Earthquake: 44 months later

I was walking in the CBD the other day, marveling at the fact that I call Christchurch "home". And as I looked around, walking from a favorite cafe to my car, I thought about how much the city has changed since we've lived here. It's less wrecked buildings and more gravel parking lots. It's less closed roads, and more new pavement. Less sad, more happy. Less boring, more cafes and bars. You get the idea.

But it's not all pretty yet. Far from it. In fact, I think a lot of things looked better 2 years ago than they do now- because construction is ugly! I decided to retrace my steps from January 2013, to show the progress that's happened in 21 months (or a total of 44 months later). I attempted to take all the following pictures standing in the exact same spot as I did back then. 

Then and Now

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(Looks worse, right? But note, missing buildings galore)

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(They moved the re:START mall a few blocks- it's really not worth getting excited about anymore. Cool while it lasted.)

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(Bridge of Remembrance. Construction is ugly.)

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(Probably won't be a watch shop...)

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Jan 2013

Oct 2014

The above before and after photos are of the Isaac Theatre Royal which is set to reopen in November. This is an example of one of the Christchurch architectural icons that has been preserved thanks to serious efforts and donations.

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Some other things, happily, haven't changed at all:

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But this old girl is much the same.

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Though there has been a lot of progress, there are still areas that seem utterly untouched since February 22, 2011.

Haven't Been Touched

Cranes: a staple in the sky

There are also still dozens of historical buildings around the city that haven't been repaired or torn down. Many hang in the balance, month in and month out, while people argue about money and progress and history. And money.

(Note the Canterbury "all right?" campaign posters- an effort to support mental health of earthquake sufferers.)

The New Christchurch

As fast as demolitions turn into gravel parking lots, new construction begins. Judging by the product thus far, it seems that 10 years from now Christchurch will be The Glass City. There's a lot of agitation about this, since Christchurch used to be so rich with (British) history. I, for one, think it's great. Earthquake safe. Progressive. And most importantly, usable. What good are all of the brick buildings held up by scaffolding labeled Too Hazardous To Enter...?

"The Terrace", coming soon. Riverside restaurants and bars. Outdoor music and festivals. Thank. God.

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The Current Christchurch

The best thing about this city, in addition to it's proximity to the ocean and mountains, is it's heart. I've mentioned this before, but I think it's really unique. People have come together to create beautiful art, creative spaces, and inspiring venues amidst the dust. 44 months later, this continues to flow.

CBD trams, back in action.

648 flags blowing optimism around cathedral square.

Traffic sheep replace road cones.

A Gap Filler called RAD: Recycle A Dunger

Fix your bike or help fix someone else's. Bring in your old vintage (or crappy) bike. It will get restored and sold cheap to someone who needs it. Or you can do it yourself!

Wooden palm trees liven up the corner where RAD sits.

A trendy new restaurant: The Brick Farm is the lone brick building standing amongst the rubble. Classic Christchurch. 

The Cardboard Cathedral: built from cardboard tubes (think paper towel roll), wood and glass. A controversial church built as a "transitional cathedral" which will stand for 50 years- hopefully long enough for the Christchurch Cathedral to get sorted out!

I always feel a sense of optimism when I walk around the CBD. It is loud and dusty, and frequently ugly, but hey, all that noise means they're hard at work. And yes, standing on some street corners still feels like being on the set of a post-apolcolyptic Tom Cruise movie. But living here, even visiting here, gives you a sense that you are part of a big change. Even if most of the world has no idea it's even happening!

Exploring the Banks Peninsula

This weekend it felt like summer. Honest to goodness summer. 

It was the perfect time for bikes and beer, jumps and berms and general trail explorations with friends. Unfortunately though, Scott is currently channeling all of his energy towards healing a few broken ribs. There was a mishap with him and a shrub and a tree. Nature won.

During Scott's first few codeine-haze days on the couch, he researched alternate activities for the next 12 weeks... 6 weeks (who are we kidding, he'll be back at it in no time). He announced to me that he thought driving his trusty (?) Subaru on the beach at Birdling Flats would be a good idea. And as long as we didn't get stuck, the road would become a shingle (gravel) path through the rural southern half of the Banks Peninsula. 

Confused? Here! Maps!

Northern half of the South Island, NZ. Got it? Ok, ZOOM:

So we actually drove across the beach to Bossu Rd (above), but Google Maps doesn't recognize that as a road. So this is sort of our route, but shown backwards and not attached.

The beach at Birdling Flat is made up of round stones, tumbled smooth by the ocean. It's not your normal "beach" really (lounging would be uncomfortable) but it is quite pretty. 

Not sand. Small rocks. And big rocks.

We gathered lots of cool colored rocks (nerds unite!) but this one really really was just sitting there. 

So above, thats the beach in question that we were going to drive across. Sure there was a "path" across it, a narrow strip where wheels had created ruts to guide you. But I was skeptical.

This guy, not nervous at all. Broken ribs? What else are we gonna do? Lets see if we can almost but not quite get the car stuck! Sweet as.

I held my breath the whole time we drove across the beach. We started with lots of speed, but almost immediately it felt like we had driven into a swamp. Just when I thought we were going to be stuck though, the Subie picked up. A little fishtail left, then right, and it carried on through the rocks.

After the beach I foolishly thought we were home free. We had watched a truck go over a small levy which was obviously gravel, but it didn't look too hard. Did we hike over and look at it first? Nahhh...

High on our beach triumph, we drove right over to the levy, which as it turned out was an extremely narrow strip of deep round rocks dividing two bits of water. Basically, a gauntlet.

But since Im writing this with at least a glimpse of humor, I suppose you realize that we made it. I was pretty thrilled it was a one way trip.

The dodgy bit of levy we crossed. 

 From there on out it was backwoods driving at its' best. We saw lakes and ocean, vistas and sheep.

Well, that actually sums up about all of what we saw, but it was beautiful. Now, a photo montage for you:

Scott told me to pose. Im not much of a model. 

Island Bay greeting committee. 

The black sheep hated me and I couldn't get a better photo.

After several hours of hikes and exploration, we realized we were famished. Conveniently, the Hilltop Tavern just on the way to/from Akaroa was open and making fantastic pizzas. The view alone is worth a stop, but the beer and pizza, and resident goat, make it a place I'll be back to again and again.

We may not have pedaled our way into earning these. But we didn't feel too guilty.

I want your pizza.

On our way home we stopped for a little cheeky bird watching. Look mom, I know bird stuff! We saw:

White faced herons
New Zealand scaups
Mallards
Australian shovelers
Pied shags
Spotted shags
Little shags
Swamp harriers
Black swans
Australasian crested grebes
Welcome swallows

...and seagulls of some sort.

Bird watching territory

When we got home I tried to "stitch" together some panoramas from photos I took, which came out pretty cool but a bit small on the blog. You get the idea though. Pretty stuff.