We left the saddened shambles of Christchurch and drove east to Delightful Akoroa! A sleepy little French seaside town reached after a long and winding road with the steep hillsides speckled with thousands of white dots (sheep), around the bend and down the hill as if appearing out of the ocean mist - Akoroa. Charming. Barry's Bay Cheeses, fresh fish & chips, and a chance to swim with the Hector's dolphins. The smallest and NZ's own. With a 5 mil wetsuit and ...

Again last night an aftershock. Not quite as alarming as the first one we experienced. The news reported that yesterday morning there were in fact 4 aftershocks, we only felt two of them. I think we were already walking when one hit, and couldn't even tell. It registered at around 4.0 The city is in shambles. The downtown business/tourist district, Cathederal Square, is now know as the Red Zone, due to the entire area being closed. It was a very sobering experie...

Arrived in Christchurch last night. Our host Bruce collected us at the airport. We saw some of the major damage from the earthquakes. The city is still struggling to repair and recover, and many areas of the city are closed, and some families still displaced from their homes- as water and sewer lines need to be fixed. There is a lot of work to be done and it will take some time. We'll be walking around today and will really get a chance to see how the city was af...