Ōtautahi / Christchurch Daily Photo

Well, I’ve decided to get out of town for a few days! We had two quakes over 4.0 yesterday, enough already! So we headed south, which turns out to be one of the few places that is getting good weather at the moment. We had a stop in Dunedin along the way – for a coffee at the museum and then had a quick walk over to the University of Otago (which is my alma mater – I did a law degree there 20 years ago!).

Boy time flies. I was trying to remember what it was like to be a young student there – walking around all those old buildings and listening to the clock tolling. Now of course, after a year of quakes in Christchurch (a city we never really expected to get significant quakes) I can not look at Dunedin in the same way – I just see lots of un-reinforced masonry buildings and feel scared for its citizens. Dunedin is not immune to quakes – I’ve been there in the late 80’s for a bit of a shaker (it’s within striking distance of the Alpine Fault).

Well, am looking forward to a few quake free days in the deep south (and dear alpine fault please be quiet).