Travelling back from Akaroa I took the route through Littleton This was the epicentre of the first major quake 2 years ago. the harbour was so badly damaged that it is still closed to most shipping. The next day I visited Christchurch, The epicentre of the second quake, which was a major aftershock, was in the centre of the city. Because the city was constructed on naturally reclaimed land that had silted up over the centuries the majority of the damage was caused by liquefaction and even though many buildings look sound the foundations are beyond repair and the whole of the centre of the city will have to be rebuilt.
The red zone in the above map is closed to the public and contains demolition crews. Near the red zone in Cheshel St. there is an area called the restart centre. This was one of the main shopping pedestrian malls. one end has been cleared and a shopping centre has been built from ships containers so that the local businesses can continue to operate.
As the rest of the area gets cleared the intention is to expand this scheme and then gradually replace them with new permanent buildings. There is some new building work going on but the main effort even after all this time is still demolition.
The cathedral is being demolished, there is a big move against this but again even though the walls and roof are still standing the liquefaction damage is so bad it is beyond recovery. I made enquiries about the damage to the bells as they had fallen with the tower to the ground. I understand some are in store and others have been returned to England for repair but so far there are no plans to rehang them.
The plans are to build a temporary cardboard cathedral “yes I did say cardboard, it is a Chinese project” next to the existing ruin, this should last for 10 years while a decision is made about a permanent replacement.
This is the closest I could get to the ruin as the area is now closed, they were allowing pedestrians in on Sundays but that has been stopped now that demolition of the building has begun.
Protesters save the cathedral notices.
I think the following pictures speak for themselves. I am reminded of Bristol when I was a child in the 40’s and 50’s after the wartime blitz damage. It is going to take a long time to repair. There are still bomb sites in England 70 years on. Unlike war time damage this could all happen again tomorrow or next year, who knows. There have been over a 1000 aftershocks recorded and some are felt on a regular basis. the weekend before my visit there was a 4.2 shock.
Damage to these buildings looks superficial but they all have to come down and because they are on the edge of the red zone they have to dismantle from the top down.
The Irish are enterprising. This building is unsafe.
This old church is built of timber and has survived with very little damage apart from some lathe and plaster cracking. Maybe there is a lesson to be learned there.
I took my camper van back on Sunday 29th April and booked a hotel near the airport which was in close proximity to the Antarctic Centre. I spent half a day here, I found it very interesting.
These penguins are all rescue’s and would not have survived in the wild.
Part of the exhibition is an environmentally controlled Antarctic room which is normally kept at –4deg but at hourly intervals the create a wind storm that drops the chill factor to –18deg, I stayed through one of these storms, they supply suitable clothing.
As part of the visit a ride on a hagglund Antarctic transporter over an assault course is available, I left that for the kids to do, it looks like a very rough ride.
That is the end of a very enjoyable 2 month trip around New Zealand South Island. I may come back and do the North Island next year.
Back to Aussie in the morning for a couple of months. Then back to Blighty in time for the summer.
