OPINION: Taking the chance to play tourist at home

OPINION: The clarion call is ringing out loud to support local and explore your own backyard. I put that to the test in the past week, through the lens of playing tourist at home, engaging with the reawakening visitor industry.

No matter the destination, I’ve always believed the most memorable, striking and authentic visitor attractions are the ones that are steeped in the sense of place and resonate with the community. They don’t just titillate visitors but are embraced by locals.

Christchurch’s star specimen is unquestionably Riverside Market, deserving of its stature as the city centre’s anchor. A perennial people-attractor that isn’t just a market but a meeting place, a community hub.

While exploring the central city as a glorified tourist, I found myself returning time and again to this tractor-beam of temptation, whether it was to sample yet another creative beverage blend from the Kombucha Girls or to admire the hot-selling legs of lamb marinating in Coca-Cola at The Butcher’s Mistress.

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The sugar-rush high of the Level 2 honeymoon may soon taper off, but the spirit percolating throughout the market’s merchants was unmistakable.

Similarly, our prime hospitality night spots report strong weekend trade. For now, our newfound sense of liberation is priceless. Every tourist operator I met last week is determined to withstand Covid’s curve-ball, repurposing their offerings for the domestic market.

If you’ve got friends planning a visit to Christchurch, they should saddle up with Stu Waddel from Chill Urban, who operates city cycle tours, threading together a highlights reel of old and new Christchurch, with masterly story-telling. I was astonished by how many hidden gems I “discovered”, like the “Flora and Otto” mosaic chairs in the Daffodil Woodland.

Admittedly, the reconfigured city centre’s dedicated cycle lane network makes sightseeing by bike a breeze – despite its slalom-course consequences for motorists.

Stu’s touring route also takes in the North Frame by Cambridge Tce where that pointless $3 million pedestrian bridge has commenced construction.

As an aside, it’s adjacent to the Ōtākaro Orchard project which has run into trouble. The edible garden and fruit trees are developing well, but its centrepiece, the food hub centre, venue space and glasshouse dome have hit the skids.

A much-vaunted future visitor attraction, the beleaguered state of this community-led anchor project saw building work hastily stop just before Christmas.

Overseen by the Food Resilience Network, its chair, Matt Morris, tells me that the $1m funding shortfall hasn’t been secured, however “we are planning to activate the garden space soon”.

Many bespoke tour operators are repositioning their offerings for domestic travellers, like enterprising couple Riwai and Cate Grace, from Āmiki Tours.

I joined them for a cultural and culinary meander along our soothing City Promenade, where their multicultural narrative accentuated my appreciation for our shared cultural heritage and the Māori design elements enriching the city centre’s fabric.

They’ll soon be restarting their nightly kai safaris, a roaming progressive dinner which stitches together a string of eateries with seasonal shared plates of local produce, like the dining delights at Inati.

I also headed for the hills, joining Nicole Ellwood from Crater Rim Walks, for a personal guided hike on the Godley Head Loop Track, complete with drinks and eats.

Just before we went into lockdown, Wongi Wilson completed a series of sublime wall murals around the gun emplacements, in honour of the World War II home guard, 75 years on. It’s a must-see, as is Scott’s Cabin that travelled to and from Antarctica on the Terra Nova.

But the runaway highlight of playing tourist in Christchurch was to take a ride on New Zealand’s longest zipline at the Christchurch Adventure Park (CAP). Hurtling down to the floor of Cashmere Valley from just below the Sign of the Kiwi, it’s a blow-your-hair-back ride to remember.

CAP general manager Anne Newman tells me that while the walking and bike trails have been attracting great numbers, the ziplines are particularly dependent on tourists. No strangers to adversity, this is CAP’s third opening in just over three years.

Newman speaks for all tourist operators, eager for the trans-Tasman bubble to become a reality, to enhance the sustainability of local businesses. Bring it on.