I'm back after a week in cold, damp blustery England. Great to catch up briefly with friends and family but also a relief to get back on a plane!

So we (Mum and I) arrived after a long (26hrs) but good flight in Christchurch. Business class just makes it such an enjoyable way to travel and great to be able to let mum experience it - however it could be my last time unless I go back to the corporate world (apart from the return leg of course)...

Checked in to Centrepoint on Colombo, a motel right in the centre of Christchurch and went for a long walk to keep us awake. The forecasted rain held off and we had sunny warm weather to enjoy wandering and getting our bearings.

Although fully aware of the terrible earthquake and continued tremours - being in the centre surrounded (literally next door and across the street) by buildings all empty and waiting to be demolished, is like walking round a film set for a post apocalyptic city scene.

The whole business and shopping centre is essentially all fenced off waiting for buildings to come down. But it feels like it is all frozen in time. They have however started to re-establish the shopping street - with cafes and shops being temporarily set up in shipping containers (see photo). We also walked around the beautiful botanical gardens with a definite English feel before heading back to our room for tea, toast and DVD (decided on a classic NZ setting film - The Piano) - which I was amazed we more or less stayed awake for so managed to stay up all day and not sleep until 10pm!

Woke early but refreshed - more tea and toast (yes we have a kettle and a toaster in our room!) and fresh fruit salad before heading to the beach to meet friends for lunch. A lovely, lazy lunch with Steph, Tristan and their lovely kids and a walk along the sunny but windy beach with dog walkers, joggers and kite surfers for company but pretty quiet for a Sunday afternoon. Cobwebs all blown away - time for coffee/tea and cake at another spot before being dropped back at the motel. Great to see them and really get an insight into living in Christchurch particular post major (hopefully) earthquakes and current smaller shakes - very different experience to what is was like when we lived in PNG with weekly biggish earthquakes but in low rise structures built to take it.

Sleep patterns now just about ok - although I am updating this at 4.30am.