The weather has been thankfully very sunny for most of my brief stay in Christchurch. On Boxing day, the day after Christmas, Dad took me around on a tour of some of the earthquake stricken places around town. We saw the new containers mall in central city, and a bit of the cordoned-off area. It makes for quite a different kind of tourist site. Everyone walks about, pointing, and talking, but quietly, as if they might disturb the emptiness of it all. 

Then we went for a drive to the east, to the marshland area we used to live when I was a kid. There were toilet waste disposal points, still, at various sites on the streets, and volunteers at large helping to clear out the new damages. It wasn't very pretty, and I was only seeing these after most horrible things have been cleared off, back in February. The shakes are not nearly as frequent as it had been early last year. Let's hope they will stop for good, soon!