After returning the motorhome, I had three days to explore Christchurch on foot. I decided to first head toward the city center to see what remained after 4 major earthquakes and over 10,800 smaller ones in the past two years.

While on the bus, I noticed an advertisement mentioning a "red zone" in the city center. After a quick Google search, I discovered that most of the city center was still completely closed off. When I arrived, I saw with my own eyes for the first time what earthquakes can do. The entire business district was either gone or in the process of being demolished. A map posted on the fence showed which areas were blocked off - basically the entire city center. As far as I could see, there were partially destroyed buildings just waiting to be demolished. The cathedral was still standing, but its bell tower had collapsed and had already been removed.

Since the entire shopping district was affected, the residents had come up with an ingenious temporary solution. They had built a provisional shopping street using shipping containers on an empty lot.

The concept was quite simple: two levels of containers stacked offset from each other, with colorful canvas stretched between them and the containers painted in bright colors. It created a welcoming and cheerful atmosphere. This concept had been working for over a year. There weren't many shops, but it was a fresh start. Appropriately, the area was called "Re:Start."

I then continued by bus to my hostel, the Haka Lodge. It was really nice and highly recommended. It's a lovely small establishment with a dorm room containing seven single beds. These were arranged in groups of two or three, separated by thin walls under the roof, which gave a sense of privacy. The common room was also well-equipped, clean, and modern - a place where you could really feel comfortable. The people staying there were very friendly and helpful, and the staff were welcoming and always up for a laugh. I can honestly say that I hadn't laughed as much or as heartily in a long time as I did during those three days there.

I spent my birthday with two of the long-term residents, exploring the Botanical Gardens in search of beautiful subjects for our cameras.

I had originally planned to visit a wildlife park, but I never received a response to my email inquiring about their shuttle service. When I called, they told me the shuttle would cost $60 round-trip, plus another $28 for admission. That would bring the total cost of the excursion to almost €60, which seemed too expensive for a zoo visit.

In the afternoon, I baked my own birthday cake - a delicious Tarta de Santiago - and shared it with everyone at the hostel. It was a really pleasant day, quite relaxed, apart from the challenge of beating eggs with a manual hand mixer.

The next day, I was due to fly to Australia. But before I left, I got to experience a small earthquake. As I was packing my things, the padlocks on the guests' personal lockers suddenly started to rattle. It lasted about 30 seconds, and before I fully realized what was happening, it was over. Later, I found out it was a magnitude 4 earthquake, with its epicenter at a newly formed fault line west of Christchurch.

But now it's off to the next "island," and we'll see what it's like there. I'm excited!