October 4-5 Christchuch

October 4, 2013: CHRISTCHURCH

 

Sunny this morning in Christchurch. We drove into town to see the earthquake damage which was extensive. Many buildings were boarded up and others were being repaired. Of course, there were entire blocks where there was nothing but rubble or nothing where the rubble had been. We drove toward New Brighton on the beach. Even there several miles out of the CBD, evidence of building damage was visible. Places where there had been homes were grassy plots of ground. At the beach we walked onto a 300 meter pier that jutted out into the surf. Many people were fishing, but most were crabbing. The crabs we saw were small, nothing like Dungeness. No size limits according to a poster.

 

We spoke to a young man about his crabbing. He mentioned he had been to the states and even drove through Cannon Beach. 

 

We drove back into the main part of town and stopped for lunch at a Japanese restaurant for some Curry Katsu, deep fried chicken strips over rice with curry sauce. After lunch I thought it good to find the airport as we were to drive there early Sunday for our flight to Sydney. The airport is west several miles from where we are staying and the traffic around the motel is heavy. We found another hotel nearer the airport, the Copthorne, and after checking with our current motel, made a reservation for Saturday night. Our Sunday morning flight would be much easier. Of course, we'd need to move the following day. But the new place had a pool and hot tub!

 

After relaxing in our room and catching up on Republican mischief in the USA, we walked down the street to aces little stores. We stopped at a new age store full of religious artifacts. Hindu, Buddhist, Wiccan, Celtic Christian, and secular statues and posters filled the store. The proprietor said she missed the first of the three large earthquakes in the fall of 2010. Since that time there have been over 12,000 aftershocks in the area.

 

October 5, 2013: CHRISTCHURCH

 

We moved into a new hotel nearer the airport in the morning. The Copthorne Commander is a very nice hotel near a golf course. It has a spa and pool. And a lunch buffet that we chose to partake in rather than fast food or deli food.

 

We sat out on the interior patio near the pool and read in the morning. This was done due to the pleasant weather. Later we took the car back to the airport early in order to speed up our activities the next morning when we were to leave for Sydney.

 

A group staying at the hotel was from the US: military personnel going to Antarctica for the summer.