Showing posts with label bus tour. Show all posts
Showing posts with label bus tour. Show all posts
Thursday, 26 July 2012
Sunday, 22 July 2012
Beyond the Cordon - Red Zone Bus Tour
(Fanciest bus in town for the Red Zone Tour!)
Red Zone Tours have started so we booked online and headed along to see just what the fuss was about – is it worth paying $15 per person to see our own city.
Our tour started just as the fog that had hidden the battered city centre since morning started to lift. While chilly on the bus till the end, the low cloud cover diffused the direct sunlight allowing a panoramic view on all sides of the bus uninterrupted by any dazzling sunlight.
(Back of the bus is an ad for the tour!)
We arrived at the advised 10 minutes before departure only to
find that all the higher seats at the back of the bus had already been
taken. We sat in the middle
belly section of the bus but still found the view to be fine. The bus was obviously the Red Bus Company’s newest addition
- swank but the yellow swoosh window coverings at the front and back of the bus did
obscure the view outside a bit.
(Traveling down Salisbury St. (seen from the Motel))
There was the obligatory safety talk about remaining seated and to follow the instructions of the staff in case an emergency evacuation was necessary. After going on the first Red Zone bus tour several months ago I knew they were realistic warnings as the bus was indeed to pass right beside many buildings that are on the demolition list.
(Passing very close to protective containers...)
The commentary was a live presentation by a representative
of the Canterbury Museum which added credence to the narrative. How participants appreciate the information will
depend on just who they were. Myself, living
just 1 block from the Red Zone barrier, and having seen a lot since the quakes really
wanted more. More stories, more
statistics, more anything….more than what I already knew. But for someone from the outer suburbs who
had avoided the Central City area since the quakes or even a traveler from
outside of Christchurch or even from overseas may have found the scenes from
the bus windows and the commentary an absolutely mind boggling gooble of over
information that left them numb at the end of the 40 minutes.
(Octagon Live)
There was a graphic presentation using past & present
photos etc. playing on the screen at the front of the bus but the screen was
a bit too small even from ½ way down the bus. But, I would also say that what with concentrating
on the commentary and looking out the window I did not find myself looking at
the screen too much so maybe it is just right the way it is.
(Looking west from Cathedral Square)
Our tour was 40 minutes long and of that we would have spent
only about ½ in the actual Red Zone. But
this did not subtract from the Tour and if anything gave an overview as areas
of interest outside of the Red Zone were also introduced during the tour. We even drove right past the Motel down
Salisbury St. and photographed the next tour for effect!
(Red Zone bus passes a top quality Motel)
Some have dismissed these tours because most of the Red Zone
can now be seen from outside the fence due to the various cordon reductions but
taking the bus tour does allow close up and personal glimpses of parts of
central Christchurch no-one without a Red Zone pass has seen with their own
eyes for a very long time. It also
allows a close up view of places we walked of right pre 22 Feb.
(View from the bus window.)
For the visitor from outside of Christchurch or outside of
New Zealand, it gives them a chance to see what happened and is still happening
in our everyday lives. It helps them
learn about Christchurch now and we need these people to take our story,
Christchurch’s story back home with them so that the world can develop an
understanding of what has happened to our beautiful city.
(Christ Church Cathedral - the pigeons love it!)
After the tour, we visited the Earthquake Exhibit in the
Canterbury Museum which we thoroughly recommend to all visitors to
Christchurch – especially those that choose to take the Red Zone Bus Tour.
Footnote:
As mentioned in our previous blogs, we will be offering our
Red Zone Bus Tour Special.
At CentrePoint on Colombo Motel, we will pay up to $10 each
for up to 2 persons per room for direct reservation guests who stay with us on
Fri, Sat or Sun nights until the end of August 2012 and take the Red Zone Bus Tour – and you get to stay just 1 block from the
edge of the Red Zone northern boundary. *Subject to terms & conditions.
Wednesday, 13 June 2012
Christchurch CBD Red Zone Bus Tour
(A Red Bus that may tour the Red Zone in the background)
It’s been a while but the bus company which will, if they
choose to, have the right to run Red Zone Bus Tours has been decided as.....yes
you guessed it..... Red Bus Company.
This round of Red Zone Bus Tours were announced 1 April and
a competitive tender process has now taken place. It’s only taken 2
months and in that time it could be argued that much of what could have been
seen back then is no longer there now.
