angel monster (![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif){kind=small} malloreigh) wrote,@ 2007-11-14 00:06:00 |
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| Entry tags: | nz, pictures |
christchurch, new zealand
population: about 380,000
nestled halfway down the south island,
christchurch supports a vibrant arts culture
and boasts more liquor licenses per capita
than any other city in new zealand.
october 4th, 2007: twenty-three
lawn bowling across the street from my hostel, and spring stormclouds.
a house on worcester st.
JD flag in its window. i assumed it was a share house inhabited by alky college students.
webs.
one of the 'urban rooms' houses on barbadoes st at the corner of worcester. urban rooms owns (almost?) all the houses on that block, and operates them as long-term housing for travelers, at the price of a hostel. they are all gaily decorated and have butterflies at their entrances.
another of the urban rooms homes, with a maori-type painting theme.
these are what all the police cars in new zealand look like. the blue-and-orange checker pattern is on the caps the police officers wear as well. i think it's pretty goofy looking.
fiery brush and broken twigs remind me of autumn.
this was a bar/cafe by latimer sq which was on my walk home from the CBD to my hostel. i never went there, though.
ha-ha. i saw this on my way to miengin house which is a chinese vegan place which serves a fake meat they call miengin, which i think is wheat bran.
to the south, the 'mountain'.
the people in this car asked me to take their picture. people got pretty excited to see my camera when i was not in the 'tourist' areas of the towns in new zealand. i also had people assume outright that i was a tourist based on my camera. i guess it is not common for people to carry around big SLRs there.
really lovely sunset.
cute laneways too.
this is a poorly put together panorama of the view southwards, from east to west, at barringtons centre which was a shopping mall south of downtown christchurch where i stopped to take out cash. it was really pretty, with the sun setting on the hills.
i'd seen these guys on my way down that direction and saw them again on my way back. they asked me to take their picture.
i took this picture for lindsay and
ginkths.october 5th, 2007: twenty
i took a series of selfportraits in my room at vagabond backpackers.
check out my great hoodie, covered in ghosts!
tea, and i rolled my own cigarettes. they were not very satisfying.
the backyard at vagabond.
spring's nice, ain't it?
willow tree at town hall and on the banks of the avon river.
the avon winds lazily through christchurch... it's really lovely.
ducks hang out on it.
beautiful architecture in christchurch. i read that originally british settlers wanted to build it into the perfect, church-going representation of a british town - not another of the rough, boozey colony towns that all the rest were developing into. hence the name, christchurch. nowadays, chc boasts the largest number of liquor licenses per capita of any town in new zealand.
i stopped in this little laneway to read in the sunshine. it was filled with great graffiti.
october 6th, 2007: three
i passed this on my way to and from the CBD from vagabond backpackers daily.
"look how how hair has grown!"
do not be deceived; it was merely my lack of conditioner that made it this voluminous.
october 8th, 2007: seven
this is my friend djava on the first day we hung out.
she had to patch the radiator on her car before selling it.
does anyone know what this gets you? quicker access through the drive-thru? i'm not quite clear on the concept.
djava smokes a vanilla cigarette. hand-flavoured.
this was vagabond, where djava and i both were staying.
october 10th, 2007: four
this is the giant chessboard which lives at cathedral square in the center of christchurch.
a great photographic representation of a seagull. they are, as troy as said, different from north american seagulls. much smarter, smaller and better-looking.
the cathedral under construction.
the tram winds through downtown, and also there is a tram restaurant. all very pricy.
october 12th, 2007: one
i moved to chester street backpackers which was smaller and friendlier than vagabond (though vagabond wasn't bad at all). this is the kitchen; i cooked breakfast.
october 13th, 2007: three
me hanging laundry...
and then hanging out at the hostel for the rest of this sunny day.
october 16th, 2007: eleven
sun coming through the curtains in my bedroom.
view from the backdoor at the hostel.
this was pretty cool. quarterly, there would be "really free markets" in latimer park. people could come and bring things to trade, and food was provided by food not bombs christchurch. i didn't get to go to one but i saw lots of wheatpasted posters for ones that had occurred all year.
i still haven't gone to this URL, and i admit i am not all THAT curious, but i saw these posters all over the place.
this is how to cross the street in christchurch.
this is high st., which runs diagonally through the southern CBD. i really liked it, lots of cool shops.
self portrait in the bathroom at C1, which is one of christchurch's coolest coffee shops/restaurants. they had a vegan scramble that i never got because it was $15.
gullfight over the leftovers from a toastie.
october 17th, 2007: two
this was my view from my regular seat at the library where i went to hang out online while in christchurch. i tried to change up my seating but this spot had the best combination of access to power source, view, quietness and table space.
