Thursday May 4 – Tsunami Scare!!!
We started our day with a bit of a scare. At about 4:30am NZ time a 8.7 earthquake hit the pacific islands of Tonga (north of NZ). The BBC and CNN were issuing possible Tsunami warnings for Fiji, NZ, Hawaii, and surriounding areas. Carrie’s Father is a meterologist and called the house to warn Carrie. Carrie and Rashmi took the threat seriously and woke me up to warn me of the danger (at the time I was pretty grumpy – but in retrospect I really appeciate the warning). We discussed going up to Mount Victoria for safety if there really was a tsunami. Fortunatly no tsunami happened and no one was hurt as a result of the earthquake. It makes you appreciate the powerful forces of nature when you are staying in an Island Nation!
It has been interesting watching the media rip apart the politicians and the government over the lack of communication surrounding the morning’s events. It appears that New Zealanders seem to have expectations that the government is supposed to support it’s citizens – this is so radically different than the typical American ideal that it’s citizens need to look after themselves. It makes me realize that there is no perfect role that government can play in anyone’s lives – either the government isn’t doing enough or the government is interfering too much (the same kind of story no matter what democracy one is living in). Maybe that’s why we invented alcoholic beverages? (hey I’m drunk right now)
After work I went for a walk on the “southern Walk” at Mount Victoria (need to know my escape route in case of a tsunami). Of course – its beautiful! Here are some photos.
Imagine the scene in LOTR Fellowship when the Hobbits are being chased by the Nazgul:
Here is a picture of a “Chest Hospital” I’ll have to find out more about this facuilty
These are photos of the Antarctica Treaty Memorial. It’s a breathtaking structure that recognizes the efforts of Admiral Richard Byrd who saw the continent of Antarctica as “the great white continent of peace.” 12 nations signed the treaty with the commitment of promoting world peace through innovation and exploration. My camara ran out of juice but the memorial has stones taken from a glacier in Antarctica. It is set in such a beautiful area near the Mount Victoria look out and is so peacful.
Unfortunatly, when you get close to the structure – it has grafatti on the sides and smells like urine. Ahh, the plight of pacifism!
…This evening has been spent blogging and preparing for our journey to Rotorua. We are going to rent a car for the weekend. It’s shaping up to be an adrenaline weekend. The plan is to get to Rotorua on Friday night – take in the sights on Saturday, and jump off cliffs and bridges on Sunday (likely in Taupo, maybe in Gravity Canyon). I’ll take lots of crappy pictures!
Tags: Wellington
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