Kaikoura to Christchurch

Woke up to an overcast morning. Before heading to Christchurch we had a nice breakfast prepared by our host Julie, during which we enjoyed chatting with her and her other guests (Austrian and Chinese couples). Decided not to go on a whale watching tour given the weather - the rain was on its way. Took a very slow drive to Christchurch... The road was difficult with a lot of road work and detours, many landslides from the earthquake were still visible and the rain finally caught up with us and contributed to our slow pace.
Arrived at the Rendezvous hotel, our room was on the 11th floor so the view was terrific. Unfortunately, apart from the mountain ranges in the distance we were only able to see the devastation Christchurch suffered during the 2011 earthquake. Apparently, the Rendezvous hotel was the only hotel in the city that was untouched, all other buildings surrounding the hotel were very badly damaged so the whole area now, being empty of buildings, resembles a gigantic, empty car park. Nearby were the crumbling remnants of the once stunning Christchurch cathedral... From there we walked downtown, then to the Botanical gardens, which are magnificent and in

places intersected by the very pretty Avon river. On the way back we stopped for a simple bite to eat at a local and not so fancy Japanese joint, where we had some ramen soup and teriyaki. Our final stop on our walk around Christchurch was a visit to the "185 Chairs" memorial - to the people who died during the earthquake - and to the "Cardboard Cathedral".