The Earthquake in Christchurch

Now that we have a little time, we should give you more info on the earthquake in Christchurch, NZ. We were going to go there on Tuesday when the quake hit, but Rio had President’s day off so on Monday we instead stayed two hours south of the city and spent time on a beach and checking out the salmon fishery there. If we hadn’t, we were going to be in Christchurch’s downtown, at a library or wherever there was wifi, when the quake happened. We’re and so glad we weren't as this was the zone that was worst hit. The quake had a magnitude of 6.3 quake and an epicenter some 11 km from downtown. It was just 5 km deep we heard. Many multistory buildings downtown collapsed, and as of this morning there are 113 fatalities and still 200 persons missing. The quake was worse in most ways than those that struck the city in September and December as no lives were lost previously in those events, and much more damage occurred this time. For new from Christchurch’s newspaper, The Press, you can follow this link: http://www.stuff.co.nz/the-press/. The quake was really a bad one for this community- we'd already seen the assessments and repairs from the last batch of shakes. The town was still a mess when we saw it in late January, and I know it's much worse now. It is clear that the city, and New Zealand in general, is going to have to plan and build much more conservatively in the future.

We were coming into town at 1 pm when it struck, but didn't know until 2 pm after trying to find a bite for lunch and found shops closed. Kids were out of school standing on the streets, and traffic was snarled. We turned on radio and got the news and decided to divert around town and go north to get safe and out of everyone's way. We hit a grocery store at a city 20 minutes to the north before literally heading for the hills, and it was buzzing. On Wednesday we visited with Don and Jenny, friends of the Shively family, in Pegasus (just north of Christchurch). They treated us to a tour of their brand new and growing community (Pegasus is a new planned community), and a wonderful Kiwi evening tea. While there we felt a couple of aftershocks and watched Don’s seismometer (a half full glass of water on the entertainment center) shake. Unfortunately, Dave’s research contacts have been affected by the quake and he will connect with people again after some time when agency offices have reopened.

We’re now on the west coast of the South Island after travelling through Arthur's Pass National Park, and catching up on school (Rio and Ari) and work (Dave). We’ll go to see the snouts of the Fox and Franz Josef Glaciers tomorrow – we couldn’t not go as these, along with the Tasman Glacier that we already visited in Mt. Cook-Aoraki National Park, are the most accessible glaciers in the world (and large and still quite dynamic). We do wish we could go back to the Tasman Glacier because we heard from Don that a large piece of the snout/toe had calved off into the meltwater lake below it. In a few days we’ll head back north to the Marlborough region, catch the ferry back to the North Island on March 5th, then Dave will visit and give talks at Massey University in Palmerston North on March 7th and 9th. After that we plan to spend time at Lake Taupo, one of the world’s noted rainbow trout fisheries, then we go back to Hamilton where Dave will visit and give another talk at the University of Waikato (March 18th).

We hope that folks in Christchurch can get their lives back in order soon. That will be a challenge though. We're safe and will stay that way. Thanks to those who called and wrote! Love to you all, the Shivegaards.

The Mighty Mataura

We've spent some time in and around the Mataura River basin for the last five days, fishing and interviewing anglers. The town of Gore calls itself "The World Capital of Brown Trout Fishing" due to the incredible fisheries here, and ranks high on the list of piscatorial landscapes of the world (see the pic of the giant brown trout above!). After visiting Stu's World Famous Flyshop in Athol, we did some fishing on the nearby Oreti and the middle Mataura and Wakaia (Gret had some success!), we came to Gore because of iminent inclement weather and our needs for internet for school and work. After about 75 mm of precip on Sunday night (we were in our tents!), the Mataura has risen to flood stage (see pic above). Its browns are going to be even browner!

Fisheries management here in New Zealand, outside of Lake Taupo on the North Island, is the responsibility of Fish and Game Councils that operate at the regional and national levels. These councils are comprised of members elected by hunting and/or fishing license holders, and is autonomous in regard to the national government. All of its revenue comes from license fees, and it sets regulations, reviews and comments on consents for development (hydroprojects, water abstractions, dairy operations, urban projects, etc.) as well as working to protect threatened rivers and waters with conservation orders. I'm still learning about the details of these activities, but the system seems to be quite unique in that it is run by the sporting stakeholders themselves. Still, there seems to be a lot of room for politics!

We will try the Mataura and some of its neighboring rivers and tributaries after they drop back into fishable shape (we are still in search of more wading boots to replace those we sent home because their felt soles are banned by the government for fear of new aquatic invasive species introductions), but until then we plan to visit Invercargill and Milford Sound. Will report further when the opportunity presents itself.

Until later, Cheers!