Earthquakes and Hagglund rides

The plan was to stop in Timaru last night.   Then while I was looking for a whale-watching tour on “Bookme” I stumbled across a 1 hour city tour of Christchurch on a London bus for half price.   Not quite thinking it through, I booked it for the day we would be overnighting in Christchurch.   It was Saturday that I realised that we would never be able to make a 10am tour if we were only leaving Timaru.   So yesterday we braved a double journey from Omarama to Christchurch.

We decided to leave the motorhome in the park rather than brave driving in a city.   We found out from the Top 10 reception that we could be picked up at the bus stop but not returned but they told us how to catch a municipal bus.

The tour was eye-opening.   You hear about the earthquake but when you see the damage that is still evident after two years it means more.   The clock tower stopped at 9 minutes to 1 on 22 Feb 2011, a reminder of when the earthquake happened.

The Cathedrals and churches also suffered.

This Catholic cathedral has bishops buried in the rear wall and they are still deciding what to do.

As we left the bus we saw the “Penguin Shuttle” which would take us to the next place we had decided to visit, the Antarctica Experience.  

Experience it was!  We got to ride in a Hagglund, the Antarctic all-terrain vehicle.   It went up ridiculous slopes, through 6m deep water and over a crevasse (sorry no photo I had my eyes closed!)

Then we experienced a blizzard in a freezer type room with snow on the floor and howling winds of up to 69km/hour.   They did provide us with jackets and over-shoes though.

We certainly found out a lot more about the Antarctic than we had ever known before.   There was a 4D movie as well as static exhibitions,

A visit to the Penguin enclosure where we met rehabilitated Blue Penguins which had been rescued from the wild,

and a 4 Seasons room.

We just managed to buy some take away chips before boarding the shuttle back into the city centre.   We had thought of going punting on the Avon river, but it had again turned cold and a bit windy and it didn’t seem so appealing.   Instead we walk along the cordoned off area to visit the “Cardboard Cathedral”  www.cardboardcathedral.org.nz   A Japanese architect gave his time for free to design it.   It has only just been started but will be made of cardboard tubes covered with polycarbonate.

Just opposite, at the site of the demolished Baptist church, were the 185 empty chairs, each one different and representing a missing loved one – a memorial to the 185 people who lost their lives in the earthquake.

We grabbed some hot chocolate and did some souvenir shopping at the New-Start Mall which is constructed out of containers.

 

All over there are fences and warning signs, demolition of condemned buildings and repair work in progress.

 

We managed to locate the bus stop, catch the correct bus and even alight at the correct place in time for a quick supper, skype and a half hour in the spa (complimentary for Top 10 members).

  Another day to remember!.