The exhilaration of finishing my three month weed contract was tempered by news that more aftershocks had rocked Christchurch on 23 December. Luckily my flight up on Christmas Eve wasn't affected and I had an awesome weekend with Phil, Jeff and Colin. We spent two nights at The Chateau in the Park (great hotel, yummy food and huge beds) and walked, talked and biked away the hours. Lovely weather, good company, not too many jolts and a fun 18-holes of golf on the Wii made for an unforgettable family Christmas - thanks guys.
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| Christmas morning walk in Kennedy Bush Reserve |
Christmas Day afternoon we walked through Hagley Park into the CBD to check out the new Cashel Mall Re:Start container shops which herald the start of the CBD rebuild. The complex has over 20 shops and was opened on 29 October 2011; great to see something creative amid the destruction.
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| Cashel Mall Re:Start container shops - a good morale booster |
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| Cashel Mall - love the sunflowers |
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Cashel Mall looking toward the Bridge of Remembrance -
lots of carparks created by demolished buildings |
I couldn't get over how much sunshine there was in the CBD - here's a couple of pics taken from the end of Cashel Mall into the zone that's still barricaded.
On our walk we passed building after building with either yellow (limited access) or red stickers (unsafe, probable demolition) on the door. Liquefaction 'volcanoes' and rollercoaster footpaths from last Friday's aftershocks remind us that Mother Nature hasn't got comfortable yet. Great to see the Canterbury spirit alive and well with residents taking the new aftershocks in their stride - kia kaha :)
I've had a few visitors since I got home...
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| Whitetail deer grazing on my driveway as night fell |
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| Mother Duck and babes |
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| Kereru atop the rimu |
... and yesterday morning a male kiwi called right outside my bedroom window. I was awake when he started and counted 30 bars (whistles) - no wonder he sounded breathless at the end!!
Longest day stats:
Sunrise: 5.48am
Sunset: 9.41pm (takes another hour to get fully dark though)
I've got one more day to get a final post for 2011 - spot ya tomorrow!
