My family of three, including a then-newly walking 15-month-old, started a two-week New Zealand (NZ) trip in Ōtautahi Christchurch. Located on the island’s east coast, Christchurch is the South Island’s largest city and its cheapest to fly into from SFO at the time of this writing.
The Maori name for Christchurch is Ōtautahi . The Maori party signed a petition in 2022 to have the entire nation of New Zealand change their names back to the Maori names to honor the Maori people and land. Following suit, the city of Christchurch is using Ōtautahi in front of Christchurch in many communications and publications. I’m going to honor the Maori here and do the same!
Ōtautahi Christchurch was the perfect place to start a two-week NZ trip because it gave us a taste of NZ from a familiar urban setting before we launched into an outdoorsy adventure around the rest of the South Island. There was so much to do and explore in this city. Here are a few of our favorite activities to keep your family busy in Ōtautahi Christchurch:
Ōtautahi, also known as Christchurch, was founded on the stolen lands of the Maori peoples.
Top Recommended Kid-Friendly Activities in Christchurch
Go for a walk through the city
We put our toddler in our Osprey Poco backpack and spent a day walking around town. There was an endless amount of street art, interesting buildings, wide sidewalks, trollies, and tree-lined parks to explore. Here were our favorite stops:
Take an Instagram-worthy photo in front of The Chalice sculpture. Although it is called “The Square” by locals, it is actually in the shape of a cross. The square is undergoing major reconstruction due to the 2011 earthquake but is mostly open to the public.
Known as the biggest urban open space in the world, Hagley Park does not disappoint. There are countless walking paths suitable for strollers and bikes, beautiful botanical gardens, and lots of places to stop and say “hello” to a duck or two.
Check out this map for trails and garden information. Our toddler loved the flowers at the botanic gardens and the ducks, of course.
The historic and colorful New Regent Street feels out of place in the middle of this urban city. The narrow street was built in the 1930’s and is lined with cute boutique shops and Spanish-style buildings.
We wandered down the street and popped our heads into a few of the delicious sweet shops like Rollickin and Waffle Haus (see below for more on what we ordered).
The largest playground in the Southern Hemisphere, the Margaret Mahy Playground is full of kid-style fun and just a short walk from New Regent Street. It offers digging, bouncing, sliding, climbing, and even splashing at a small water park. Our toddler would not leave!
Cruise down the Avon River
~1-2 hours, NZ$15+/person age 5+
You can rent a paddle boat, canoe, or kayak from the Antigua Boat Shed right near the city center. Or, go “punting down the Avon” (NZ$35 for adults, NZ$15 for kids 5-15 years, free for kids under 5) and take in the sights from a flat-bottomed boat poled by a guide dressed in Edwardian clothing.
Our toddler was a little too rambunctious for this activity at the time of our visit, but it looked like a lot of fun with kids ages four and older.
Catch the Christchurch Tram
~30-60 minutes, NZ$30/adult
Tired of walking around town? Hop on the Christchurch Tram and explore the city with an all-day pass on one of the historic trollies. Passes cost NZ$30 for adults and include up to three kids per adult pass.
See the Cardboard Cathedral
~30-60 minutes, free
In 2011 a huge 6.3 earthquake shook Christchurch and damaged much of the city, including their iconic cathedral. This church, the Christchurch Transitional Cardboard Cathedral, was built as a temporary replacement two years after the quake and is made out of—you guessed it—cardboard!
Don’t let the materials fool you—this church is amazing! Our newly walking toddler enjoyed toddling around and sitting on anything her height.
There are docents around just waiting to answer any questions, even from engineers who might have too many structural engineering questions for your wife to sit through…
Visit the Quake City Museum
~1-3 hours, NZ$20/person aged 15+
We learned a lot about the 2011 earthquake and the city of Ōtautahi Christchurch in this kid-friendly museum.
The Quake City Museum has a fun liquefaction simulator full of sand, a LEGO challenge, and a seismograph that measures your self-made quake—just jump!
Tickets cost NZ$20 for everyone over 15 years of age and is otherwise free.
Discover the International Antarctic Centre
~1-3 hours, NZ$25-49/person aged 5+
The motto of the International Antarctic Centre is “See it. Love it. Save it.” And their goal is to share the magic of Antarctica with those who can do something about climate change.
The International Antarctic Centre is located close to the airport in Ōtautahi Christchurch, which is a launching-off point for Antarctica.
We stopped here on our way to the airport to stretch our legs before our flight home. Our toddler enjoyed seeing little blue penguins, while I loved learning about life in the Antarctic.
Tickets cost NZ$49 for adults, NZ$25 for children ages 5-15, and are free for children under 5.
As I mentioned, Ōtautahi Christchurch was our first stop on a two-week trip through NZ. After a long plane flight from San Francisco to NZ, we knew we had to start our trip off with a location that was slow-paced, easy to get around, and would allow us to use our bodies. Ōtautahi Christchurch satisfied all of our desires, and more!
Since our trip to Ōtautahi Christchurch, the city has experienced struggles around race relations and hate violence, including an attack on two mosques in 2019 by a white supremacist from Australia. I was surprised and disappointed to see this city show a racist underbelly that I had hoped was not as prominent as it is in parts of the United States.
Despite the 2019 shootings, I still felt very safe in Ōtautahi Christchurch. The activities were easily accessible, the city was walkable, the people were vibrant and friendly, and the food was delicious.
Have you ever cancelled travel plans to a city or country due to violence? If so, share in the comments below!
This post is part of a series of posts about visiting Christchurch and the South Island of NZ with kids. Continue the adventure with us here:
Puerto Rican & Indigenous mama of two. Bay Area native. Salsa dancer. Backpacker. Doula. Angel (she/her/hers) is a co-founding member of the Beautiful Brown Adventures team. She has traveled to over 30 countries and loves to explore the world with her two daughters & partner - one ice cream shop at a time.
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