Christchurch Earthquake

After dropping Vince off at the airport last Saturday, I had planned on staying in Christchurch until the Queens of the Stone Age concert on Wednesday. So I was passing the time pretty uneventfully until then. On Tuesday the 22nd around 1PM I decided to get a falafel for lunch. I paid the falafel guy and was waiting in queueueue. Then the building started shaking, the power went out, and I ducked under a nearby table.

It was definitely the strongest earthquake I had felt, but I really didn't think it was gonna be that bad. The building I was in was fine for the most part and no one in it got hurt. To be honest, I was more annoyed by the earthquake than anything, I just wanted to get my falafel. As soon as the shaking stopped, someone yelled "everyone out" and we quickly left the building and fled towards the nearby park. It wasn't till I was outside that I started to get a sense for how damaging the earthquake really was. Many of the nearby buildings were in complete ruin. Everyone was kind of in shock. I saw some people who looked badly injured, but we were pushed towards the safety of the park.

There were a few strong aftershocks and a lot of panicked people trying to find loved ones. The city center was soon closed off and ambulances arrived. After a while, I started the long walk around the city center towards my hostel. I was able to take some pictures of the outskirts of the city but my camera ran out of batteries. Luckily for me, my hostel survived relatively unscathed. However, my board bag and clothes are stuck inside the hostel until the city center is reopened. My hostel is pretty close to Hotel Grand Chancellor, the tallest building in Christchurch, which is on the verge of collapsing. Until that building collapses (or someone makes it collapse) I probably won't be able to get my things, and I'm supposed to be here for about three more weeks.

But I'm not complaining!! I have been very lucky throughout the ordeal and have many things to be thankful for: 1) my life! 2) I happened to be wearing a backpack containing my computer, wallet, and passport and 3) a lot of people who care about me back home!

The first night after the quake I stayed with everyone who couldn't get into their hotel, hostel, or home in a giant tent. It was very nice to be sheltered as it had started to rain right after the earthquake. The next night I spent in a basketball gym. We were actually fed very well and I got to help at the Red Cross stations setting up food and makeshift beds. The scrapper in me was happy to get free food and a free place to sleep! I actually ate some meat for the first time in 4 years out of necessity and decided it was my "F-You" back to mother nature.

After two nights in desolated Christchurch, I headed south back to Dunedin to figure out some idea of what to do for the last month in NZ. One week after the quake, there is still no word on when they will allow people into the Christchurch city center, so my surf trip is on hold indefinitely. In the meantime, I might try a long hiking trip or maybe volunteer back in Christchurch. I'm jealous Vince got to see QOTSA and I didn't. I almost expected them to show up in Christchurch and play "The Sky is Falling" for all the refugees.

I won't be able to upload my earthquake photos till I can get my charger but here is a video someone shot with their iPhone of the area that I was in during the event:

Kiwi Music

Joe and I made this playlist of songs, for one reason or another, we've heard a bunch in New Zealand. They LOVE American pop music here, but also seem to be into a lot of really good music that wouldn't make it in the states because it's not mainstream enough.

First Week In Auckland

Great night last night. My friend Pie, who everyone has been saying is “pretty much the Indian version of Vince from New Zealand”, takes us to his buddy’s house and I get to really experience some authentic Kiwi house partying.

One of the guys has an Aunt who works for American Honey (the WIld Turkey whiskey drink), and apparently she got ahold of a batch that somehow had gone sour (the sugar was crystallizing). Obviously, we could care less about some sugar in our whiskey, so we have a massive batch all to ourselves.

My buddy Nick put it well yesterday, “Drinking with the Kiwis is like drinking with Hobbits.”  They’re just such a cheery little bunch. We spend the night singing, playing games, singing some more, and asking trivia off of our beer bottles.

To top off the night, Joe, the guy who’s house we were at, decides to make us all food. Somehow he manages to spill an entire carton of eggs on the ground, but we are not deterred. Joe and I scoop the eggs into a frying pan, straight off the ground, and happily serve the party “floor eggs”. They were a bit chalky, crunchy from the shells, and absolutely superb.

We look straight out of “Superbad”, all drinking our malfunctioning whiskey and munching on floor eggs. Joe would have been proud.

This morning, I wake up and find this note on the kitchen counter:

If you  can't read it, it says "Message from Joe. Have gone to dispose of beer bottles & pick up some more floor eggs possibly bacon too"

Joe returns, and we all feast on hangover eggs, bacon, sausage, fresh milk, bread, and a mixture of beans and canned spaghetti that I expect Joe must be salivating over...

Other than that, things have been great here. I start school on Monday, only have class from Monday-Wednesday, have met heaps of great people here, and accumulated some blog-inappropriate stories along the way. Oh, and I saw Joe’s favorite band, The Queens of the Stone Age.

Joe was supposed to see them in Christchurch, but, as he playfully put “Christchurch concert rocked my world!! Oh wait that was an earthquake.” 

Earthquake

Just got news from the Statom Family and apparently Joe was able to get through back home, and he is safe. From what I've heard the damage was pretty disastrous. Thank you all for your prayers and thoughts.

Greymouth

I am awoken this morning by Joe slamming the door shut. The sun is just peaking up over the mountains, our windows are heavily misted from the night, and I’m still pretty sleepy. We’re parked in a little grass parking lot. Between us and the beach is a rugby pitch, which has turned golden in the sunrise. I had heard there is nothing to do in Greymouth, but it looks absolutely beautiful to me. I sit and make some breakfast while Joe goes and scopes the waves.

The trip up to Greymouth was one of our prettiest. Leaving from Queenstown, we head North for glacier territory, but are stopped several times by the scenery.

First stop is along the main highway, at this stunning lake. Joe and I are like kids again as we run from the car to the water. This is just some little place we pull off on the side of the road. Nobody else stops here because, I can only assume, this is no out-of-the-ordinary beauty for the natives here. For us, this is one of the greatest lake views I’ve seen.

Next, we make a pit stop at some short little hike advertised as the “blue pools”. After a little walk through the rainforest and a few rickety bridges, we find the blue pools and hop on in. I was feeling a bit fatigued on the road, so the ice-cold water is a good little wake up for me.

Finally, we make it to the glaciers. The largest in the area is the Franz Josef glacier, named after Franz Josef. It’s hard to grasp how big this thing is in pictures, but it is freaking massive, and a bit surreal looking at a huge chunk of ice like this in the middle of summer.

Joe, on a bet, dunks his head in the glacier water (which, we determine, is the coldest possible water he could dunk his head in), and we watch the sunset over the mountains with some tuna sandwiches (prepared on the top of the car).

We drive until Greymouth, and both pass out in the car. It’s supposed to be a pretty good little surf spot here, so Joe is excited. I’m pretty content, amidst the scenery, to just sit back and watch.

Vince Bungee

Joe Bungee