Currently I am house sitting with Patrick (from Canada) in Lyttelton, New Zealand about 10KM south of Christchurch. Yesterday, we felt a 3.3M earthquake at 9:30PM. A little unsettling but apparently these aftershocks have been happening every since the big earthquake happened Sept. 2010 and February 2011. They are as common as rain and a 3.3M would hardly be enough to stop an afternoon tea conversation.
Lyttelton is a quaint port town resting in a very well sheltered bay. It lies on the other side of Mt. Vernon from Christchruch and can be accessed by car by driving through a 3km tunnel or by going up and over Summit Road. I reached the city by bike and had to go over the hill - the one day a year when cyclists are allowed to ride the tunnel did not fall on the day that I was passing riding into Lyttelton. There used to be a lot more foot traffic this time of year as major cruise liners sailed in bringing tourists from all over the world; Canada, China, States, Japan, Germany, France. But, since the earthquakes, the docks have been damaged and a repair would cost over $20 million. Unfortunately for Lytellton's economy their docks are not high on the repair list for Christchurch. The 6.3M Earthquake that happened last week caused over $1.1 billion in damage alone. I can't imagine what the February quake must have cost the city.
