The tour ended at 2pm as we all departed the bus and hugged goodbye. Because of the Christchurch earthquake in late Feb, our tour was cut short one day, and Andrea and I did not have accommodation. However, we did make a friend or 20 on the tour, and were able to stay in a room with a friend while we wait for our 5:40am flight.
This allowed us to continue a little bit of the tour momentum. Nine of us went closer to town, and found a place to eat, we talked and laughed and it felt like another night on the tour, until we had to part ways.
Part of going closer to the center of the city, is that we saw a little bit of the damage that happened during the earthquake. I saw houses that were standing, but not longer habitable, I saw homes crumbled into pieces. I saw side walks and road that were no longer flat, and were cracked, and though I overall wasn't to keen and going towards the center of the city, I'm happy I went along, because I was able to see how powerful and destructive mother nature is.
It might be a little odd to compare this earthquake to the death and dying I saw in Laos and Cambodia, but what I saw in each place has stuck with me in ways I still am unable to put into words.
Seeing the earthquake damage, and knowing the toll its taken on people today, and the lives it took, I felt sad. However, through the traveling through New Zealand, I have seen fellow Kiwis sending help, money, and spreading knowledge of the catastrophe in Christchurch, and it gave me faith in humankind again. People aren't always killing people, and humans come together in times of tragdity, and that's the important lesson.
After dinner, there were a few of us in the same hotel, and we sat together and had tea/hot chocolate. I felt it was a nice way to end this part of my adventure. Talking about real life and how to go back to it. Bonding over shared experiences in the past few weeks, and even a shared experince tonight when 4 of us that were still awake, experienced an aftershock earthquake together. Not something I chose to part take in like sky diving or bungy jumping, but yet another experience that made me feel lucky to be alive, and that I can take with me in my life.
I have about a week left before I return to New Jersey. Off to Fiji tomorrow morning. I feel the next few days will be a lot more of this type of reflection as my adventure winds down and I get ready to go back to reality.
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Uploaded and sent from an iPad that's exploring New Zealand. Please try not to mind the typos and spelling errors. Autocorrect does some funny things.
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