note the usb connector cable (grey) attached to my computer, and also the camera with which i took the photo. the book behind my laptop is sarah waters' "the night watch" which i still haven't finished because i don't actually own a copy of it.
october 19th, 2007: eighteen
the art gallery.
tribute to cherry's autumn vancouver photo which i'd seen earlier in the day.
sculptures outside the art gallery.
tram lines down worcester st toward hagley park.
it is SORTA an untouched world.
the arts centre.
entrance to the botanical gardens.
i loved the pinkish red trees with the sun coming through them at that angle. i couldn't capture it sufficiently but it was so breathtaking. made me homesick for autumn of course.
after this i wandered to the horticultural centre for a vegan potluck which was alright. got lots of yum vegan food.
october 20th, 2007: one
the 20th october was a saturday and we went to oktoberfest which was just a bunch of different kinds of christchurch-brewed beer and girls in cute german costumes serving it. i didn't bring my camera to the event (because everyone else did). later that night i painted watercolours with some people staying at the hostel who were super cool and from new york. as we were playing monopoly, the big fat orange tabby (vinnie) brought in a little mouse he was playing with...
(magdelena captured it and let it free outside)
october 21st, 2007: three
i went to the picasso "bathroom cafe".
it wasn't as cool as it looked.
i imagine that despite its decor it's going to go out of business sooner rather than later.
october 22nd, 2007: fourty-seven
the 22nd was labour day! it was also annekathrin's birthday so we all packed up and went to the beach. i had cut my rat-tail (braid) off the night before so this is a photo of my 'new hair'. i was so ready for the beach.
gossip mags were pretty regular stuff at chester st backpackers. always the old ones.
the porch was so nice that morning.
sam, helena and annekathrin (applying sunscreen).
woohoo, sumner! we went to the beach there. the sand was so soft and fine and white and this giant cave rock adorned the beach.
we were surrounded by the southern 'mountain' that i had admired from afar on my first days in christchurch...
of course i went off to climb cave rock and take photos.
it was a pretty windy day and no more than twenty degrees out but a bunch of people still braved it and got out in their swimmers and shorts.
it still amazes me how violent the surf can be here... i am used to vancouver which is shielded by islands.
i really like this picture.
the sky was lovely.
breathtaking graffiti on cave rock.
annekathrin gets birthday presents!
caroline from north carolina.
dan and kev.
anne got sparkling wine and a new zealand flag.
andy.
steaks in a tupperware container. :O they were kinda grey and weird looking. these people ate lots of meat.
anne's lovely cake, baked with love by helena.
hannah.
helena.
i liked the condensation.
my new shirt which was soooo cute. i am wearing it as i type this.
anne is excited!
the house.
lit candles...
happy barf day anne.
caroline traps and releases a confused bee.
october 23rd, 2007: twelve
the art gallery again, except this time i actually went in.
i was trying to capture how windy it was - fountains were slopping over their edges all over the plizzle. that means place.
i'm so glam.
inspired by abstract art obvies.
i played with the colour on this a bit which made it less boring.
punter! i love that word.
punt punt punt.
october 24th, 2007: two
ducks in a mud puddle after the rain.
for some perspective...
october 25th, 2007: two
the cathedral between trees.
october 28th, 2007: thirty-five
two nights before, on the 26th, we'd all gone out for a drink and a game of pool. on our way we came across a burning bush on the banks of the avon. someone had set some floating tealights on the river and one of them had caught under this bush and set it on fire. it was fairly isolated and on the banks of a river so we decided that there was no harm to be done and settled to watch it burn. (i wish i'd had my camera then!) eventually someone wandered by and asked if we'd called 111. of course we hadn't, and he did, and they arrived in 2.5 minutes (andy timed them) to set the fire out. i'm sure it was the biggest excitement they'd encounter all night.
here is the stump two days after.
i went out to see 'please vote for me' with helena and anne and then went for coffee. anne got a milkshake.
i like this one.
helena's latte.
anne.
my latte.
this is what 'tomato sauce' comes in.
after coffee we went to cathedral square and went into the cathedral. we ended up witnessing a choir practice.
tiled wall.
the stained glass was SO pretty.
that's new zealand's flag, fyi.
GINORMOUS ORGAN. or, ginordan.
the organist.
the choir.
after the cathedral we went to the arts centre and the botanical gardens.
helena.
at the boys' academy...
placing my camera on a drinking fountain and setting the timer would have worked much better if i'd not had only my 50mm lens.
the sports yard of the boys' academy.
the botanical gardens in late arvo (which means afternoon in antipodean).
BABY ANIMALS
everyone else was taking photographs of this flower garden so i did too!
check out the sunshine imprint of 'telephone' inside the booth.
touristy and impressive!
