Adam's Adventures in NZ: and the Temple of Damn

Perhaps it was simple morbid curiosity that guided me to my next destination in the country of New Zealand, or perhaps it was something more. Maybe I was looking for the ultimate example of man's hubris and belief that he can truly be master of the world. Whatever I found, it made me understand one thing, we humans and our great civilizations are delicate things. No where is this proven truer, than in the city of Christchurch.
On February 22, 2011 the city of Christchurch was hit by a sudden and devastating earthquake which registered as a 6.3 on the Richter scale. In the wake of that disaster 183 people died and much of the city center was destroyed, including the historic Christchurch cathedral. 100,000 homes were damaged, 10,000 of which were damaged beyond repair. 900 modern office and commercial buildings were similarly irreparable. Since this awful event, Christchurch continues to be hit with earthquakes and aftershocks, most registering anywhere between 3.0 and 6.5 on the Richter scale. The city itself has become a a ghost town almost overnight, leaving what I can only describe as a deserted city.

My visit to Christchurch was truly an eye-opening experience. Originally, I had planned to avoid the east coast of New Zealand and Christchurch particularly, as there is almost no accommodation in the city, and even if there was, both power and water are often sketchy in the face of such geological instability. Still, I found that I had a free day in my itinerary and I realized that as logical as it might have been to avoid such a dangerous and uncertain area, I did not embark on this quest to play it safe by any means. So, with not small amount of trepidation, I set out from the Greymouth area and Lake Brunner, traversing Arthur's Pass to arrive in Canterbury area of New Zealand.

I stayed the night in a small ski hostel (which was empty because New Zealand is also having one of its hottest winters in a decade) in a small town called Springfield (d'oh) about 20 kilometers outside of Christchurch. My intention was to spend the night in the cozy little hostel and investigate the city in the morning. However, as luck would have it, I was not to escape my stay in the Christchurch area unscathed. During the early morning hours a 4.6 earthquake shook the hostel and surrounding area. From what I was told in the morning by the owner of the hostel, the quake was relatively mild by current standards, and there was no damage. Being from the east coast I have never experienced an earthquake before, and in all truthfulness I still cannot say that I have. I seemed to have slept through it. I do however recall a slight shaking sensation around 6:30 am, and I remember making some kind of mild joke to myself (yes, I tell myself jokes) that it was probably an earthquake before lazily falling back to sleep. It is possible it could have been one of the aftershocks, but I cannot confirm or deny that.

So after (sort of) experiencing my first earthquake I set out early in the morning to see first-hand the awesome power of the mother nature. All I can say is that it was like stepping onto a set of some kind of disaster movie. The streets were cracked, there were damaged and collapsing buildings everywhere, the entire downtown area was completely fenced off, and besides the army personnel patrolling the streets I barely saw another human being. Helicopters often roared overhead and I think one even lingered to watch me, as I may have stepped into a restricted area by accident. I quickly retreated to firmer land and my hovering shadow moved on. As I circled the fenced off business district it struck me how crazy it all was. I was staring through a fence, down a major metropolitan street flanked by skyscrapers and modern buildings of every design, but it was all devoid of life. Any moment I was expecting a horde of zombies or at least leather-clad biker children to turn the corner and complete the look. Car dealerships were left abandoned, multi-million dollar hotels sat empty, and all around me there was the sort of eerie silence you get no where else but in a deserted city. There were no animals to fill the noiseless gaps, but yet there were no cars, no crowds of people, no happy humans sitting on the street corner coffee shop and talking over the latest episode of New Zealand's Top Model (or whatever it is kids watch these days).

It was not always so, as Christchurch is the largest city on the South Island of New Zealand, and is the country's second largest urban area in the country. The city is named after Christ Church, Oxford and became a city by Royal Charter in 1856, making it the oldest established city in New Zealand. When the city was still habitable it boasted a bustling CBD (Central Business District) surrounding the now-damaged landmark Anglican cathedral, Christ Church. It also had other attractions, which I wish I could have seen, among them the official Wizard of New Zealand, (His name is Ian Brackenbury Channell, and he is a self-proclaimed wizard who was granted the title Wizard of New Zealand by parliamentary decree... I told you this is a weird and interesting country) as well as a multitude of markets and the City Mall.

I have been told that before last year when this whole "geological instability" thing first started, Christchurch was actually considered to be one of the more stable areas of New Zealand. For instance, Wellington sits along several major fault lines and it is estimated that the city experiences at least one micro-quake per week, but before now Christchurch was never known as an earthquake hot spot. It is a tidbit of information that I found both startling and scary, as it now seems that the earth's crust is suddenly in upheaval, and I am left wondering if it is only going to get worse or better. Regardless whether the situation improves or not, most of Christchurch's 376,000 residents are not willing to stick around to find out. Most people are fleeing the area in droves, but prior to this year's events Christchurch boasted the second largest population in New Zealand, unfortunately (and despite the city official's promises of rebuilding) that can no longer be claimed.

As for my own opinion on the subject, even as I sit here and recall the events and things I saw during my few brief hours in Christchurch it is still hard to wrap my head around it all. It is a sight that has changed how I see not only the world, but myself. We live our lives often forgetting that the earth upon which we live is also a living thing. Like the butterfly who's life is so brief that it is unaware that the tree on which it perches is also alive, we often have a difficult time envisioning that the world is a vibrant and dynamic creature. Also like the butterfly, we are but fragile things amidst a world of chaos. Maybe (and despite our own ideas on the subject) we are meant to exist for only a moment in the annuls of time. Maybe we live an even more finite existence than we know, and maybe that is what makes it all worth living. I do cannot say. I am neither a philosopher or a poet, but I do know that life is full of uncertainty. Perhaps all we can do is live our lives to the fullest and hope for the best.