View Through The Floor

More Glass Floors

James was not scared at all but Tracy could hardly look at him doing this.

Scary Lift

The elevators were pretty freaky. The wind was howling down the shafts and the first lift we got in tried several times to go up, went about a metre, bounced a bit and then dropped down again. Apparently the pressure of the wind was too high. We took the next lift but Tracy was quite nervous. I don't think the glass floor helped! The picture is the view down the lift shaft.

Auckland at Last

What a stressful journey! First the cancellation and then James was sick as we were descending. When we finally landed I got into a row with the air hostess who wanted me to wait till the plane had come to a complete stop before I helped James out of his clothes.

Anyway here we are at the bottom of the sky tower. I have not been here since Tracy and I first emigrated in 2002.

The Munted City

After take off we got a good view of our home town. The damage doesn't look as bad from up here.

Off to Auckland

We are off for a long weekend in Auckland. The main purpose is to see 'Walking With Dinosaurs' but we should get to do lots of other fun stuff.

We have been planning this for weeks but we only told James on Thursday as we did not know if we would be able to make it. The ash from the Chilean volcano has grounded most flights in New Zealand and Australia and this morning Jetstar texted me at 2AM to let us know that our flight had been cancelled! We managed to get a later flight though.

This is the view of the old airport lounge which is being demolished. I will miss it, it was one of the nicest in the world with a viewing platform to watch the planes taking off and a bar with a panoramic view of the runway and the Southern Alps. The new airport lounge is rubbish, the only window looks over a car park.

First Day at School

James starts school soon. Today he is attending his new school for a morning visit.

We Won

Final score Canterbury 52, North Otago 8.

James and Larry the Lamb

At the Rugby

AMI stadium is munted so one of the few good things about the earthquake is that Canterbury now play at Rugby Park which is a few minutes walk from our house.

There are no flood lights so games have to played in the afternoon. This means that James' first trip to the rugby is real old school: walking to the ground, standing on the terrace and watching in the sunshine just a few metres from the action.

We had a great time.

Munted

This old house on the corner of Fendalton Rd and Deans Ave is in a bad way. It would have probably survived if it hadn't been so close to the river Avon. Unfortunately the land under most buildings close to a waterway suffered liquefaction and lateral spreading.

Munted

This building was built to replace a business that had collapsed in the Sept erathquake. It is munted after the latest aftershock on June 13th. It had only been open a few days.

June 13th Earthquake

This is the view of the port hills as the latest earthquake hit. The dust clouds are the result of cliffs collapsing from Redcliffs to Sumner

Here we go again, again

And another huge one just hit, the biggest yet. Only Lasted about 15 seconds but the whole house was shaking nw-se by about a metre. Tracy and James are fine and on their way home.

Another big aftershock.

Just had another large quake here in Chch. Only a 5.5 but it was the most violent shaking yet.

RSA Sumner

It was heartbreaking to see Sumner. So many of the fine old buildings have been demolished and the nicest suburb in chch now looks like a warzone. This is the RSA which was hit by a massive rockfall killing 2 people.

Narrow Escape

This house had a narrow escape but lots didn't and were engulfed by the falling rocks.

Redcliffs

Went for a drive out to Sumner for the first time since the February quake. All along the coast the cliffs have collapsed. In Redcliffs this whole section collapsed and narrowly missed the local school.

The Dozers Reach Merivale

The corner of Mansfield Ave and Papanui Rd is gone.

Full Steam

A Really Useful Engine

The driver of the steam train let us ride up front. It was the warmest place to be.

Fire Chief

James loves fire engines so the Hall of Flame at Ferrymead is just the thing on a cold wet day.

Trams Need a Home

The tram station in chch is badly damaged so the city trams are being stored here. Unfortunately they are exposed to the elements so an appeal has been launched to fund a shelter for these beautiful old vehicles.

Temporary Market

After the February earthquake, the Arts Centre market has had to find a new home at Ferrymead. James was pleased because he could get chicken satay and rice from his favourite Thai stall. It was a bitter cold day so business was quiet but I wish them well.

Up Top

Despite the rain it was great fun riding up top.

return of the Trams!

Since the February quake we have not been able to travel on James' favourite thing: trams. Fortunately, the tracks at Ferrymead have been fixed and they are running this weekend. It is not the same as travelling through the city centre but it is still lots of un and they do have this fantastic double decker steam tram!

Race To The Top

James was quite scared when he got near the top but made it a couple of times. Actually I was very scared!

Clip 'n' Climb

The last time we came here James was too scared of the belay system, this time he couldn't wait to get climbing.

Provincial Council Chambers

Munted. There are plans to save these buildings. I hope so they are part of what makes Chch special.

Broken Heart

The cathedral lies at the centre of the city. We have all seen the images on TV of the damage but few of us have seen it for real. This is as close as I could get: a zoom through the barricades.