Shake, Rattle and Roll

"It takes an earthquake to remind us that we walk on the crust of an unfinished earth."
- Charles Kuralt

Visiting Christchurch, NZ in November of any year means taking in lovely gardens in full bloom--Christchurchians (is that a word?) apparently pride themselves on their gardens, and rightly so.

But visiting Christchurch in November 2010 also means looking at pockets of destruction, as we're here mere weeks after a 7.1 earthquake hit the city, and after weeks of constant aftershocks. Fortunately, no one was killed in the earthquake and only two people were injured. And, tooling around the city one starts to think that there was no damage. Then you come across a road that is closed because it has completely buckled, or a house or block of buildings that are either crumbling or are being razed because the damage is too severe. And telltale blue tarps on roofs are painfully common.

Christchurch itself is a lovely small city, with a lively town square and an active city life.

Beyond the city--actually, just opposite its airport--is an interesting Antarctic Center. It is from this area that a joint U.S./N.Z. project to study Antarctica is launched. And the Center provides exhibits and simulations to give an idea of what Antarctica is like. There we rode an ice truck over simulated Antarctic conditions. It's a massive truck that can climb, ride across crevices, float on water if the weather gets "warm" enough to weaken the ice, and generally cope in frigid conditions. We donned parkas and stood in a simulated storm. And saw a film of brilliant cinematography of the Antarctic.

We are now back on the ship, and bound for Wellington, which will be the next installment.