Kiyomi and Ren's Excellent Adventures

Well, that was easy!

3 airplanes, 2 trains, a rental car and 33 hours later, we've arrived in Christchurch. We're more than a little exhausted, but shockingly, there were no major meltdowns... and the kids weren't too bad either.

Our first impression of NZ really was the walk from the international to the domestic terminal in Auckland. Interesting that you could actually physically stroll the 1 km between airports, including skirting cargo and hangars. This was my first impression that Kiwis just may be slightly less control freaks than we North Americans. I postulate that it has alot to do with the fact NZ is pretty much far away from everything, and so they're aware that it's not the best place from which to plot world domination anyway, so draconian security provisions are probably overkill.

One of the first things I notice whenever I travel to a new place is the smell. Our short trek in Auckland had a faintly familiar sweet smell. I couldn't place it until Kiyomi independently stated, "it smells like brown sugar." And damned if she wasn't right. Not sure if that's normal or just the early Sunday morning (it was about 6:30 local time).

Christchurch has been a learning experience for us. We arrived around 9:30 am local time. It was pretty disorienting trying to navigate unfamiliar streets while driving on the left side of the road. Thankfully, there isn't must traffic early Sunday morning. At first, I didn't give much thought to the earthquake that happened here last February. My first impression was lush, tree lined streets, with many of the trees budding in spring. However, it didn't take long for us to notice crumbled buildings, cracked streets. Suddenly, the empty streets had a deeper tone than simply the laziness of a Sunday morning.

We spent the afternoon in Hagley Park - a large greenspace akin to New York's Central Park - taking in 27 degree weather. The kids had a blast at the playground and exploring he botanical gardens. There was a feeling of early summer release about the place with people taking in the first warmth of the season. I imagine that it's been a particularly long, difficult winter for people here and the warmth of spring carries a special sense of relief and renewal. Children were playing, the wading pool was open, parents lounging around enjoying the soft flutters of summer sun.

Today, we really understood the devastation of the earthquake. It's cool and rainy, and so we spent some time trying to find a make-shift container shopping area that has been built up near the city center. Most of what was the downtown remains cordoned off months after the earthquake and you don't have to get that close to the barricades to see the true ferocity of the disaster. Entire buildings turned to rubble, parts of buildings sheared away, floors left dangling in mid air, cracks snaking across the facade of buildings like shattered glass.

Beyond the damage though, what really struck me was that there was no activity - no people buzzing about, no cars shooting by, no customers emerging from shop fronts. The area is simply devoid of life and movement. I saw a few construction workers and the occassional construction vehicle, but they seemed as out of place as they would on the bleak landscape of the moon.

The damage is not limited to the downtown area of course. Every street you go down has damaged buildings. Some, like the brick buildings, are barely recognizable as former structures. Others, are in various stages of reconstruction.

In many cases, a city's downtown is usually it's anchor. It helps define the city, guide it's development. It is the core, the roots of the municipality. How does a city regrow it's roots? Perhaps it doesn't. Perhaps a devastated city rebuilds the way the banion tree lays down roots from the outlying branches. Anchoring itself at the weak points. We visited a couple malls today - looking for the necessary supplies for our campervan escapade - and they had obviously been recently renovated giving the impression of restoration, though some of the stores were not even open yet.

I can't even imagine how it's possible to rebuild the city center. By all accounts, very few, if any, buildings can be made inhabitable again. And yet, things move forward. While we didn't find it, merchants have set up the container mall, residents are contemplating what can be done, new buildings are anchoring the city and setting the future course.

Or perhaps the bricks and mortar of a city are merely the skeletal structure and it's the people who truly set the tone. We have certainly found some friendly folks and teh greetings feel warm and genuine. Maybe that is the better indicator of what the future holds for this city.