Cookie Time Factory Shop (Christchurch, New Zealand)

I was quite a long time since I had a follow up post after our Lake Tekapo trip and to follow up on that here is the continuation. After that night of taking photos of that popular church we woke up really early to be at the Cookie Time Factory Shop in Christchurch before lunch as I had promised all the kids on our trip to visit the place but when we dropped by the place South Bound it was closed so I told them we will do it when we go back to Christchurch.

It was a very nice day, clear skies and a bit chilly, still have some spare time to take photos of the surrounding before we start driving while the moms arrange the luggage’s on our cars. I love the colours of the surrounding, feels like autumn but actually the time we were there was nearly the start of winter.

I had decent shots of the trees and landscape and after 15 minutes were on the road again, it will be a three hour drive but we intend to stop by a cafe in the middle as we did not have any breakfast at all yet. Driving in South Island is really nice, the scenery is nice it’s so distracting, I guess that is why there are a lot of driving tourist accidents that happen here on a regular basis, so be warned if you go here, if you admire a scenery stop and relax and don’t do it while driving.

It was quite a quick drive because our eyes are entertained so the three hour was not noticeable and little that we know we are already at Cookie Time. You will not miss this place because it is located in the Main Road of Main South Rd, so if you drive down to South or came from it then the red sign is very visible.

There are ample parking on the premises if not then there are also off-street parking around. If you have kids even if you don’t love cookies it’s a must visit place especially when you are nearby.

Fresh cookies are baked on premises on a daily basis and there are many of options for you like the Triple Chocolate Chunk, Afghan Chocolate Chunk, White Chocolate Chunk and the Original Chocolate Chunk.

If big cookies or chocolates is not for you there is Apricots and Salted Caramel which are some of my favourites. There is also an option for the budget conscious the broken cookies which only costs $9.00 a pop per kilogram, flavours are limited though so be in early.

If you want to give it as a present there is also an option for you where cookies are wrapped in a better packaging.

While you are choosing your cookies kids can be entertained with the kid’s zone where they can do some activities.

Play some UFO catcher game.

Or just cuddle the big red mascot.

After our visit here we had a quick lunch and had a stroll in the city before our late night flight. So just a short drive from Cookie Time was the Christchurch CBD. I know you have seen a lot of rubble photos of the place so I will just share the nice things they already rebuilt.

So we parked just in front the InterCity Bus Stop which is quite central to all the places we intend to visit. Starting with the 185 Chairs.

185 Chairs is an Earthquake Memorial With 185 White Chairs where 185 different white chairs are on display on an open area, each chair represents one of the 185 lives lost in the 2011 Christchurch earthquake, it’s such a moving sight especially when you see children’s chairs and carrying basinet which I think represent the age as well of the one who perished. On the side there is a small shed where the names of the ones to be remembered are listed.

Few metres across is a church made out of cardboard called the Christchurch Transitional Cathedral.

The name is called the Cardboard Cathedral because the whole building was envisioned to be made with reinforced cardboard but since local manufacturers cannot produce thick cardboards that can support the structure it was just made to look like one but it is made out of reinforced with laminated wood beams.

Inside was quite bright which I really liked and gives the impression of heaven, the light comes from the gaps between those beams, there are two-inch gaps between them so that light can go inside the church.

If you look closely the pillars looks like an enormous empty toilet paper rolls. If you also touch the smaller tubes you will notice they are the ones made with cardboard since they do not support any weight. I also loved the stained glass, the shapes suited the whole theme together with the wooden furniture’s.

After this we walked across the Latimer Square Park to let the kids play in this enormous playground called Margaret Mahy Family Playground. It’s nothing like the playground I grew up with, the equipment’s are all aesthetically pleasing but still give that excellent entertainment for the kids from 4 metre wide-slide and double flying fox, Water cannons and large picnic areas this is a place for the whole family. It’s a really cool playground even I wanted to play on it.

From here we strolled on our way to the Christchurch Cathedral rubbles, it was a reasonable walk but you will get busy with the sights in between, like cool graffiti’s as well as sculptures scattered everywhere.

Cathedral was off limits and there are walls so you can’t get inside (for your own safety), I think we were there they are trying to rebuild the place but really slowly.

Outside is still the same but lots of areas that are locked out to public for safety purposes. After the cathedral we have a quick look at the Re:Start Mall which basically is a mall made out of container vans, it’s a cool concept and from a far it looks like Lego Blocks stacked together. It was nearly closing time when we checked it out so there were no shopping involved.

After this we head back to the carpark and grabbed our cars right on time to drop them off the rental company. It was such a nice day, we did a lot in a span of 12 hours and it’s all worth it. I will be glad to do the same round of this again.

Cookie Time
Address: 789 Main South Rd, Templeton, New Zealand 8042
Phone: 03-349 6161
Website: http://www.cookietime.co.nz/factoryshop.html