Release Walk Extreme

Saturday 18 April

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Meet beside the Chalice in Cathedral Square at 8.30 am. The walk will leave promptly at 8.30, so don't be late!

Highlights/themed release ideas:

• Cathedral Square
  • The Chalice
    Represents leaves being blown up by the winds of the Canterbury plain.
  • Christchurch Cathedral
  • Birdman plaque
    The Birdman was a Christchurch man who used to feed the pigeons and seagulls in the Square, and was often seen with birds perched all over his head and shoulders.
  • First Four Ships plaques
    Passenger lists for the first immigrant ships to arrive in Christchurch from Britain.
  • Godley statue
    Founder of Canterbury.
  • Tram stop (we'll pass several of these along our route)
  • Police kiosk
  • War memorial
• The Press
  The home of Christchurch's daily newspaper.
• New Regent Street
  Once called 'The most beautiful street in New Zealand'.
• Manchester Street
  Christchurch's "red light" district.
• Avon River
• Centenniel Swimming Pools
• A very unusual phone box.
• Clock tower
• Firefighter's Reserve
  A memorial to the firefighters who died in the World Trade Centre, with a sculpture made from beams taken from the rubble of the World Trade Centre.
• Retour Restaurant
  A rather expensive restaurant (don't worry, we won't stop to eat there!) built inside an old band rotunda.
• Christchurch/Seattle Sister City sculpture
  A strange pile of boulders by the side of the river.
• Victoria Square
  • Queen Victoria statue
  • Bouker Fountain
    Presented to Christchurch by one of its early settlers.
  • Red phone boxes
  • Poupou
    Carved wooden post representing the story of Raki and Papa.
  • Captain Cook statue
    "Discoverer" of New Zealand (the local iwi might dispute that!).
  • Tram bridge
    One of the oldest bridges in New Zealand.
  • Christchurch Town Hall
  • Ferrier Fountain
    Nicknamed the Dandelion Fountain for its shape.
  • Floral clock
• Law Courts
• Canterbury Provincial Chambers
  The seat of government when Canterbury was a self-governed Province.
• Kate Sheppard Memorial
  Womens' Suffrage advocate.
• Our City O-Tautahi
  Old City Council chambers, now an art gallery.
• Scott statue
  Scott left from Christchurch for his ill-fated Antarctic expedition.
• Christchurch Art Gallery
• Arts Centre
  The walk finishes here, but the themed release opportunities don't. The Arts Centre used to be the campus of the University of Canterbury, so it's perfect for books about the dreaming spires of academia. UC's most famous alumnus (other than FutureCat, of course ;-)) is Ernest Rutherford, so visit Rutherford's Den to release your books about the atomic age. And of course you'll find many wonderful art works scattered around the area just crying out for a book. Our favourites for themed releases are the Jester outside the Court Theatre and the girl reading outside the Dyslexia Foundation. If that's not enough, pop across the road to the Canterbury Museum and Botanic Gardens for even more release opportunities.

Don't forget to grab some lunch from the food court or one of the cafes, and be back at Cathedral Grammar by 1.00 pm for the afternoon's events.

If this all sounds too energetic for you, check out the shorter Release Walk.