Touchdown in Christchurch- first week in NZ

So here I am, my week in New Zealand.  Why did I do it you ask?....Why not? It was a surprise to be accepted for a New Zealand work visa, and once the date is set for your entry into the country, you have to go, or give the idea up all together.  I decided to go...

The decision

 Though it was a sad prospect to leave my friends, family, and relationships behind, the possibility of New Zealand being an amazing journey was undeniable.  It felt liberating to leave all my wires and junk back in the states, though I do miss my bike and my car ;(

In a years time, I'll likely be back in the West Coast, because there's something great happening there....but for this next year, I'm going to do great in New Zealand, so stay tuned.

After I touched down at the airport, and dropped all my stuff of at Rich and Ness's awesome little cottage, I decided to take a stroll to downtown.  I didn't really realize it till then how much the city was affected by the earthquake.

When I studied at UC canterbury, every young person would flock to downtown every thursday, friday, and saturday.  Though I'm not a fanatic for bars, clubs, or local sports team, the lack of them drains alot of young folks from the city.  Now the entire downtown is abandoned buildings and cordoned off highrises, strangely eerie, kinda like chernobyl.

WELCOME TO CHRISTCHURCH!

So Christchurch is less of a city now, and more of a town, since there's no more downtown, hotels, bars, stadiums, or shows.  The only thing that seems to be thriving is demolition crews and the Riccarton mall :(

CULTURE!!!

I feel bad for the students coming in to canterbury, since there's no library, science, law, pub, common rooms, or auditoriums to use....who am I kidding they just drink every night anyway.

But for all the unholy destruction, it's still got amazing parks and nice folks.  I guess they'll have to rebuild it into a smaller, renewable energy powered, smaller scale city.  Glad I can use it as a base for all my NZ excursions.

I have to thank Rich and Ness again for being amazing and letting me crash rent free in their house.  As the months pass, I'm sure well make some cool things, and I'll repay them with adventures.

Wild Kiwis

So in the first week here...

Rich and I jumped off a 60 foot tall tree in the adrenaline forst.

Took a wrong turn in Christchurch on a hike and ended up walking 32km's the whole day.

Saw Rich off to the airport on his English filmmaking journey.

Spent alot of time running in parks and setting up my bank account.

In about two weeks, I'll be able to leave Christchurch with a bike or a car obtained online, but until then...I'll do something productive; like edit, plant a veggie garden, exercise, and plan my Sumatran Rainforest adventure.

Adventures are afoot, so I'll keep you all updated!