.
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THEN ON 22 FEBRUARY 2011 AN EARTHQUAKE KILLED 185 PEOPLE AND DESTROYED MUCH OF THE CENTRE. It is impossible to write usefully about visiting Christchurch without saying that, because the city you walk through is visibly shaped by it: gaps where buildings stood, new architecture beside braced Victorian stone, and a cathedral still part ruin in the main square. A great deal of what is most interesting here is the rebuild rather than what survived it.
THE PART THAT IS GENUINELY USEFUL FOR A VISITOR, and which older guidebooks will not tell you, IS THAT THIS IS NOW ONE OF THE MOST SERIOUSLY EARTHQUAKE-ENGINEERED CITIES ON EARTH. The rebuild went up to standards written in response to what happened, with base isolation and ductile design in the new buildings, and the result is a modern low-rise centre built by people who had every reason to take it seriously. The general New Zealand guidance below applies here as everywhere, and there is nothing about Christchurch that makes it a riskier place to stand than Wellington.
What the city is now is open, green, flat, easy to walk and cycle, with a food and bar scene that grew up in shipping containers and then into permanent buildings, and the Southern Alps two hours away.
What you pack is set by Canterbury's four-seasons-in-a-day weather, a hot dry wind called the nor'wester, and some of the strongest ultraviolet in the world.
The Centre, the Gardens and the Port Hills
A square with a ruined cathedral, the best botanic gardens in the country, and hills with a view of the Alps.
Cathedral Square is the place to start and to understand. The Anglican cathedral was wrecked in 2011 and has spent years in a contested limbo between demolition and restoration, and reinstatement work is now under way. A few minutes away, the TRANSITIONAL CATHEDRAL, universally called the Cardboard Cathedral, was designed by Shigeru Ban out of cardboard tubes, timber and shipping containers as a temporary replacement and is a genuinely moving building. The 185 Empty Chairs memorial, an installation of white-painted chairs of every kind, one for each person who died, sits nearby and needs no explanation.
QUAKE CITY is a small museum dedicated to the earthquakes and is the clearest hour you can spend on what happened and why, with survivor accounts and salvaged objects. The Canterbury Museum and the Christchurch Art Gallery are both free and both good.
THE BOTANIC GARDENS ARE THE BEST IN NEW ZEALAND and wrap inside a loop of the Avon in the middle of Hagley Park, which is larger than Hyde Park. Punting on the Avon in a flat-bottomed boat with a man in a boater is as ludicrous and as pleasant as it sounds. New Regent Street is a single curved row of pastel Spanish Mission shopfronts with the tram running through it, and Riverside Market is where the city eats.
The PORT HILLS rise immediately south, and the gondola or the drive up Summit Road gives you the city, the plains, the Pacific and the Southern Alps in one sweep. Below them, Lyttelton is the working port town over the hill, hit hard in 2011 and now the best small bar scene in the region. Sumner has the beach.
Christchurch is also where Antarctic expeditions have staged for over a century, and the International Antarctic Centre near the airport is better than it sounds.
Recommended Tours and Experiences
Akaroa, Arthur's Pass and the TranzAlpine
A French harbour village, a mountain pass, and one of the great train journeys.
AKAROA is ninety minutes southeast on Banks Peninsula, a harbour village in a drowned volcanic crater with a French settlement history that it leans into heavily, street names included. It is the standard day trip and the harbour cruises there see Hector's dolphins, the smallest and rarest marine dolphin in the world.
THE TRANZALPINE IS THE BEST THING YOU CAN DO FROM CHRISTCHURCH WITHOUT A CAR. The train runs from here across the Canterbury Plains, up through the gorges of the Waimakariri and over Arthur's Pass to Greymouth on the west coast, in about five hours, and the middle two hours are extraordinary. You can go out and back in a day.
Arthur's Pass itself is a national park two and a half hours away with alpine walking and kea. Mount Hutt and Porters are the nearest ski fields, about ninety minutes. Hanmer Springs, with thermal pools, is a two hour drive north. Kaikoura, two and a half hours up the coast, is the whale watching town, and Tekapo and Aoraki Mount Cook are three to four hours southwest.
Getting around: the central city is flat, compact and best on a bike or on foot, with a free tram loop that is a tourist ride rather than transport. Buses cover the suburbs. A car is wanted for Akaroa and the Alps, and Christchurch airport is the South Island's main international gateway, which is why most visitors start here.
When to Go
December to March for warmth, and expect four seasons in a day whenever you come.
Canterbury is drier and sunnier than most of New Zealand, sheltered by the Alps: daytime highs from about 12C in July to 23C in January, with frosts in winter and a large daily range.
DECEMBER TO MARCH IS SUMMER in the southern hemisphere, which is the thing to get straight: January and February are the warm, busy, expensive months, with long evenings and everything open.
March and April are excellent, with settled weather, autumn colour in Hagley Park, and fewer people.
Winter from June to August is cold, frosty and often bright, with the ski fields running and the city quiet and cheap. It is a perfectly good time to come if the Alps are the point.
