22nd April - Christchurch, 44°S 171°E

Christchurch came as a shock - it feels like the quake was a couple of months ago rather than a couple of years. People we talk to think it will be twenty years before it’s back to normal. Most of the city centre is off limits, buildings are still being demolished. A lot of empty buildings still have the spray paint on the window to say they have been searched. A lot of buildings are exactly as they were left on the day of the quake with the furniture inside covered in a thick layer of dust. Walking through the city felt a bit like being in a film, something like I am Legend, where something terrible has happened and all of the people have gone.

It’s not all bad news, there is a new temporary shopping mall made of brightly coloured shipping containers and people seem breezily optimistic. Signs suggest that parking used to be a problem - not any more.

We both need a haircut. Karen finds a salon in the basement of Christchurch’s only remaining department store and Phil sets out to find a barber with the help of Google. It seems that Google hasn’t kept fully up to date with developments in Christchurch as the place it leads him is completely flattened and behind a large fence. Asking a local turns out to be much more effective.

New Zealand’s Marmite factory was destroyed in the quake leading to a chronic Marmite shortage. Marmageddon, as it became known, became a big news story here for over a year. Vegemite may be good enough for the Aussies but everyone else knows that Marmite is the real deal. Marmite was imported from South Africa but it just wasn’t the same. The situation was only resolved in the last couple of months as supplies of proper Kiwi Marmite became available once more.

While a lot of Christchurch residents have left the city. A large number of construction workers, many of them Irish, have come in to rebuild it. If you ever fancied opening an Irish bar, this is probably the time and place to do it. The two that we saw seemed to be doing well.

The temporary cardboard cathedral is close to our motel. It looks like it is having a waterproof skin fitted. Near the cathedral, 178 white painted chairs have been set out, one for every person killed in the quake.

Our original plan had been to drive back to Auckland but we were short of time so we dropped the van off in Christchurch and flew back to Auckland then on to the Cook Islands...