Blogs from Christchurch, South Island, New Zealand, Oceania - page 13

Christchurch 3/23/11 After flying from Auckland to Christchurch in the South Island, we rented a car and drove around the city.  For the most part, the city looked like the damage from the earthquake had been repaired with piles of brick around many of the houses.  Part of the city center was, however, demolished.  So much so, that we were not allowed to enter this part of the city (also to prevent looting).  As we got closer to the center of where the quake hit, we could begin to see the real devistation the quake caused.  One church lost every stain glass window and much of it's structure, while many buildings were in complete rubble.  As we drove through the city, it made me appreciate the measures the US has taken in making earthquake resistant buildings. ... read more

From Kaikoura we travelled on an ntercity bus back down to Christchurch. Although we had had a night in Methven this would be our proper night there with our friends Laura and Macky. It was great to see these guys again and also great to see their house and how they well they have coped with the earthquake that happened back at the end of February. We don't get anything like that kind of natural phenomenon back in the UK so it was an eye opener to see what something as powerful as that can do to the environment. Their house is pretty good considering, their is some subsidence which will need to be looked at, and their main room does have quite a lean to it. I am sure that they will get through this ... read more

Hello all, well I reluctantly said goodbye to Kaikoura to get the bus to Christchurch. Have to admit to being a little anxious about meeting up with my trip. All I'd been told was to make it to Christchurch airport and to look out for my tour group who would be there. Once again the scenery from Kaikoura to Christchurch was stunning and the trip was uneventful. I'd asked the driver if there were any buses running in Christchurch yet and he said he didn't think so, after all it was only 4 days after a massive quake had ruined the city. The bus would stop just outside the cordoned off area. It was strange coming into town - the damage was clear to see and there were piles of liquifaction everywhere. Liquifaction is a new ... read more

I'm still not sure how to feel about the Christchurch earthquake. Firstly, I know how fortunate we are to have escaped unhurt and I feel sorry for the people who have suffered bereavement, loss of property and the loss of their livelihoods. I'm saddened at the scale of destruction on the buildings that characterised the city, though I can't help wondering how it will look when it is eventually rebuilt. Also I am happy to have spent time in New Zealand's second largest city because before the earthquake struck we were enjoying life here. I was starting to feel a part of the place. I had a routine - not just work and the local pub - but favourite things I liked to do and see and there were things I was looking forward to doing ... read more

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So we now had our car back and everything was packed up and thrown in the back seat. We headed off northwards hoping the train of destruction would be less. We where right to imagine that the cordon would be a little more organised as more and more roads where shut off as we tried to flee the disaster, the biggest problem seemed to be that roads where closed off randomly, with no direct detour set up. Some of the roads that where open where in worse condition than the roads that where closed. People where beginning to loose there temper with other folk, the city seemed to be going into meltdown. However some community spirit existed as some houses we passed had access to spring water and had signs outside, with the offer of free ... read more

We are now in Melbourne safe and well, the last week has been very difficult. it all started on the morning of february 22nd. We had a list of simple jobs to do that morning ranging from arranging busses for our Malaysia trip, to buying a climbing rope and climbing shoes. We drove the hire car from our hostel in Somner,(about 16km from the city) and parked in a multi-storey carpark on the junction of lichfield street and colombo street. We then walked down Colombo street and into one of the outdoor shops, called bivouac stores; for a qoute, we then went directly across the street in to another outdoor shop called mountain designs. We could not decide what climbing shoes to buy and we spent about 30 min in the back of the shop, suddenly ... read more