Christchurch

not a lot to say really...am I morbid? I had to pass through on my way north, so talk a walk and chatted to some folk. Heard some grim stuff and some heartening stuff. Everyone seems to be helping eachother out...I went to fill up a 20 gallon container with water for the hostel (not sure if I thought I was gonna be able to carry it the km or so up the road!?) and hadn't got more than 10 metres down the road when some random fella pulled up in his car and gave me a lift.

The centre of town was all blocked off (understandably) and these photos are mainly from a walk taken around the cordon.

For more interest (and if the link works for you) check out...
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=339546&id=715513032&fbid=10150161654018033

I'm in Wellington now out of interest.

walking from the bus to the hostel

note outside the hostel..we were level with the cordon

taking a walk next to the River Avon on Stanmore

I shopped here a couple of times (on Stanmore)

other side of the road on Stanmore

something doesn't look right here...

quite a bit of mess around here

and here

tanks on the streets of Christchurch (the cannons were covered at the ends...)

Crooked cross on the Cathedral of the Blessed Sacrament

crooked cross as above

there was a lot of this

William Rolleston lost his head

and it landed there (that was his plinth of course)

...whenever I'm around (graveyard chamber)

cracks and shadows in the Botanical Gardens

sad, but ironic (reportedly he would have found his passing ironically amusing...)

that's his car

water from out of town as water supply got somewhat disrupted...but they were damn quick in sorting it out (mostly)

these are still standing though

Knox Church (built 1902) just up from the hostel (the hostel was one of three backpackers still operating)

and again

and again