Don't cancel your trips here guys, the rest of the country is okay. Absolutely nothing wrong in Dunedin or Queenstown (touch wood) or outside of the Christchurch area. I wouldn't try and contact hotels in Christchurch at the moment, the city centre is evacuated and a 'no go' area, including hotels. Give them a bit of time before trying to make contact, hopefully most of them will be up and running again before too long - no one really knows though just yet, it is too early - the focus at the moment is on finding people who are still alive and getting them out of the rubble before anything else is considered. Most of Chch is still without power and many people don't have water.

It looks like Christchurch may take a long time to recover from this. The infrastructure is badly damaged. Water supply is available to only part of the city and the capacity of the sewage system is much reduced. We are urged to boil all drinking water and to refrain from taking showers and flushing toilets. Digging a hole in the garden is being suggested seriously as an option.

Please do not consider cancelling any travel plans if these do not involve staying in Christchurch. Our economy is going to need every bit of overseas help that it can get, and you will not be affected in areas out of Christchurch.

Rob.

What about Lyttelton? I assume it is pretty bad off considering that is where the epicenter was. And Akaroa? It's hard finding info online for these towns.

Britomart, its hard for us too to get any info on the outer lying areas, everything has been pretty much centered around the city centre. However just watching live TV where they are now going out to the suburbs. Lyttelton, where the epicentre was, has had alot of damage, as has Sumner.
Perhaps have a look at www.tv3.co.nz for some info or www.nzherald.co.nz.
The Hotel Grand Chancellor is just about to fall over - if it doesn't it will be demolished. Hope no one has booked to stay here because it won't be standing for much longer, its leaning.

I've been wondering about Akaroa myself britomart...there have been conflicting reports...from what I understand Lyttelton is in bad shape, and the footage I've seen seems to confirm that.

So relieved to hear you are okay, Rob, albeit shattered and probably very wary of each aftershock. Good to hear you have no structural damage to your house. Take care.

I've not heard anything about Akaroa, so maybe it is okay there as it is a bit further away. I couldn't find anything on the Internet either. Maybe Rob has heard something?

No. Haven't heard anything about other places on the Peninsula other than Lyttelton.
Rob.

We've been watching coverage as well. I hope they are able to find more survivors from those that are still missing.

Our trip is planned for mid-June and right now we're still planning to go. We still want to see this beautiful country and hopefully will be able to visit Christchurch as well.

Our prayers are with those in New Zealand, especially the Christchurch and Lyttelton area. We hope you recover quickly.

Rob, so pleased to hear that you and your family are alright. You were very fortunate given that your building was next to the PGC building and that you don't have any major structural damage to your own house.

It will be a tough time ahead as Christchurch recovers but our thoughts are with you.

I got an email from my friend today and he's safe and his new house is still standing but they're without water. He lives just south west of Christchurch (south of Haswell and close to Rossendale winery if anyone knows the area.

He ran into town (cars were gridlocked) to pick up his daughter from her school in the city centre and was taken aback by the extent of the devastation.

The damage and loss of life in a city I've visited 4 times is truly heartbreaking.

Britomart,if I were in your situation I would contact your car rental company now and ask if it is possible to keep the car. If Christchurch is not really up and running, three days is plenty of time to drive between Kaikoura and Queenstown. You could spend a night in the less affected suburbs near Chch, Mt Cook for a night or two, and then on to Queenstown.

Some new icebergs calved off of the Tasman glacier, which you can visit either by a float trip or a drive on gravel to an overlook.

We have a flight from CC to QT already booked...

Perhaps it can be cancelled with no penalty?

mlgb or melnq8, would either of you mind e-mailing me to discuss my options? I don't want to take up the thread with my itinerary planning: [email protected]

You've got mail britomart.

we are arriving in Christchurch in start of june and were about to book into the Grand Chancellor. What should we do? The media are saying more tremors likely in the next 12 months. We were suppose to stay there 3 nights then continue on around the island and back to Christchurch after 2 weeks. Any suggestions?

The Grand Chancellor is about to either fall down or it will be demolished at some point, it is like the leaning tower of pisa right now. It will not be there in June. There will be no rush to book accommodation - June is the off season here anyway - so there is no urgency to book yet. Are you flying in and out of Chch?

So pleased to hear you are OK, Kiwi-Rob!!

@ nz101 yes we fly in and out of Christchurch. Thanks for the advice on accommodation. That helps a lot.