So, will we get Red Bus Red Zone Bus Tours? Are we going to
see a yet another new acronym - RBRZBT - in Christchurch? Approved by
CERA and run by Red Bus around an area once overseen by CCC that CCDU is now
recreating. If they do take place, participants will need a dictionary…..
It'll be interesting to see if Red Bus actually do take up
their option because Durham St. and Gloucester St. are opening this Friday so
most people will be able to do their own tour and therefore it may be hard to
get them to part with cash for such a tour.
While this was all a good idea back when it was first
thought up my guess is that the Red Zone is just too small with too many
accessible nooks & crannies now to be sellable. The other thing is that
apart from bare land there just aint that much to see any more.
But good on Red Bus for putting their hand up to do the
tours, it just may well be that time was not on their side. If they do
run Red Bus Red Zone Tours then our original offer to pay for them (conditions
apply) does of course stand!
So, if you get the chance, stay with us and get a Free Red
Bus Red Zone Bus Tour – sorry but yes another acronym to remember.
How the buildings are disappearing faster than Red Bus Red Zone Bus Tours can be organized...
(12 May 2012)
(11 June 2012)
Thursday, 1 December 2011
Reclaiming our City – the Red Zone Bus Tour
23 Nov. 5.40pm to 6.20pm, the RED ZONE, Christchurch.
This blog is more for our past, present and future guests than the people of Christchurch, but maybe they will also relate to what is said.
At present the motel and where we live is just 1 small block from the edge of the Red Zone. In fact, for the first 18 days after the 22 Feb quake, we were behind the cordon and under curfew from 6pm to 6am. Most Christchurch people have no idea what that could be like, and many have not seen the city centre that we live and breathe in every day. For many, the RED ZONE bus tours would have been the first visit to that area since the quake, but for us driving around and living right next to the Red Zone is an everyday reality.
But still, actually going inside the barrier instead of walking along the outside of the fence was a time of mixed emotions. One thing for sure was that there were no feelings of excitement and that no doubt resulted in mr16’s comment that it was boring. He was looking for a live demolition site that could not be seen from the barrier and was as disappointed as a 16 year old could be. For the record, mr12 recorded the whole trip on his ipod.
To be honest, I first declared that I would not do the tour but the *Bucket List* emotion took over and we did the once in a lifetime experience.
We walked the 5 minutes to Cramner Square and read the cautions before boarding the bus. The warning that we may well not survive the tour if there was an earthquake was absurdly surreal but once in the Zone it was easy to see what was meant as the bus crawled along right next to large buildings that are on the demolition list. CERA was right.
On entering the Red Zone I was immediately struck by the surrealistic situation we were actually in. Going to the city centre was a right that was torn away from us by a force of nature to the extent that 8 months on all that has been achieved is a snail paced bus ride around the Zone. Nature has indeed triumphed in a perverse way.
The atmosphere on our bus was solemn but cheerful, quiet ruled but riders gently spoke of items of interest. Looking out the window at pavements we used to walk on, restaurants we used to eat in, grassy areas we used to sit on and eat ice cream. It was surreal seeing how tormented the whole central city area is. We knew about the buildings, they have been well publicised. It was the parks, roads, riverbanks etc. that we were seeing for the first time that was surprising. The bike stand outside Icecream Charlie’s park had half sunken into the earth, as in an attempt to escape the absolute loneliness of the place. It’s easy to say that the whole central city area is buggered.
On a technical note, while the bus tour allowed close up viewing, a lot of what we saw could be seen by walking around the edge of the red zone, especially the CTV and PGC building sites.
On a lighter note, the bling that littered the ground outside what used to be the Louis Vuitton shop was bizarrely dazzling and driving under the raised arm of a massive demo digger that spanned an intersection with room to spare showed the immensity of the task being faced in the country’s largest work site.
From the point of an inner city business owner who has been battling the tyranny of proximity to the Red Zone, it was clear that those who have still existing leases that will force them to trade once the barriers are removed will find the situation harsh, having to trade in what is essentially a dessert with a smattering of oases. Many may well just trade until they are forced out of business. It is my hope that Christchurch people and visitors to our city support these businesses in unending orgy of shopping because by god these owners will need it.
So should you do the tour? Yes you should. There is something for everyone in the Red Zone because it’s everyone’s city and it’s a way to reclaim it, reclaim it from nature, reclaim it from the diggers and reclaim it from CERA.
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