Earthquakes

When I was small, the biggest thing I feared (other than witches) was earthquakes.  There was something so inherently powerful and shocking, even to a small child, that there was a complete sense of being 'taken over'.  I remember plenty of earthquakes: in Wellington, in our small concrete flat where a child's scream for her mother took precedence over that mother's own fear; once in Wanganui where the look of utter shock on my aunt's rapidly paling face just reinforced my young belief that this was something even adults couldn't fix.

In 1963 there were several earthquakes in Westport where we had gone to live for a few years, quakes that shifted walls, brought down chimneys and closed schools for weeks at a time.  We didn't mind those ones for we were on holiday in Wellington anyway, and a week away from school was an unexpected pleasure, even though we did correspondence school during the mornings.  But even there, we experienced another bump in the middle of the night.  A warning, I thought, to tell me I wasn't safe on holiday, after all.

I distinctly remember when I was working as a junior secretary on the 6th floor of a high-rise building, again in Wellington, and I'd just gone to the bathroom when this one struck.  I can't tell you what haste I was in to get out of there!  I promised myself I would never work in a building higher than 2 stories after that.

There were plenty more quakes - when we lived in the centre of the North Island; even a very small one I detected one night in Canberra, Australia, and there wasn't a day that went past without a conscious thought of the Big One.  Everyone thought it would be Wellington.  No one suspected Christchurch.  That beautiful garden city has been battered and bashed by quakes this year, and just this week there were two huge aftershocks (6.3 on the R. scale) within two hours, right at lunch time.  The inner city was still closed due to the debris and uninhabitable buildings, but that didn't stop new damage being done.  In the past 7 days there have been 206 earthquakes.  You can see it all here: http://www.christchurchquakemap.co.nz/

I know there are all sorts of explanations for the quakes - new fault lines discovered and so on.  But when you look at Banks Peninsula which is at the head of Lyttleton, the target of most of the quakes, it makes you wonder about the fact that this was a major volcanic area, so why would there not be violent quakes as well?

Dubai Stopover

Stopping in Dubai on a long-haul flight is great fun.  It's such a neat city, built on the back of the mighty oil dollar, but cast aside politics etc for the moment and look at what it really is... a fantastic city with every opportunity for fun, built on the edge of a vast desert.  It's amazing, really.  I mean, look, forget poverty for the moment, and just enjoy what's on offer.  It's a bit like Vegas, you don't want to scratch the surface, just take time out for pleasure and fun.  The shopping malls are unbelievable, they're incredibly large and each seems to vie for the biggest attraction - ski slope, skating rink, huge acquarium, not to mention the label shops. 

I wanted to see the sand dunes and, according to local wisdom, the only way to do this was by going on one of the zillions of sand dune cruises, ending up with a meal and entertainment under the stars.  Well, I'd say after 10 minutes, you've got the hang of going hell for leather up and down sand dunes, gripping onto the seat in front of you, and trying to calm your lurching stomach.  But it goes on for a good half hour, if not more.  Way too much.  But you do stop to admire the view, take photos and count all the other white jeeps doing exactly the same as you.

The meal was interesting - set in the desert like three sides of a square, laid out on trestle tables with the sand covered by huge mats and carpets.  Dates, humus, tagines, salads, really nice food too.  The entertainment was whirling dervish type dancers - astounding, really - and belly dancing - intriguing.  

Ok, so you know it's really touristy, but there are times when even to get a flavour of a place in the short amount of time you have, you just go 'tourist' and get on with it.  I'd much rather explore by myself and come across the real Dubai - who knows, in future, I may have every chance to do so as I much prefer flying this way than going via the States.