15 November 2016 Parua Bay, Whangarei Harbour, Northland

We have been back in the area for a few days now, although will be heading off tomorrow, once again on the road. The intervening days have seen us ticking off a long list of tasks to be completed but more memorably, living through days that will most likely embed themselves in our memory. 

Yesterday we rose to news of another major earthquake in the South Island, our oldest grandson’s fourteenth birthday and news that our youngest granddaughter had broken her leg in a trampolining accident.

Later we called into the bank and learned from another harbourside dweller that the tsunami siren had sounded at 1am and most had rolled over and gone back to sleep. I was a little more aware; I woke to the sound of a dog barking in the distance, got up to relieve myself and heard some idiot’s burglar alarm going off. It went on and on and I cursed it as I drifted back into sleep. It is just as well our possie here on Jumbo is well elevated from any real threat of seismic deluge.

The magnitude 7.5 earthquake, 15 kilometres northeast of Culverden in the South Island, struck at a depth of fifteen kilometres. Since then it has been variously described as the third worst earthquake in New Zealand during the last century, as well as being the worst. I guess it depends which seismologist is being interviewed, however all of that is academic to those in Kaikoura who are currently cut off from the world with the coastal road north and south of them, the only access in and out. Likewise those living in Blenheim and Wellington to name the more major settlements north of the earthquake centre are despaired at the mess of broken glass all about them; their windows, jars of preserves, mirrors, ornaments, just chaos. And all the while the aftershocks continue. Apparently the first biggy was felt from Invercargill in the south to Whangarei in the north; perhaps it was that and not the barking dog that woke me the night before last?

On a purely selfish level, we do wonder at the logistics of our planned trip to Christchurch and beyond when State Highway One is currently closed between Seddon and Waipara. Today we learned the Lewis Pass had reopened however the ferries are still in limbo since their loading structures were damaged in the quake. Obviously we will have to take one day at a time and deal with our visiting in the North Island first and review our plans as we travel further south.

In the meantime, we have had the belt on the Isuzu repaired again; the vehicle is no longer an embarrassment to drive, and the water pump in the camper has been replaced and seems to be functioning as it should.