Christchurch

Our flight left Brisbane on time and arrived in Christchurch 30 mins early, thanks to the ruthlessly efficient low cost airline.  We found our accommodation and settled in for the night.

In the morning, we set out to explore what was left of the centre of Christchurch.  I had forgotten the scale of the earthquakes that ripped into the heart of this city, and was as guilty as anyone of assuming that now it was out of the international news, things had somehow returned to normal.

It has not. Not by a long chalk.

As we walked in, no building was completely unaffected; some showed minor cracks whilst all that remained of others was a levelled space of concrete.  Money was still to be made however -  where ever there was a large enough levelled space, a car park had sprung up, charging $1 an hour.

184 people are reported to have died in the disaster.  Two dozen city blocks in the city centre have been cordoned off - leaving uncounted office blocks, hotels, shops and houses standing empty, awaiting demolition.  The cathedral, a magnificent building (as far as I can tell from pictures) sits in the middle of it all, and is largely destroyed. 

Some signs of life still remain however.  The city's main shopping precinct was cut in half by the cordon, although most buildings are destroyed or levelled.  In their place, two story portacabin shops have sprung up.

I could see that there had been deveststion here, but Selina has been hit hard as she had seen the city in its glory.  She fought back tears as we walked through the streets.

Those of a religious persuasion might want to ponder upon the fact that the only large building largely undamaged and still open for business is the city's casino.  Not being religious ourselves, we happily paid it a visit as it was the only place near the city centre serving alcohol.  As we sat, the jukebox (set on random) played the Beatles' Oh-bla-de oh bla dah (Life goes on)... Write your own punchline.

After a walk through the botanic gardens and the museum, a welcome relief as both had been somewhat less affected by the quakes, we meandered back to our motel to get ready for evening drinks and dinner.

What we will leave behind is a city that will take a decade or more to recover from what has hit it.  But from speaking to some of the locals today, I have little doubt it will.

TTFN