A Moment for Christchurch

First things first: If you have never experienced the Air New Zealand pre-flight safety
video with Richard Simmons, you have not yet lived a full life. That's all I'm gonna say
about that.  [Except, if your plans don't include Air NZ in the near future, here you go.]

On New Year's Day, Air NZ safely zipped us from Auckland (at the north part of the
North Island) to Christchurch (Central-East Coast of the South Island).


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When we told New Zealanders that we'd be spending a half-day in Christchurch, they pretty much
unanimously gave us a skeptical look and an "Uhh...well...there may not be much
open."

But "not much" was a bit of an understatement. Thanks to an early flight, we'd arrived,
rented a car, and driven to the city center by about 10 AM. The ONLY thing open? The
Casino. I must admit that I don't know what Christchurch looked like pre-earthquake,
or what it looks like post-earthquake on a normal day - but all I can say is that, on New
Year's Day, it was desolate.

Walking around the downtown area was surreal. There were fences erected
everywhere, around buildings, blocks, and across streets, in places where earthquake
damage either hasn't been assessed, or has rendered the area too dangerous for
passage. Broken window glass remained on the street, and many - but not all - of the
windows were boarded. We could see exposed areas where beams were embedded in
concrete, but the concrete had broken away in chunks that were also still on the ground.
Almost every structure had some kind of spray painted code on the side, presumably for
the damage assessment/demolition crews. Most had notices plastered on their doors
to the effect of "Closed. Do not enter." Everything (casino excepted) was quiet. We
passed about 8 other people (who I can only imagine were also tourists).

We walked around a bit. I tried to capture some of the damage and desolation here,
but you'll have to look very closely.  It's actually a pretty bad picture.  But the photo is of a hotel (Marriot?), and many of the broken windows are boarded, or broken but not even boarded. You can see the fences
blocking off the streets, and the orange detour/road closed signs. What you can't really see is utter quiet of the area.  Although somehow, 5 cars (one is ours) managed to make it into this photo, to make me look like a liar...

On our way out of downtown, we passed this shell of a church:

Although we don't know how much of this was earthquake damage and how much was
subsequent demolition - suffice to say, this congregation lost its home. And it is by no
means the only one.

Although we left mid-morning - before the aftershocks everyone has heard about - the
people of Christchurch have much repair, rebuilding, and recovery in their future. Keep them in your thoughts & prayers.