Spring, September to November, is the least predictable and the windiest.
TWO LOCAL WEATHER FEATURES WORTH KNOWING. The NOR'WESTER is a hot dry wind that comes down off the Alps, can lift the temperature sharply and is notorious for making people irritable; it also drives the region's fire risk. And the whole South Island does FOUR SEASONS IN A DAY as a matter of routine, so a morning that starts at 8C and sunny can be 20C, then raining, then windy, before evening. That is not a cliche here, it is the packing instruction.
Is Christchurch Safe for Women Travelers
A safe, easy small city. The sun is the most underestimated risk, then the weather, then the ordinary.
The FCDO publishes no advised-against areas anywhere in New Zealand and no country-level warning. What it names instead is geology and weather: this is a seismically and volcanically active country, it sits on the boundary of two tectonic plates, and the advice is about knowing what to do rather than about avoiding anywhere. Alongside that it names rapidly changing alpine weather, flooding, and the ordinary caution about valuables left in a parked car, which is the one real crime risk a visitor meets here and which is concentrated at trailheads and scenic car parks.
Earthquakes and volcanoes, and what to actually do: New Zealand straddles the boundary between the Australian and Pacific plates, which is why it has the mountains, the geothermal fields and the fiords, and the same geology produces thousands of earthquakes a year of which a handful are felt. The response taught in every school here is DROP, COVER, HOLD: get down, get under a table or against an interior wall away from windows, and hold on until the shaking stops, rather than running outside, where falling masonry is the danger. ON THE COAST THE RULE IS DIFFERENT AND IS THE ONE THAT SAVES LIVES: if an earthquake is LONG or STRONG, meaning you cannot stand up or it lasts more than a minute, do not wait for an official warning. Move inland or to high ground immediately, because a local-source tsunami can arrive in minutes. The volcanic risk is concentrated in the central North Island around Taupo, Tongariro and Ruapehu, and on White Island, and GNS Science publishes a volcanic alert level that walking routes are closed against. Both hazards are a matter of knowing the procedure, not of avoidance.
THE SUN IS THE HAZARD VISITORS GET MOST WRONG AND IT IS NOT A SMALL POINT. New Zealand has some of the highest ultraviolet levels of any inhabited country: the ozone layer over the southern hemisphere is thinner, the air is exceptionally clean, and in summer the Earth is closer to the sun. The UV index here routinely reaches EXTREME in December and January and unprotected skin can burn in well under twenty minutes. IT DOES NOT FEEL LIKE DANGEROUS SUN, because the air temperature is mild and there is often a breeze, which is exactly why people burn badly on a 20C day. New Zealand and Australia have the highest melanoma rates in the world.
Weather is second. Four seasons in a day means a day trip to Arthur's Pass or the Port Hills can turn genuinely cold and wet with little warning, and the alpine areas are serious terrain where people get into trouble by setting off dressed for the city they left.
Third, the ordinary. Christchurch is a safe city by international standards and the practical risk is petty: THEFT FROM PARKED CARS, which the FCDO names for New Zealand generally and which is concentrated at trailheads, scenic car parks and beach car parks. Leave nothing visible, ever, including in a boot. The central bar areas have the usual late-night behaviour of such districts. Earthquake aftershocks are a normal part of life in New Zealand and are not a reason for concern.
New Zealand has a RECIPROCAL HEALTH AGREEMENT with the UK covering medically necessary treatment in public hospitals, which is genuinely useful and is not comprehensive: it does not cover repatriation, it does not cover private care, and it does not cover a rescue. WHAT MAKES INSURANCE NON-OPTIONAL HERE IS THE ACCIDENT COMPENSATION CORPORATION, the ACC, which is the thing visitors find surprising. ACC covers treatment for accidental injury for everyone in New Zealand including tourists, no-fault, which means a broken ankle on a trail is largely paid for. In exchange you cannot sue, and ACC does NOT pay for repatriation, for a helicopter off a mountain in every circumstance, or for the cost of cutting a trip short. Tap water is drinkable, and a pharmacy, called a chemist, deals with small problems.
Day to day the city is friendly, quiet and easy, eating alone is completely unremarkable, and solo women travel here in very large numbers, since this is where most South Island trips begin. Mobile coverage is good in the city and patchy in the mountains.
The Christchurch Packing List
Base layers, for four seasons in one day
A climate that runs from frost to 23C within a day, with wind and rain in between, is the straightforward case for merino: it regulates rather than insulating in one direction, keeps working when damp, and resists odour across a trip that will move between a city and the Alps. Our merino base layers are 100% Australian merino at 17.5 micron with no synthetic blend. A long sleeve merino wool base layer for women is also the best everyday sun cover you can wear here, which matters more in New Zealand than almost anywhere.
Sun protection, treated as a safety item
A wide brim sun hat and a high factor sunscreen, reapplied. This is the single most important item on a New Zealand list in summer: extreme UV, deceptive mild air, and the highest melanoma rates in the world. A broad brim beats a cap because ears and the back of the neck are where people burn.
