Day Three

Above is a picture of where Malcolm has been for the most part of yesterday. He is responsible for shifting the big FREWS digger that you can see (and other machinery across the CBD). This building is the CTV building where only a few have survived.

Back home, we have been told not to flush our toilets. Our sewage goes along underground pipes to a place called Bromley where it is processed. Apparently none of Christchurch's sewage is actually reaching Bromley and it is evidently spewing into the ground or our iconic Avon River.

This means doing the yellow stuff in the toilet and leaving it there, and doing the brown stuff into a bag (or the garden)...which is just not pleasant. Luckily, my parents have a portable loo used for camping, and they are sending it up to Christchurch with a friend today - yay!!!

It also means that we should not let water go down our drains. Hence, we fill a bucket with water and do our food preparation, washing etc in that, and tip it over the garden. So no showers either. We can do a basic sponge bath type thing with a basin. Luckily, we have a few friends who live in the Selwyn district (Lincoln, Burnham and Rolleston), so we will be heading out there for a shower tonight. Another yay!

Yesterday I filled the car up with petrol. This meant finding a station which was open, and queueing for a significant amount of time. I was amazed how calm everyone was, even with the long wait. An emergency vehicle arrived needing fuel and people automatically let them go straight to the front of the line - what amazing people we are in the time of an emergency.

This morning I decided to go and stock up a bit on groceries. Luckily, with Hornby not being too damaged, the Hornby Supermarket is open (and it is just down the road). So I have stocked up with some basics...but no hand sanitizer - that is all sold out.

Good news...just on news....signs of life at the Holy Cross Chapel just off the square. Fingers crossed...

Thinking of everyone at this time...kia kaha (keep strong in Maori)!