Since the earthquake a month ago things had been slowly settling down. It was not to continue however and on Friday it hotted up once more.
I was in Zealandia having run and cycled around the harbour in the morning. Not many had turned up for my walk and talk, in fact only one, a young Chilean on a working holiday. We had a relaxing walk around and I could alter my talk to suit her questions. She commented on the similarity of the temperate rainforests of the two countries.
I left her near the top dam and headed back to where the robin talk was about to happen as we have a new member of the 'Robineers' and I had promised to support her first effort. The weather was pleasant and we had a nice group of interested visitors. Mr Unbanded of Gentle Beech Hairpin Bend showed up on queue, ate four meal worms then cached. All went well at the Suspension Bridge and we retraced our steps to find OG-KM of Lake Road. As we approached the hairpin again there was a sudden noise of leaves chattering. The noise built to a roar as though a tornado had got amongst the trees and was attempting to pull the leaves off. Then the ground swayed and we became unsteady on our feet as the earthquake tremor built up then died away. We knew it was a big one but as the valley does not have good cell phone coverage we could not check. We had our radios on however and we could hear the Duty Ops guy checking that all was OK.
We continued on with the robin display. There were regular aftershocks but no one seemed too perturbed. The birds certainly showed no unusual behaviour. They were as noisy as always. We met up with the Chilean who said she was very used to earthquakes. She had just come down from the top dam and was sitting in a sheltered spot below it. As the valley had been created by the Wellington fault and the dam is built across it I am not sure she chose the safest place to be.
Once the display was over I headed out of the valley intending to go into Wellington to do my grocery shopping for the week. Turning on the car radio I realised that this had indeed been a big shake and Wellington had decided to shut early for the day. Trains and buses had stopped as a precaution so people had to make their own way out as best as they could. As I arrived at the turn off I decided to change my plans. Traffic was crawling out of the city. Heading in would not be a smart move and supermarkets are dangerous places in earthquakes. I turned left and edged home in one long queue. Though there had been little damage and no one injured people were unnerved and had called it a day. The high rise buildings in Wellington are constructed to move with earthquakes. If you are working high up the swaying motion is exacerbated which can bring on nausea. After it settled, everyone who could left as there would certainly be after shocks. It was a 6.5 situated at the top of the South Island, on land in a place called Seddon. Many houses suffered damage there with one collapsing, but no one was injured.
I got home and listened to the news. I went on line and discovered from Alfie Kaka's facebook page that the Sirocco Tours in Zealandia were going ahead as planned. Wellington had decided to 'keep calm and carry on' as the saying goes.
As I was leading a couple of the tours, I boned up on earthquake procedure and later on in the evening headed back in. We took keys with us in case we might have to exit from emergency gates. We gave the 'drop, cover, hold' drill though outside there is nothing much to crawl under so we would have to hold on to each other. There had been another pretty big shake at 5.30pm so we knew more could come. Also the big quake had caused other fault lines stress which had triggered smaller earthquakes as well. New Zealand was living up to its name as the 'Shaky Isles'.
It is 'Wellington on a Plate' season at present and the dining experience put forward at Zealandia was 'Kakapo and Kai'. People were eating at the cafe before heading out to visit Sirocco. Everyone pretty much turned up and had started to relax once more. Sirocco was his genial self, happy to have a stream of visitors to entertain him. None of the continuing aftershocks were big enough to be felt in the valley. The kiwi called and seemed extra loud. The rain that was threatened did not appear.
Still, I was glad when everyone was safely out of the valley and I could head home once more.
As I sat having fish and chips and talked to family there would be a little shudder now and then just to remind us about our tenuous existence on the planet.
Here is a little more about Kakapo and Kai. It has been very successful and is booked out for this season.
There are three special elements to this unique experience at Zealandia’s eco-sanctuary and Rata Cafe.
First, come face to face with the charismatic and famous Sirocco, an endangered kakapo with attitude. Second, enjoy a short bush tour to find traditional Maori ingredients in the wild. Third, come back and savour a delicious two-course meal inspired by the natural kai of Tane’s forest. This includes a glass of carboNZero matched wine, or non-alcoholic mocktail.
The evening will be hosted by one of Zealandia’s entertaining expert guides. Choose from two sittings: dinner followed by tour, or tour followed by dinner. Maximum 28 people per group.
A Taste of Tane’s Forest
To Start:
Kawakawa pesto with crut.
Main Event:
Horopito smoked fish with roasted kūmara and Māori potatoes served with a salad of water cress, baby rocket and native greens rareke, pirita and ti kouka, with a manuka honey dressing.
Vegetarian option: Risotto of roasted kūmara, Māori potatoes and kawakawa, served with a salad of water cress, baby rocket and native greens rareke, pirita and ti kouka, with a manuka honey dressing.
Followed by:
Native flaxseed and manuka honey cheese cake served with a horopito and lemon truffle, kawakawa wafer leaves and a shot of homemade kawakawa tea on the side.
Please Note: All prices are per person unless otherwise stated. Bookings are essential.
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