The real Flight of the Conchords?

 

Another great clip of our fearless leader. Could he have been a Mr. Mum?

The Big Cheese

Thus far we have met the mayor, seen the Dalai Lama, and now this guy. It's pretty cool to live in a country where the man in the highest office has less security than Justin Bieber. I would have introduced us to Prime Minister John Key but he had his game face on and seemed edgy. This was shot just before he addressed the city about the fate of thousands of homes affected by the earthquakes...not all good news.

Fish On!

One of the benefits of being an American dad in New Zealand is that you get 2 Father's Days! And to kick off the festivities, my girl got me shiny new fishin' license. Now that the tackle box is complete, Little Man and I will shove off soon to begin exploring the nearby streams for some mid-winter trout stalking. First stop, Ashley Gorge? Fish on.

Did you know?....New Zealand has a plethora of untouched world class trout streams, not to mention the 10th longest coastline in the world, providing plenty of opportunitey for ocean anglers.

A Tale of Two Earthquakes

On Monday I was strolling through the park (literally, with a stroller) listening to the life story of Steve Martin when suddenly my legs began to quiver. Normally I can hear the earthquake first, so I took my headphones off to confirm that the ground was once again seething with energy. I was standing alongside a row of massive sequoia, cedar and redwood trees and was startled to see that they were swaying like giant Ents on parade in Middle Earth. They groaned and creaked and their nearby deciduous cousins were shedding abnormal amounts of colorful fall leaves. The odd part is that the leaves came straight down rather than blowing off sideways in a breeze. Anyway, had to be there. A kid on a bike in front of me panicked and bolted around a gravel path, only to slam on his brakes and glance around quickly. I told him to stay calm but he didn't hear me and quickly sped off in another direction. The shaking only lasted about 10 - 15 seconds and as I stood there, heart pounding in my chest, I wondered about far reaching effects. It was a strong shake, I guessed high 5's (it turned out later to be a 5.7).

An hour or so after this I made my way back to the car and drove over to mom's work where I parked across from the old college; a series of beautiful Gothic stone buildings surrounded by bracing and fences as a result of previous earthquake damage. With Logan in my arms, I had a quick chat with the local barista and started walking down the street. Then a loud booming and the ground resumed its tremor, this time with even greater strength. Reflexively I jumped towards the middle of the street and widened my stance to maintain balance. Time seemed to slow as I looked up to see the overhead tram wires bouncing like jump ropes. Behind them a large triangle shaped chunk of brickwork tipped off a second story pinnacle and exploded on the cafe patio below. Astonished, I quickly turned towards the Cathedral (centerpiece of the city square and also severely damaged in February) in clear view a few blocks away. As the shaking continued the giant circular "rose" window suddenly crumbled and disappeared in a massive pall of dust. The 6.3 lasted almost 30 seconds. Little Logan stayed cool as a cucumber, oblivious to the inner workings of subductive plate tectonics and strike-slip faultlines. Mom was safe too under a table somewhere, though a bit more scared this time around. Can't blame her.

before

after

Who Likes it Hot?

There is probably no greater treat to man and mum from nature than thermal hot springs, and New Zealand is in no short supply. Although concentrated on the more active North Island, within 2.5 hours of Christchurch is a miraculous little spot called Maruia Springs. Despite being commercialized and controlled, the natural sulfur spring is fed to a facility that is well maintained and designed to the Japanese tradition, and the setting along the Maruia River among mature beech forest and alpine peaks is stunning. The water is not chemically treated which leaves the therapeutic benefits unhindered, but too hot for you Little Man!

Liddle Buddha...

Up at the butt crack of dawn. Check.
Greasy breakfast down the hatch. Check.
Nice Walk with wee man. Check.
Chill out with the Dalai Lama. Check.

Little Man and I got the call (thanks mom!) about an hour before the talk, so we hurried over just in time. Being late to an event can sometimes work to your advantage, more so with the blatant advertisement of a cute child strapped to your chest. The usher escorted us past hundreds of folks to within 100 feet of the stage and I stood in awe as the happiest man on the planet came out to pay his respects to Christchurch. Little Logan stared up calmly at his infectious grin on the big screen as I snapped a few difficult photos. You can't help but love The Lama!

My view

Logan's view