from Lyttleton to Christchurch, NZ

[Arizona traveler]

On the New Zealand cruise, the ship will dock at Lyttleton. What is the best way to get from this port to Christchurch?

[MINIMAD]

There will be plenty of shuttles and buses going to and from the city all day. It was never a problem when we have done the cruises into Christchurch or Dunedin

[Kiwi Kruzer]

As said above ,easy to get into Christchurch from Lyttleton. Being a working container port you cannot walk through the port, so the port puts on a shuttle to take you to the Visitors Centre , about 3 minutes. From there you can catch the local bus which will take you through the tunnel and into the City, about 20 minutes.On the way back the bus stops before the tunnel at the gondola station ,if you wanted to leave time to ride that.

[canadiansnowbird]

Is the tunnel open between Lyttleton and Christchurch? I see that it was closed after the earthquake to check any problems.

 

Also, how is the city of Christchurch doing? Is it gettting back to normal?

 

Snowbird

[MINIMAD]

Yes the tunnel is open. It was just closed for a safety check.

They are getting back to normal although still getting after shocks. Latest wave of them over night with the biggest 4.5 and shallow.

 

The city is pretty much back operating normal except for pockets of areas that have been badly affected.We have lost alot of our older heritage buildings that had not been strengthened and homes and businesses uninhabitable. We have relatives and close friends that live there. One couple have been in their house 53 years. Had a beautiful garden etc. Their house will be demolished very soon. It will take them and others a while before life is normal again .

 

Lets be very thankful that we live in a modern country with high earthquake building regulations and an infostructure that is one of the best in the world.

[canadiansnowbird]

Yes the tunnel is open. It was just closed for a safety check.

They are getting back to normal although still getting after shocks. Latest wave of them over night with the biggest 4.5 and shallow.

 

The city is pretty much back operating normal except for pockets of areas that have been badly affected.We have lost alot of our older heritage buildings that had not been strengthened and homes and businesses uninhabitable. We have relatives and close friends that live there. One couple have been in their house 53 years. Had a beautiful garden etc. Their house will be demolished very soon. It will take them and others a while before life is normal again .

 

Lets be very thankful that we live in a modern country with high earthquake building regulations and an infostructure that is one of the best in the world.

 

Thank you for the update although still having aftershocks must be unnerving!

 

Snowbird

[kiwigirl1972]

Hi there - I live in Christchurch and we are definitely working hard to get back to normal. For many in residential areas there is a long way to go but certainly for tourists life can now go on as always. Other areas simply look like nothing ever happened. The aftershocks are very unnerving - especially at night but we're getting there. What we need now is wonderful people like you to come to our city and help our economy to rebuild by visiting our attractions and spending in our shops!

[NCCruzQueen]

What we need now is wonderful people like you to come to our city and help our economy to rebuild by visiting our attractions and spending in our shops!

 

So good to hear that many things are getting back to normal for you. Keep us posted on the progress. Looking forward to visiting Christchurch in 2 months.

[Grumpy100]

We docked in Lyttleton and went to Christchurch last November on the Sun Princess. We took the shuttle that Princess provided with a cost of course. We walked to the punting boats, then to the botanical gardens, visited some churches and then went back and caught the shuttle back to the port. It was fine.