I took the ferry across to Lyttelton, the ferry normally runs to a timetable, hourly on Sundays, but on fine days like yesterday it just runs continuously. The trip only takes 7 or 8 minutes, but I love it. My normal coffee haunt in Lyttelton was having trouble with their coffee machine, and the second place I tried didn't have any nice food left of lunch, so I ended up at Coffee Culture -- we have one of those in Timaru, so I may as well have stayed at home....
Anyway, I was wanting to check out the Te Ana marina, as I've always loved the idea of a place on the waterfront for people, they've done up to old woolshed -- "Hospitality and retail opportunities are now available in this exciting new quayside development, with the building’s rustic character featuring a distinctive and appealing offering in this unique shoreline setting." Well, sad to see that it is still sitting unfinished, with no progress since I last saw it 3 months ago.
Which got me thinking about the redevelopment in Lyttelton in general. There's been a lot of great plans, but really I'm surprised that not a lot has actually been completed. A lot of it is still just earthquake damage, even though they've demolished huge stretches of old stone buildings etc. There are some little pop-ups here and there, and a couple of nice bars on the main street, replacing the container pub which was a feature for a while after the earthquakes.
The old Mitre hotel is still sitting there apparently abandoned, and although the British has had some repairs done, and I think there's one bar open, the rest of it is still waiting on a lot of work.
So at this stage I'd give Lyttelton 6 out of 10 for post-eq development. I still expect it to be a great place to visit -- and live -- in a few years, and hopefully there won't still be parts waiting on someone to raise the funds to get them back up and running.
Here's some pre-earthquake photos. Well, REALLY pre-earthquake. All courtesy of the Lyttelton Museum.
The harbour-side of Norwich Quay shown here is all gone now, it's just a big Port timber yard. 1951.
...athough the building on the left here was repaired and is now a very nice restaurant.
....forget about your soy whatever Rob, post more of those old photos.
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