A quick visit to Post-Quake Christchurch

On May 22^ndI rolled into Christchurch.  Coincidently, it was the day of the predicted rapture and exactly three months to the day after this city was rocked by a huge quake. Though I paid no heed to the rapture talk, I was a little nervous to see what state Christchurch was in after two big quakes in less than six months. (If you remember, I was here in October and had expected to see rubble and mayhem then.  Luckily, for the most part, that was not the case.)

Once again, I was delightfully surprised that things weren’t as bad as I’d imagined. Don’t get me wrong, things aren’t great;  Big chunks of the central part of the city are still inaccessible, many buildings bear “Do not enter” signs, and heaps of businesses have yet to reopen. Hundreds of people lost their lives, and thousands others are still living with the effects of that quake, so I’m not diminishing the level of destruction or suffering that Christchurch has seen. I was just happy to see that life is indeed going on, most buildings are still standing and many businesses are up and running.  It was good to see.

I didn’t get up to much, other than wander the streets and take pictures of some of the hardest-hit areas (the ones I could get to, anyway).  I also delighted in visiting different supermarkets (I know, I know, Loser) and other shops, since Wanaka isn’t exactly teeming with stores.  Of course, the Botanical Gardens are as gorgeous as ever, so I spent a happy hour revisiting some of my favourite trees and watching the ducks play in the river.  When you’re broke and in a broken (but on the mend!) city, you make your fun where you can find it.

Christchurch has/had a lot of churches, and they seemed to be the buildings that suffered the worst damage.

Broken glass was still on the ground outside this office building.  No idea if it was from vandals or the quake.

As close as I could get to the heart of downtown. Cathedral Square is just beyond that white building, if I'm not mistaken.

I was glad to see that this archway is still standing.  It was one of the first things I photographed when I first got to NZ back in 2004.

Random destroyed apartment building.

Many areas downtown are cordonned off by chainlink fences, and of course many of these have become memorials.  Interestingly, this was the most colourful, elaborate and extensive one I saw.  It's outside the Arts Centre where the Dux Delux microbrewery and pub once stood.  They've left a bunch of duck-shaped papers with handy ties in a folder on the fence so people can add their own notes.  Inki had brought me to this pub back in October, and it was quite good, so I left a note myself (not picture here though).

The sidewalks were pretty bumpy in places.  You could see where it had likely roiled and waved up during the quake.  This is one of the most dramatic examples I saw.

Another shell of a church.

The pretty fountain in the Botanical Gardens was working just fine though. :)