Tēnā koutou katoa
This is all about New Zealand - Aotearoa - and the time I spent there. Magical times, beautiful scenery, gushing geysers, thermal wonderlands. Hear about Waitangi Day, discover the meaning of the word "Aotearoa", see the Glaciers, read about hangis and Hakas, and visit the beautiful Bay of Islands. So come with me on a journey - a journey to The Land of The Long White Cloud.
Kia ora
CHRISTCHURCH EARTHQUAKE TRIBUTE 2011
It's been a long time since last I wrote. Instead of writing the next part of my travels in New Zealand, I write this as a tribute to those who lost loved ones and those who suffered or were touched in some way by the terrible earthquake which hit Christchurch in February this year.
I was in Laos at the time and having gone back to my hotel, put the telly on and settled back to watch a show. The first thing I saw and heard was about the earthquake in Christchurch and I couldn't understand why they were reporting something that happened five months previously. It took a few minutes to realise they weren't. I sat there shocked as I learned of the earthquake that had all but destroyed a city. It had happened that day - February 22, 2011.
I felt so sad and just cried at the devastation and destruction. My memories of Christchurch are of a beautiful city with lovely parks and gardens - brilliant flowers, tall, stately buildings and wide, clean streets.
Below is a collage of some of those memories.
Christchurch before the earthquakes
2 comments:
Hi! I came across your blog by accident. I am just currently looking at my photos from my NZ journey. I want to group them and put them into an album to keep them all in one place.
I must say that I LOVE your blog. It brings back memories: I visited exactly the same places, took photos and in Wellington I stayed just a few steps away from your hostel, on Oriental Terrace :)))
When you were in Laos during this terrible ChCh earthquake I was in Wellington. My brother was in ChCh though. He came back (!!!) really stressed out and terrified after what happened. He's OK now.
Regards from Warsaw, Polnad
marta
Hello Marta,
I am so sorry I didn't see your comment until now (shows just how slack I have become!) I am glad your brother was safe and hope he has been able to come to terms with what he witnessed.
Strange how things happen isn't it? You just up the road from where I stayed, visiting the same places - it is a small world indeed.
Regards from Melbourne, Australia.
Sandra (aka BlossomFlowerGirl)
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