December 1, 2013
We left Launceston at 6:00 am this morning to fly to Melbourne and then on the Christchurch, New Zealand. We got to Christchurch around 2:30 this afternoon (12:30 Launceston time) and it took about 90 minutes to make our way through customs and get over to our hotel room.
Christchurch suffered a major earthquake about three years ago, and is still recovering. According to the desk clerk, they've demolished over 8,000 buildings so far and have another 1,500 or more to go. After dinner this evening, we rode around for a few minutes and you can see devestation everywhere, mostly to older masonry buildings. The city's main cathedral was heavily damaged and is going to be torn down. A number of old stone buildings have collapsed, some partially and some completely. There are people still living in their garages and in shelters waiting for insurance settlements to come through, so I'd guess the city still has a long way to go.
On a positive note, the area is pretty and there are some beautiful landmarks. We're going to take them in tomorrow, so we'll have pics then.
Pat's Paragraph............. Both of us are very tired this evening since we got 3 to 4 hrs of sleep. We got to the airport this morning without even seeing any 'little critters' that prowl at dawn or dusk. Thank Goodness. It was a short hop from Launceston to Melbourne and then the fun began because we were leaving Australia and going to New Zealand. Our passports were checked and rechecked, with exit forms being filled out and entry forms being filled out. Our luggage was x-rayed 3 different times.
A funny store name.... Wok on Air
We were sitting at out gate and the intercom was announcing flights that were boarding. How often do you hear destinations of Singapore, Hong Kong, Kuala Lumpor, Bangkok and Aukland? Some of the airlines we saw were China Air, Emirates, Malaysia Air, Singapore Air and Air New Zealand. As we took off, the safety film began and I was smiling through the entire thing. It had characters, from all of the Lord of the Rings movies, giving the instructions and even had Peter Jackson in the film. It was great! We flew at 35,000 feet and all you could see was wide blue ocean. As we started to descend, we were passing through clouds and then the clouds were gone and there ahead of us was this incredibly huge white craggy mountain peak, covered in snow and surrounded by 12 to 15 other huge peaks, covered in snow for as far as you could see. All of this was ringed with clouds and made of dark stone. Mt Cook was the highest one. Amazing. The area was without visible vegetation and looked so desolate and barren but as you descended further, the open valleys were green and lush.
I have to tell you about the hair 'style' we have seen here in NZ. The male youth have very long hair, in patches, hanging in their eyes or over their ears, or just hanging down the back. These long clumps are in every wild color you could think of and the rest of the head is shaved. I guess these guys are secure in their manhood to wear this daring 'do'.
