Arion Farm

We stumbled upon this new attraction a few weeks ago, thanks to some friends of friends!  Arion Farm Education Park is a small farm park which is great for youngsters who want to get hands on with farm animals.

It's about another kilometre along the road past Orana Park, on Macleans Island Road (so there's no public transport  - you'll need your own car to get there), on the north west outlying area of Christschurch.  Once through the gates, you need to take the right hand fork in the driveway to get to the farm, which is set on an acre or so at the back of a training academy.  There is plenty of car parking down by the farm, but you need to drive slowly and carefully, as there are often animals (not to mention small children!) wandering about.

It is VERY low key, being run mainly by volunteers.  There is a small hut to pay your $5 per person entrance fee (free for babies under about 18 months) but the volunteers are often out and about - they'll see you and come and get your money eventually, so just start taking a look around.

You can also buy cups of feed for $1 each, which is a nice extra to do - the feed is suitable for all the animals, but I found the lambs to be most interested in it!

The nice thing about this farm is that you are welcome to go into any of the enclosures (a great opportunity to teach your kids about the basics of farm life - if a gate is shut, close it again after you) to get up close to the animals.  Basic common sense applies, of course.  I wasn't so keen to let my kids in with the female pig who had just had a litter of gorgeous little piglets, as she wasn't that keen on us getting so close!

There are sheep, cows, llamas, pigs, goats, ponies, and heaps of ducks, turkeys and chickens.  Spring time is the best time to visit, as there are lots of babies to see!

Arion is the perfect low cost option for those who don't want to pay three times the price at Willowbank.  It's obviously not as good, but the ability to touch the animals is great.  I think it's probably best suited to toddlers and those up to about 8 or 9, although my children (aged 9 and 10) enjoyed themselves.  They were a bit bored after about 45 minutes or so though, as they'd seen and done all there was to see and do.

Pony rides (for kids up to about 8 or 9, depending on size) are included in the entrance fee - just ask the volunteers if it's not set up.  Everyone working there seems very friendly and keen to talk about the animals.

The facilities are basic - there are portaloos and a tap for washing your hands (there is also hand sanitiser, which is great).  There are a couple of picnic tables there too.  I've seen groups out there for birthday parties, which actually seems to work quite well for a younger crowd!


The park is open in summer only from 10am til 3pm every day.

For more information, visit their website - Arion Farm Education Park.

The earthquakes

Christchurch was struck by a series of earthquakes in 2010 and 2011, the worst of which occurred at 12.51pm on Tuesday 22 February 2011.

The city was brought to its knees, with damage to nearly every building in the city.  185 people died in the earthquake, with many thousands injured.

In the immediate days and weeks following the earthquake many households had no water, power, or sewerage.  Many had nowhere to live, as their homes had been so badly damaged that they were now unsafe or unliveable.

In the following months many thousands of homes were declared "red zoned", which basically meant that they were deemed to have such severe land damage that it was not economical to repair.  In effect, whole suburbs are in the process of being wiped off the map and turned into parkland.

The centre of the city was cordoned off by the authorities immediately, as tall buildings had collapsed and many others were at risk of falling down also.  The cordon shrunk slowly, bit by bit, as the buildings were either demolished or made safe.  As I write this, in December 2012, nearly two years later, the inner city cordon is still in place, with large areas of the inner city still inaccessible.  Nearly half of all the inner city buildings have been demolished.  Most businesses had to relocate to the suburbs, which has had a major impact on many people.

Tourism has understandably suffered during all of this turmoil, and a lot of the traditional "things to do" in Christchurch were simply not able to be done for a long time. Locals turned to the simple pleasures of a walk along the beach, or  taking the kids to the park instead.  Community organisations stepped in with family days, which helped make life a little better for many children.

However, nearly two years on, there is now a huge amount to do in Christchurch.  Most of its attractions have reopened and a lot of new ones have also appeared.  There are so many events on that you would struggle to experience them all.  Every weekend my children and I have a huge choice of things to do - shall we go to a school fair, or maybe to a free music event in the gardens?  Or what about the beach?  Or should we enjoy one of the many walks in the Port Hills?  Maybe we'll splash out and go ice skating, or ten pin bowling, or climbing at the Roxx?  Skate boarding, cycling, swimming?  Check out some history at Ferrymead?  Maybe we'll go and boogie down at the Gap Filler's Dance-O-Mat?

I've taken a small break from this blog since the earthquakes but am now back as I realise that there are plenty of things to do in Christchurch and I can't wait to get out there with my kids and friends and experience them all!

Have fun!