A windproof, waterproof shell
A packable rain jacket for women. Rain arrives quickly, the nor'wester and the southerly both blow hard, and this is the layer that makes a change of weather a non-event rather than the end of the day.
A warm mid layer
A fleece mid layer. Evenings cool sharply even in January, the Port Hills are windier than the plain, and a winter day here is properly cold with frost.
Shoes you can walk and climb in
Walking shoes with grip. The city is flat and endlessly walkable, and the Port Hills tracks and anything in Arthur's Pass are loose, steep and often wet. Merino wool socks.
Insect repellent for the hills and the coast
Insect repellent. Christchurch itself is mild, but anywhere on the west coast or in the bush means SANDFLIES, which are the one genuinely unpleasant New Zealand insect and which make a repellent worth carrying from the start.
The small things
Sunglasses, which are equipment here rather than a style choice. A reusable bottle; tap water is excellent. Layers you can take off and put back on repeatedly, because that is literally what the day requires. Nothing left visible in a hire car, which is the one piece of local crime advice that matters. AND THE ONE THING THAT ACTUALLY MATTERS: a sun strategy rather than a bottle of sunscreen in a bag, because the UV here burns people who would never burn at home.
Essential Resources for Women in Christchurch
Emergency numbers: 111 for police, ambulance and fire, free from any phone and reaching a single national dispatch. For non-urgent police matters the number is 105. Healthline on 0800 611 116 gives free nurse advice at any hour and is the right first call for anything that is not an emergency.
Earthquake guidance: DROP, COVER, HOLD indoors, rather than running outside. On the coast, if shaking is LONG or STRONG, move inland or to high ground immediately without waiting for an official warning. Aftershocks are normal and are not a reason for alarm.
Main hospital or clinic: Christchurch Hospital is a large public hospital with a full emergency department in the central city. The 24 Hour Surgery on Bealey Avenue is the walk-in urgent care centre and is the right destination for anything short of an emergency. Dial 111 for an ambulance, which is charged a part-fee.
Official health authority: the New Zealand Ministry of Health, Manatu Hauora. New Zealand has a reciprocal health agreement with the UK covering medically necessary public hospital treatment, and ACC covers accidental injury for everyone including visitors on a no-fault basis, which is unusually generous. Neither covers repatriation or private care, so travel insurance is still necessary
US Embassy: the United States Embassy in Wellington.
Official tourism authority: Tourism New Zealand. And with the Department of Conservation for any walking in the national parks, which holds the track conditions and alerts, plus MetService for the weather, which in Canterbury changes faster than a forecast app updates
The 22 February 2011 earthquake killed 185 people and destroyed much of the centre. The rebuild went up to seismic standards written afterwards, which makes this one of the most earthquake-engineered cities anywhere.
New Zealand has some of the highest UV in the world. Extreme index values in December and January, burning in under twenty minutes, and it does not feel like dangerous sun because the air is mild.
Four seasons in a day is literal here, and the alpine day trips are serious terrain.
Theft from parked cars is the one real crime risk, concentrated at trailheads and scenic car parks. Leave nothing visible.
US State Department travel advisory: the New Zealand advisory. Read the current level there directly rather than relying on a figure printed in any guide.
UK FCDO travel advice: gov.uk/foreign-travel-advice/new-zealand, and read the safety and security page rather than only the landing page, because that is where the substance sits.
Solo women safety assessment: Christchurch is a safe, friendly and easy small city, and because it is where most South Island trips begin, solo women travel through it in very large numbers; eating alone is completely unremarkable and the flat compact centre is pleasant to walk and cycle. The most underestimated risk here is the sun rather than anything else: New Zealand has among the highest ultraviolet levels of any inhabited country because the southern ozone layer is thinner, the air is very clean and the Earth is closer to the sun in the southern summer, so the index reaches EXTREME in December and January and skin burns in under twenty minutes, and the reason people get caught is that it does not feel like dangerous sun when the air is 20C with a breeze. New Zealand and Australia have the highest melanoma rates in the world. Weather is second: four seasons in a day is a literal description here, and a day trip to the Port Hills or Arthur's Pass can turn cold and wet quickly, with the alpine areas being genuinely serious terrain where the common mistake is setting off dressed for the city. Third are the ordinary items, and the only real crime risk is petty theft from parked cars, which the FCDO names for the country and which concentrates at trailheads, scenic pull-offs and beach car parks, so nothing visible is left in a vehicle including in a boot. Earthquake aftershocks are a normal part of New Zealand life and the guidance is the national one rather than anything specific to this city.
Reading On
For the country-level picture, start with the New Zealand travel guide for women. For why wool rather than cotton when the weather changes four times a day, read the guide to merino wool base layers for women. Every destination we cover is indexed at the travel packing guide for women, and the base layers are at the Roman Trail collection.
If the outer journey is calling you, the inner one usually is too. Explore SoulMap at romantrail.com/blogs/soulmap.
