My wife and I absolutely loved Evelyn's place!! We felt so at home and didn't want to leave. There are so many great walking paths and trails around Opawa, and the trees and plant life all around the Heathcote river and in the Port Hills are beautiful! It is a very safe and quaint neighborhood and the grocery store is an easy walk.
The apartment is very clean, a great size for a couple or a small family, and has just about every amenity you can think of... a washer, dishwasher, large fridge, modern kitchen appliances, pots and pans for any kind of meal, excellent wifi, netflix, and even a barista-style coffee maker! The bathroom has warming towel racks and awesome water pressure and hot water. The linens in the bedroom are the best we've ever experienced in an Air BnB, plenty of closet space in the bedroom, the list quite literally goes on and on. The garden area in the backyard is very peaceful and full of fresh fruits and vegetables, and there is even a secret trail in the backyard that leads you to a secret park!
In addition to all of these great features, Evelyn and Colin were very hospitable to us and were the best communicators. They are really exceptional Air BnB hosts :)
But perhaps our favorite part of the experience was getting to become friends with Cedric the cat! If you don't like cats, not to worry -- he will leave you alone and I bet you will barely see him. For us, after a couple of weeks during our stay we became friendly with him and loved seeing him everyday! He is a sweet ginger cat and very mellow and friendly, we already miss him!
Long story short - stay here! Getting to Christchurch takes 15 minutes on the 28 bus or if you have a car it's less than 10 minute drive. After living here for almost three months, we would 100% stay in Opawa over Christchurch just for the quaintness and easy access to the Port Hills.