Whale Watching to Earthquake

We landed in the city of Kaikoura Thursday morning, February 12th at 8:00 AM. You might notice that I did not say we docked in Kaikoura as in fact we actually merely dropped anchor in the harbor of the city. The reason for not docking is because the port is not of a size to accommodate a cruise ship. You might ask how one gets into the city when a ship is not docked and the answer is the dreaded tender. A tender is described in Wikipedia as follows:

A ship's tender, usually referred to as a tender, is a boat, or a larger ship used to service or support other boats or ships, generally by transporting people and/or supplies to and from shore or another ship. Smaller boats may also have tenders, usually called dinghies.

In the case of cruise ship, the life boats double as tenders and on the Seabourn Odyssey look like this:

Not exactly the rubber raft you think of when you think of life boats. The tender ride can be as short as 15 minutes, but always seems to me to be 30 minutes or more. 

The reason I used the adjective "dreaded" is that I dread traveling into port on a tender because they are nothing but a small boat and if the water is choppy, you will be on an amusement park ride, having the potential to cause sea sickness. (Foreshadowing to the whale watching adventure). I have seen folks even fall getting on and off of a tender, but fortunately never into the water.

Felice and I were excited because this was our whale watching adventure day and we were on the second group of whale watchers from the ship. Our group totaled 53 and the anticipation was high as we set out to the ocean in our boat that looked like this:

 

At the start, we were all required to buckle our seat belts inside and as we made way we watched a 10 minute "safety" video. Actually, it was 3 minutes on safety and 7 minutes on how to appropriately vomit on a boat. Then, like an airplane flight attendant, a crew member took out a vomit bag and showed us how to appropriately hold and use it. It was at this point, I started to wonder about this trip. But in front of me in the seat pocket were about 20 of the bags, so no problem. Here we were in a cramped cabin with no airflow and the power of suggestion careening in our minds. Frankly, I began to pray for a good outcome, with a good outcome not being the chance to see multiple whales, but rather...well you know. After about 10 minutes of the boat travelling out to sea we suddenly turned around and headed back to shore. It seems that there was some mechanical problem and they had to try to fix it. We were dropped off at port and told to wait to see if they had a remedy. (Who says that G-d doesn't answer your prayers?) Fortunately, they were unable to fix the boat and we were to get a full refund. Now usually at the end of a story the author tells you that another boat went out the same time and there was no sea sickness and the author feels like a fool. However, in this case, I did speak to a number of 8:00 AM whale watchers who in fact said that the seas were turbulent and there was quite a bit of sea sickness. My phrase then and now is, "I dodged a bullet."

So Felice and I went into the bustling city that is known as Kaikoura to see art and shop. Kaikoura, population 1971, had about a dozen and a half retail establishments including a few restaurants, a number of tourist stores and one art gallery. It took us 15 minutes for the experience and if it wasn't for some interesting curios, we likely would not have even been there 10 minutes. 

So it was back to the ship for lunch and to prepare for the 30+ person cocktail party we were to host. Those who know Felice know that she plans parties to the highest degree leaving little to chance. She has her ever-present to-do list with her for weeks before the event and she makes great use of it. Here she was hosting a party where all of the details were in the hands of the ship and fortunately they did a great job. The highest stress point was the public speaking part where the guests were welcomed, but that was fine and the little gifts that Felice picked out for each attendee were well received. 

We went from there to dinner and then the comedian. http://comedianjimmcdonald.com/HOME.html

Friday (the 13th) was our day in Akorora, NZ, another port that required the use of a tender. This was a day we also had looked forward to as we had a tour planned to the city of Christchurch. Felice had arranged the tour on her own and frankly it was the hardest tour to book because none of the tour vendors had space on any tours for us and the ship did not have an excursion to Christchurch. Felice was very persistent and even after multiple rejections, Tour South put on another vehicle and we were accommodated. http://www.toursouth.co.nz/  In fact, we were so appreciative that while the tender was unloading the rest of the passengers into the port we actually convinced a couple to join us on the tour. I guess I will always be a salesman. 

It was very important for us to get to Christchurch because this was a city that was coming back to life after a devastating 2011 earthquake that registered 6.3 and took the lives of 185 people. We wanted to see this beautiful city and the areas that were adversely affected as well as use some our tourist dollars in a positive way to an area that needs the funds. The drive there from Akorora was about an hour and a half, but we did get treated with incredible views of the countryside along the way. Had it not been for the damage of the earthquake to the city and the port, our cruise ship would have actually docked in Christchurch, resulting in no need for a ride to this city of 340,000 people. (We understand that because of the earthquake and numerous aftershocks, that many folks left the city and the population had actually been greater prior to the event.)

The city and port are beautiful, but the areas of devastation are heart breaking. We saw a city that was resilient and one that made revolutionary use of the common large metal storage container that you see on trains and on cargo ships.

In Christchurch, these units are used to prop up buildings to keep them from falling as well as for retail space for everything from banks to restaurants. We spent considerable time at a pop-up mall totally constructed of these units. Here are some pictures of the pop-up mall:

We found it quite innovative and we not only had lunch there, but Felice and I managed to spend a bunch of money at the stores. 

Speaking of innovative, here is an apartment we saw along the way constructed from a grain silo:

Very cool.

It is hard to convey the devastation in one picture, but I have chosen one that shows a church that has whole sections of it knocked to the ground while others are still standing. It also show the clever use of storage containers to prop up the building.

One last picture related to the earthquake is of the memorial to the 185 souls who perished. Below shows the memorial with a chair for each of the deceased. It rips your heart out to see those who died from the type of chair they occupied.

Here is one picture of the countryside from the many we took:

We were back at the ship with time to spare. Given that it was Friday and the ship had provided a room, Shabbat Prayer Books and Candles and wine, we were able to participate in Friday night Shabbat Services. They were called for 6:00 PM and anyone who knows me knows that of course I was early. So when the others arrived, we were the likely candidates to lead the services. Only one problem which was we didn't have the skill or master prayer book that provides an indication of which are the necessary prayers and in what order. Eventually the room was filled with about 20 folks and no one offered to lead the services, so Felice and I went up and lit the candles and did the opening prayers. The rest of the service was cobbled together with various folks participating and it wasn't until the end of the service that the master prayer book was found. We figured that at least we would know to look for it next week.

Once services were complete we had a great dinner and plenty of sleep as we needed to prepare for our most important day of the cruise, The Ensemble Experience in Dunedin.