Back to the city into Lincoln University

After breakfast we had to wait for news from Christchurch and from N’s university. Around 12:00 she got the message that all buildings are checked and safe and that she can move in. We decided to go back immediately because there were rumors that gas is running out at the gas stations. We had enough gas to go back, but we were not sure how things would be in Lincoln and would have liked a full tank. We packed our things, said goodbye and good luck to everyone in the hostel and headed to Christchurch. Indeed most of the gas stations were closed and those which were open had long queues, so we went back without filling up. We made a short stop by my Couchsurfer to see if everything was fine. We woke him up, but he and all his friends and family are also ok. The house and the garden isn’t damaged at all. He was in the city when the earthquake hit but luckily escaped without injury. The building he was in had large steel support beams which swayed over a meter during the quake but he had stayed safe in a doorway. His car was scratched by falling glass but he was able to drive it out of the city and get home to Waikuku. We drove on from Waikuku to Lincoln, taking the State Highway 1 around the outskirts of the city. The only signs of damage on the drive were a fallen chimney and one cracked road. We went to Pak’n’Save to stock up on some food – just bread and some stuff to put on it, nothing we had to cook because we were in survivor mode – and some bottled water. The supermarket was busy, but there were no long queues and it seemed like business as normal. Lincoln itself seemed totally unharmed. The streets and buildings were fine, the trees are all standing, it all seems so normal here. It’s so surreal to think of the chaos and destruction just a few kilometers down the road – I can’t describe it. N. and I went to her University Dorm. It was completely untouched – everything was even still on all the shelves. We spoke to her Resident Advisor to ask if it was ok for me to stay with her for a couple of days. He sent us on to check with the office who said it would be fine and that they had been worried about where N. was. We met two American girls who had been in the city when the earthquake hit. They had arrived the night before and stayed at a hostel in town. They had just got up and left the hostel for lunch when the earthquake hit. After running out of the mall they were eating in they smelt gas and were advised by police to keep running. Within minutes there had been an explosion and they had watched as helicopters with monsoon buckets tried to put out the fire. They had been lucky just to escape with their lives and make it out of the city.