We set off towards Christchurch today, over Arthurs Pass, an
alpine pass that cuts due east across the south island and the best way back to
Christchurch. We have to go back so that
Jen and Bobby can catch a flight back to Melbourne and work.
Empty roads and the Nissan Sunny Super Saloon lead me to “make progress” on some sections only to get pulled by a New Zealand traffic cop and given a ticket for 115 in a 100kmh zone – ah well first ticket in 32 years, can’t say too much really; except good job he didn’t catch me earlier…
Views on the way back were stunning as usual.
Christchurch. When we flew in before we didn’t go into the
city but drove straight out from the airport.
This time we had a spare day so we wandered into the centre. The effects of the earthquake are just
devastating, the whole business district appears to be blocked off. We found a temporary shopping area on the
edge made up of shipping containers and tin buildings. A local chap we chatted
to said they were expecting it to take two years just to demolish the centre
before they can start rebuilding again.
We also went to the beach, the Rough Guide described the
area as a thriving Victorian seaside area,
but most of it was closed and cliffs had collapsed leaving the remains
of houses teetering on the edge, just waiting to fall.
The shipping continers are acting as a wall to protect the road from further slips. Very sad, but the most uplifting part was the attitude of the locals. They had obviously been really shaken up but were carrying and getting on with life, even able to joke about it. We suffered three small tremors in 24 hours, although that is unusual apparently.
The shipping continers are acting as a wall to protect the road from further slips. Very sad, but the most uplifting part was the attitude of the locals. They had obviously been really shaken up but were carrying and getting on with life, even able to joke about it. We suffered three small tremors in 24 hours, although that is unusual apparently.
We left Jen and Bobby to get their flights back and sadly
left to head north. We’ve had a truly
wonderful time with them both.
As we left
Christchurch the weather deteriorated and we ended up keeping driving up to
Picton.
Picton is the port where we catch the interisland ferry to
the North Island. It’s at the end of Queen Charlottes Sound, one of a series of
huge indentations in the NE coast of South Island. Fantastic sailing and
boating country, looks like a bit of a yachtie paradise really. We’re here for a few days and then catch the ferry to North
Island.
Whilst in Christchurch we took this photo, the original is below..
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