Down Under - Day Eleven, Sunday, February 16, 2014 - Akaroa/Christchurch New Zealand

Akaroa, a popular resort village located 50 miles from Christchurch is one of Canterbury region's first settlements.   Cruise ships cannot dock at this port, so this was our first tendered ride to shore.  Lifeboats with a 90 person capacity were used for the 20 minute ride to shore.  I would definitely NOT want to have to spend an extended period of time aboard this vessel.  So I spoke to the captain about keeping the ship properly afloat.

We went ashore planning to spend a leisurely morning exploring the small village's restaurants and shops.  But when we reached the dock, we were pleasantly surprised by an awaiting car and driver that Stevie had totally forgotten about booking.  Nirvana!!  So we hopped in the car and asked Peter to take us to see Christchurch. 

 

Silo Homes for Sale.  

Along the way, we passed the local "mobile home dealer" of sorts.  They sell "silos" for homes.  Craziest thing I've ever seen.  But they are quite popular here.  It would be like living in a beer can!!  Definitely NOT for me.  Scruffy would get dizzy running in circles. 

Here is what the Catholic Church looked like before the quake

After the quake of 2011.  

You may remember that Christchurch was stricken by an earthquake on February 22, 2011.  Measuring only 6.6 magnitude, the real damage was caused by the duration of the quake ... 37 seconds.  To imagine how devastating that was, take a shoe box of Leggo buildings and shake it for 37 seconds and check out the inside.  The architecture in Christchurch was not built to earthquake standards as they had no history of earthquakes.  I was not prepared at all for what we found in Christchurch.   The town is decimated.  Not only are buildings crumbled, but the underground infrastructure such as storm and sewage drains were destroyed.
  

This clock stopped at the time of the quake.

Building awaiting destruction.

There are still many, many large buildings with fences built around them that have been slated for destruction.  They attempted imploding one building as a quick way to get the buildings down, which caused a shock wave throughout the city as the ground is still unsettled.  So the empty remains of these structures still continue to exist.  Three years after the fact, not much has been done in the way of rebuilding.  Obtaining building permits from the government, lack of building materials and workers and insurance companies refusal to pay off claims has thwarted the rebuilding of Christchurch.  There is a beautiful clock in the town square built to commemorate a visit from the Queen.  The clock stopped at the exact moment of the quake and has never worked since.  

The Pallet Bar is a temporary structure for the young people to gather.  No roof, strictly temporary but very effective.

Several temporary structures have been erected, one a "Palet" bar.  Palets have been painted blue and stacked and used for outside walls with chairs and umbrellas inside the bar.  As Peter said, "It's a place for our young people to go for entertainment.  Not much left here to keep the young people in town."
  

These white chairs represent people who were killed 

People are living and working out of ship containers.  Ship containers are also being used to stack against historical buildings to preserve what's left of the facade in hopes of rebuilding the structures.  On the ground where a building once stood, a memorial of white chairs have been assembled to represent each person killed in the building.  

Ship Containers are used to hold up the facade of buildings.

If you own a construction business and need work ... you may want to check out Christchurch. 

Aboard Seabourn's Tender returning to the ship

Our abode - Seabourn Odyssey 

We tendered back to the ship and had time to get ready for dinner.  We were invited to join, Heidi, the cruise director, for dinner this evening.  I wore my purple dress tonight because I know I'll never be able to zip it up after another few days of eating and drinking.  I sat next to Paddy Millar from Ireland, South Africa and now living in Australia.  I wanted to hear all about Paddy, so I asked him to tell me his story.  He said, "What do you want to hear?"  I said, "Well, you were born and then what happened?"  So he proceeded to tell me his story.  What an interesting guy.  He moved from Ireland to South Africa in his 20's, rented a farm and became a farmer.  Six years later, he married the love of his life.  He changed career paths several times but eventually ended up in the farming industry again.   He was a member of Parliament and was later appointed by President Robert Mugabi to be the President of the Farming industry.  When Paddy was 72 years old, he successfully climbed Mount Kilimanjaro.   He now lives in Australia near his children and grand children.  I just loved hearing his story.  He could and should write a movie script.  The adventures of the dashing young Irishman goes to South Africa and completely transformed the farming industry.  

Tomorrow, we're off to Timaru.  

Had to wear this dress for fear I couldn't zip it up after another day or two.