A Year of Photos: August 2011

Engineers appeared in our area, checking the soil strength for rebuilding.

There was a craft fair in town:

I found a new area to walk in, which included this beautiful garden:

where I photographed this fellow:

These two were captured at twilight, closer to home:

We had a second big snowfall (this street is near my work - I walked there as it was easier than driving through the snow)

The central city was still cordoned off:

At the end of August we flew away on holiday for ten days, but that deserves its own post.

The Year in Photos: July 2011

In July I attempted to take photos that weren't earthquake related, such as these smiley balloons (because we could all do with a smile or two)

and the postmen's bicycles lined up outside their depot (something about items in a row that attracts me)

I took another trip out to the seaside suburb of Sumner to see how Shag Rock had fared in the June quakes - not very well:

and to look around the little shops and galleries there

Bandaids were appearing on buildings around town:

This sculpture, erected at the end of 2010, framed the earthquake damaged and cordoned off High Street:

And at the end of the month we had the first of two big snowstorms - almost monochrome, but the Portaloo and orange road cones add a touch of colour.

I ended the month with another smiley photo - I found this one outlined in twigs when shovelling snow in my driveway.

The Year in Photos: June 2011

Back to the year in photos series:

June was the middle of winter, and I didn't take many photos as the light was mostly gone when I finished work for the day.

Demolition started on our local supermarket which made rather a nonsense of the "welcome" sign.

Demolition of other buildings in the city was revealing interesting graffiti previously hidden.

More large earthquakes struck on June 13th causing liquefaction to appear in the streets again.

But many rallied to help, including this "earthquake dog" spotted in a nearby street.

The scaffolding round the historic Provincial Council Chambers, erected after the February 22 quake, was a tumbled mess of pick up sticks after June 13th.

Knox Church, Bealey Avenue

Knox Church in Bealey Avenue featured heavily in news footage of the February 22nd earthquake as it is on the edge of the area that was the red zone cordon. It provided the backdrop for much of the commentary on the badly damaged state of the city's many old Anglican churches - despite itself being a Presbyterian church. Much of the brick cladding had fallen off. Since then, almost all the rest has been gradually taken down. The structural supports and the fine timber ceilings, however, are largely undamaged and I understand the church is to be rebuilt. In the last few weeks, the building has been lit from within at night as a sign of hope for the future.

At a media briefing today, scientists finally revealed what we had begun to suspect - that aftershocks may go on for decades (9500 so far). As the briefing came to an end, fittingly, a 5.0 aftershock struck.

It was a long rolling shake, not one of the jolting ones that are much more adrenalin-producing. These days, we don't seem to be bothered much by anything under about 5.5. Even the animals at Orana Park, apparently, are not bothered by the quakes any more. The rhinos which initially were very unsettled by it all, nowadays just lift their heads for a moment or two as if to say "oh, another one?" and go on grazing.

Port Hills Walk

My first long walk of the New Year today. With many of the tracks closed due to rockfall hazard, I had been itching for variety. The City Council promised that the Rapaki Track would reopen before Christmas, and they were true to their word. The press release announcing its reopening was issued at noon on December 23rd. Within a few hours we had had two more major shakes, and the track was closed again.

There have been walkers and joggers using it regardless - but I hesitate, not so much for fear of rockfall, but out of the knowledge that if something did happen while I was up there, the chances of ready assistance would be lessened due to the numbers of users being so much fewer. Today I headed up the Mt Vernon farm track instead, as I had found that it is open. It is longer and steeper than the Huntsbury track where I have been doing most of my walking, as it starts pretty much at the valley floor, instead of being accessed by a road that goes a good way up the hill. When I reached the top, I walked along the summit a bit and came down the Huntsbury track, and back on the roads to where I had left my car.

I found myself setting my feet on the hard ground, feeling its solidity and marvelling at the fact that it is not always so. It seemed difficult to believe that the ground could split open and boulders could come crashing down the hillside, but that has been the case in the last year. I've been inside buildings for all of the major quakes - either at home or in my office, which is in my boss's home. So I haven't experienced the terror of being on the seventeenth floor of a swaying building, or in a crowded supermarket, or under a crumbling parapet. And I haven't seen, as many have, the ground ripple and wave as if it was as fluid as the ocean. There was only one shock - about a 4.0 - when I was in the garden, and the railway sleeper I was kneeling on bucked like a horse trying to throw me, just for a moment. I felt it rather than saw it. In my mind, it's not the earth that shakes, it's the house, which is a lot easier to cope with, I think.

The flax in the top photo, like me, is between years - one stalk bears last year's dried husks, and one carries this year's flowers.

I tried to photograph the hawk, not very successfully as it was too far away. I'm pretty sure it's a hawk (kahu or Australasian harrier) but if anyone thinks otherwise, leave a comment.

Christchurch is "road cone" city since the earthquakes. This one has been decorated for the season.

The Year in Photos:April & May 2011

My April and May photo files include plenty of photos of damaged buildings (many of which have now been demolished) but also show that I was seeking out distraction of a more positive nature where I could find it.

In April the army were still manning the central city cordons:

but the Botanic Gardens were open:

and autumn colours were being to show:

I managed to find a walking track on the Port Hills not too far away which was still open:

I visited the Riccarton House craft market:

A certain wedding caused neighbours to celebrate by decorating their fence:

In the carpark of our local supermarket, now being rebuilt, the gulls had taken over as the bumps and hollows caused by the earthquake turned into a bird pond with sandy beaches:

I didn't take many photos in May, but couldn't resist this shot of an earthquake damaged building, revealing the giant papier mache mushroom stored in the shoe shop attic:

Portaloos were still common on the streets, due to damaged sewer systems. Thousands of residents were using either portaloos or chemical toilets. The portaloos came in many different colours - this dark blue one had been turned into a Tardis

and I took this photo, the icon which denotes the Windmill Centre, a shopping area in Riccarton, just because I liked the colours:

The Year in Photos: March 2011

In March I took photos around the city of ruined buildings

and soldiers in the streets

and then flew out for a week's break on Norfolk Island where the ruins are somewhat older.

We photographed the wildlife:

watched a historic reenactment

enjoyed the scenery

and watched the sunset.

It was a perfect time for a week of doing not very much. Tomorrow I'll explore what happened in April.

The Year in Photos: February 2011

I didn't take many photos in the first part of February, but I did spot these child sized hard hats lined up on shelves outside a child care centre...

and this fellow posed on top of my recycling bin...

My daughter's peach tree bore a bumper crop. The bottling was done on February 21st...

and miraculously the jars didn't fall off the bench on February 22nd, though much of the rest of the city fell down:

The above photo shows where I was sitting (on the left) when the earthquake struck.

Below, our chimney in the driveway.

With power out for two days, candlelight quickly became unromantic:

Much of the city turned into a giant wet and sloppy sandpit:

and the banks of the river moved together, with the result that most bridges had rather odd V-shaped humps on either side: