It’s always an adventure to travel a road not previously experienced, and yesterday we drove over Gebbies Pass on the way to Lyttelton. We pulled over to the side of the road as a pilot vehicle with flashing lights came towards us. “Wide load follows” it warned, and after a wee wait a huge earthmoving truck astride an even bigger truck rumbled through. We wouldn’t want to meet them on a narrow corner.
Earthquake damage was quite evident as we drove through the Port Hills on our approach to Lyttelton. Many homes had temporary concrete retaining walls to stop any further subsidence to their hillside properties. Down at the port, even after a year since the big earthquakes, there was a lot of damage to see. Some businesses had tarpaulins covering their damaged roofs.
It was all rather sad and depressing, and we have to remember that this is only one of the many areas of Christchurch that suffered considerable earthquake damage. This rather poignant message to the Earthquake Commission shows that results are not happening quickly enough for many businesses.
And just to stop us getting too complacent in our own little worlds, we experienced one of the Christchurch thousands of aftershocks ourselves last night back here in camp at Tai Tapu. The sharp jolt reminded us that this region still has a long way to go before the fault lines settle down, and New Zealand is a country formed by volcanic activity.
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