Re:START

 

It’s been 8 months since we could walk in central Chistchurch.  We did that today, we smiled and felt happy, we felt at home and felt proud of what our city is.  It’s been a while, it’s been a while.

(Haven't seen this side for 8 months)

 

After getting back to the motel we checked in some guests from Singapore and we were so excited being able to tell them that for the 1^st time in 8 months we had shops in the city. Understandably they were no doubt wondering why but we’re sure they will see what we mean once they have been for a walk.

 (Colourful!!)

 

Check the Re:START map out here http://multimedia.stuff.co.nz/thepress/restart/restart3.pdf

About 10,000 people turned up and the closing time of 6pm was extended due to the number of people still in the shops.

 (The shelves are a giveaway, yes, it's Johnson's!)

 

Its been done in a tasteful way and if it were not for the tram tracks and obvious surrounding buildings, one could be forgiven for not knowing it was Cashel St.

The 27 shops made out of brightly coloured shipping containers stacked on top of each other is sure to become a destination in itself – you must come and see it!

Anchored by Ballantynes Department Store and backed up by Kathmandu in normal buildings the container shops range from a variety of fashion shops, a bank where foreign currency can be exchanged, a souvenir shop, a book shop and 2 licensed cafes as well as others!

 (The new and the old, the short and the tall)

 

Was great to see Johnson’s Grocery back.  That’s the little English style shop that was  just up the road from us.  The great news is that he does intend to rebuild on the old site! 

 (Locals look longingly at still forbidden fruit)

 

Obviously lacking is an internet café, convenience store and a place to buy a simcard! Hopefully they’ll get there soon!

 (Fluro Bear enjoys his CBD shopping experience)

 

The other positive was that today the surrounding demo sites were silent, the sun was shining and there was no wind to stir up that horrid dust. Would be nice if it stayed that way.

 (Fluro bear is on the motel counter ready to guide guests to Re:START 2011)

 

It was great to see so many happy people milling around the tills making that till sound, but also spotted were one drunk person being escorted away by police, a protest march (walk) and buskers making a buck – just like what a CBD should be like.  

Today we got our city centre back.

Want to be first in the new Spa Bath?

Just who will it be? If you book to stay Friday it could just be you…..and your special other ½ too….it’s a double!

Here’s the story……

Sometime ago we walked into the garage to find ourselves standing in a puddle of precipitation.  The wall was wet from ceiling to floor! Ooops! Something obviously wrong here!

The cause not instantly obvious but it was definitely coming from the CentrePoint Suite above.  Oh….Nooo!!! Not a leaky spa bath?? We were able to confirm a few days later that indeed a hairline crack in the double spa bath was the probable culprit.  Bad Double Spa Bath!

 (Deluxe Man Cave with Double Spa Bath! How much would you pay??)

Or was it? We were actually able to ascertain that we have to blame the honourable guest who placed their gracious posterior (or other part of their anatomy) on the spout with a degree of force lacking any daintiness at all. (please……be more careful next time)

(In the Bathroom......It's starting to happen......)

But, whatever happened happened….. is all we can say and so it is that the spa bath be replaced. Waking up to water in the garage is not a good start to the day!

(New walk-in shower at the CentrePoint!?) 

Today was Spa Bath Day, or should we say, rip out the spa bath and get the new one in day!  We’re looking forward to day 2 tomorrow and ….if all goes to plan…..it’ll soon be all ready to go!

 (Yippee! New bath.......supported by a couple of hunks of 4x2......naturally.)

This could be some good trivia for your next pub quiz night but…. did you know that it is impossible to get a bath the exact same size as the one that was installed only a bit more than 5 years ago?  Hard to imagine but yes, bath makers appear to enjoy changing bath sizes – we think they may need to see a shrink!

You could be the first to stay in the CentrePoint Suite and bathe in the virgin luxury of our new spa bath – and that would be priceless!

A Tale of Two Cities?

We have written before about how different parts of Christchurch have been affected in different ways by the earthquakes, and now it appears the Motel industry is no exception.

