Christchurch: Two Years On

It's now been two years since the devastating February 22nd earthquake which hit Christchurch, destroying many homes and businesses, and taking the lives of 185 people. Thankfully the magnitude and frequency of aftershocks are both decreasing (see the Canterbury Quake Live site), along with the chance of there being any more major aftershocks. Some parts of the city have been fixed, but others are still in disarray. On my visit back home over Christmas I drove along some bumpy roads littered with potholes, particularly in the eastern suburbs by the Avon River and the estuary.  There are still many damaged and unoccupied homes, and tagging has sprung up everywhere. My parents' house remains unfixed, with boarded up windows and taped up cracks in the walls. It's sad to see, and I feel for my Mum and Dad not being able to do anything to speed up the process of getting repairs done. Thankfully some progress is slowly being made and the major repairs may start within a year or so.

Unofficial road sign

The photos below show the scarcely believable current state of the central city. So many buildings have been demolished, and there are still many left to be pulled down, with over 70% of the central city scheduled for destruction. Looking at the pictures, it is hard to even recognise which street is which, the layout has changed so much.

Despite the sadness of seeing the city I grew up with being torn down, it's exciting to think of the amazing opportunity which now exists for the city planners. Central Christchurch can be rebuilt from scratch, and there is great potential to make it one of the most modern and environmentally friendly cities in the world! Obviously it will take many years to rebuild the city into what it once was, but in 10 years or so, Christchurch will surely be a great place to live again (that's as long as it remains earthquake free...). There's a plan already in place for the rebuild, and a short video outlining the basics can be seen by clicking on this link, where more detailed information can also be found. I'm sure I will move back and live there sometime in the coming years, and I can't wait to see what it will look like then.

Looking at what's left of the cathedral and the central city

Another angle of the central city

Mardi Gras 2013

Mardi Gras season is one hell of a party down here in Louisiana. It kicks off in early January and for the next month there seems to be endless parades and parties all throughout the state. All classes at LSU get cancelled for the Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday during the main Mardi Gras week and the population of New Orleans doubles as people come from all over the United States to party! Doing a bit of reading on Wikipedia, I found that the holiday was first celebrated in Louisiana in 1699 and was known to be established in New Orleans by 1743. Since then, it has been a virtually annual event of parades, masquerade balls, and general partying, even surviving through Hurricane Katrina.

This year I went to New Orleans for Mardi Gras weekend again, staying one night at a friend's house and one at a hostel with my friend Bjornar who was visiting from Norway after studying at LSU last year. Lots of other friends were also in New Orleans where we all met up, watched parades, danced in the street (check out the video below), went to parties, collected beads, and of course went down Bourbon Street; it was an awesome time! The only negative was a shooting about two blocks away from us on Bourbon Street on the Saturday night. The rest of the street descended into chaos as the police moved everyone away from the block of the shooting, making Bourbon Street even more crowded than it already was.

Bourbon Street

A New Zealand float in the Bacchus Parade!