2 - 10 Christchurch, Lyttelton, earthquakes and Timeball.

 Christchurch (population of 400,000+), has been rebuilding their city  for the last 13 years.  In 2010 and again in 2011 they suffered devastating earthquakes. First one was 7.2 on Richter scale, and the second was 6.4.  The first earthquake weakened structures, the second one knocked them down.  It claimed 185 lives as two high rises pancaked. They lost 80% of the hotel rooms, there were 2000+ aftershocks.  A casino was untouched, except that the power went out and the basements flooded, when the pumps could not work.  Many casino goers lost their cars as the parking was in the basement. So a lot of our tour today was centered around the earthquake event and rebuild.

New Zealand is the strictest country yet.  To get off the ship, this little dog sniffer had to approve of our bags. He checked everyone's bags.  For the umpteenth time we heard the Hoof and Mouth recording, no food can be taken off the ship, unless it is prepackaged (candy bar, biscuit, etc). Also to return to the ship the Viking id isn't sufficient (it was enough in Australia), we must also carry a gov issued id (passport or DL).

                                        New friends Sarah and George were on our bus.

                    This lighthouse was at the end of the pier where the Mars was docked.  So cute!

                                                    Beautiful scenery everewhere.

CC have a cardboard chapel being used temporarily until the full cathedral is rebuilt.  At the front you can see cardboard tubes in roof structure.

"Old' remaing skyscraper is in the distance.  In front is cleared area where another building used to be - but was damaged during the quake.  We heard and saw similar stories for many other locations.  As a result of the earthquake, new building height is limited to 5 stories.

                                                

Large skate board park.  It was empty when we first traveled by (9am) and full of kids later (11:30).

NZ is known for its wool.  Phil noticed that it is 50% merino, 40% possum and 10% nylon. Interesting...why do I look for 100% merino when I shop?

                                    Select old buildings are being restored.

                                            Here is a new 5 story building, pwc.

                                Downtown Christchurch has a pedestrian only shopping area, very European, and so nice for strolling.  

What luck to find Nespresso. Nespresso brick and mortar shops are limited to big cities - nothing near Greenville SC.  I bought a token sleeve of coffee.  It was about 40% less cost than what I get online! BTY we did not buy gin....

                                                    Colorful showcase of Nespresso coffees.

Our included tour had a stop at Mona Vale gardens, managed by Christchurch council. The bus driver dropped us off at the south gate, we walked the main trail to the north gate.  The trail followed the Avon river.  The garden was on one side,  private homes were on the other.  We got a peak at these beautiful homes/backyards.

                                        To and from the ship, we could see the Timeball on the hillside at the harbor, just in front of the ship's mast.

On our own, Phil and I took the local shuttle to Lyttleton and walked up to the Timeball.  It was a steep climb.  An older gentleman from CC was walking up to the timeball too.  He was so kind to give us directions.   Two other locals said hello - such a kind city. This city is small at 3,000 population. Small city kindness? The houses along the way had steep steps and gardens, matching the steep climb.

Street sign alerting us to a narrow set of stpes up to the Timeball.  We missed this marker the first time.

At 12:57 pm, the Timeball is raised and then at 1:00 pm sharp it is dropped, everyday.  This tower is visible by boats entering and in the harbor.  The boats/ships would use this precise time to calibrate their ship's chronometers(clocks), critical to calculating longititude at sea.  Who knew that already? not me.

This display shows the harbor, and describes the flag relay process used to communicate with locals and ships via the tower.

                                            

                                                                    Picture perfect. Beautiful views.

The black dot in the water is a wind surfer.  He had the entire harbor to himself, surrounded by ancient volcanic mountains.

                                                            Perfect weather, perfect day.

                                                        Tomorrow is Picton.