We always had the idea that here on Colombo St. just 2 blocks from the Red Zone and indeed cordoned and curfewed for 18 days after 22 Feb., things were a little different to, for example, the Riccarton area.  Now, an interesting news piece aired on TVNZ which indicates that Motels in Christchurch have most certainly experienced business at levels equal to the busiest it’s ever been, has confirmed our suspicions

We are worried about the way this news has been handled because our motel and others in our area have not been experiencing such occupancy levels and we believe it has sent the message to the rest of NZ that it’s no good coming to Christchurch because there’s no accommodation! 

Ourselves and other inner city MANZ motels have not experienced “business at levels equal to the busiest it’s ever been” and we would be absolutely devastated if kiwis and overseas travellers based their travel plans on messages like what is carried in the news piece.  It also worries us that the majority of this message was presented by top executives of the Motel Association of New Zealand.  Surely they could have been more aware of the reality of their individual members.

We must say that we do not know if the motel owners in this news piece had their views expressed in the way they wanted by TVNZ but what we are primarily worried about here is what the travelling public are lead to think by the overall presentation.  It is the impression that counts.  At least there could have been recognition that not all areas of Christchurch had enjoyed the good times!

We’d like to counter what was said and put our case forward.  We feel that this news piece has missed the point in 2 ways.  While it may be so in the Riccarton area, the inner city area has certainly not been “the busiest it’s ever been.”  We also feel that a great chance to promote weekend visits to Christchurch has been lost after this piece did not differentiate between the busy Monday – Thursday period and relatively not so busy weekend period.

We would love to have had 92% occupancy since Feb as the motelier at the start of the news piece claimed but for us the reality was that while we traded at slightly above past years’ levels the result has been considerably lower than 92%.

We are paid up members of both the Christchurch Motel Association and Motel Association of New Zealand and so we feel we have the right to say it's not 100% correct when our Association execs say that “members are experiencing unprecedented occupancy rates” and that it is “most certainly, absolutely most certainly” the busiest it’s ever been.

While it is great to see our industry being reflected in a good light by the mainstream media and reflecting the great job motels are doing in supporting the recovery, the message should have been that while there are plenty of “No Vacancy” signs to be seen, that there is still accommodation available in Christchurch if travellers plan ahead and that there are especially plenty of rooms available over the weekend (Fri, Sat, Sun) for people to visit Christchurch.

Surely this is the message that we should be presenting.

Don’t let the Snow come down on me….again!

The first of many antarctic blasts is racing up the South Island now and we are not happy with memories of the last cold snap at the end of July fresh in our minds.

We are often asked about snow in Christchurch to which we answer *Yes, sometimes but only a bit and it usually melts in a day or so,* and we also add *but we can get a big fall of snow sometimes too*  One of the biggest falls in Christchurch was 28cm on 14 July 1945 – Jeff’s Dad was 5 and his Mum had to walk into town to buy shoes for his first day of school the next day!

 

We’ve been back from Japan 3 years now and that the snow 2 weeks ago was the first snow we’ve had – and it was the biggest fall in 15 years – they said.  Now we are due for another dumping – only this time the predictions are for a much colder snap which will last longer and dump even more snow on us!  We had 15-20cm then & it was bad enough!

Because we don’t get snow too often, we are just not set up for it.  The small number of front end loaders and graders we have are pressed in to clear the main roads but smaller roads just get clogged up.  Snow tyres are nonexistent and few people have chains!  After the snow comes the semi-melt, then the clear frosty nights turning all areas into sheets of ice!  The city becomes paralysed by the underfoot conditions which can take days to resolve.

The good thing about snow is that we can plan! Not like a shakey quakey which randomly occur and catch you out, at least we can get ready for this meteorological attack!

Here at the motel back in July we had guests who couldn’t get in to Christchurch, and guests who couldn’t get out.  Luckily we had a good balance and no major problems apart from way too much snow in the carpark which took 3 days to clear! 

At least we sort of know what we are in for over the next few days but the predictions are for an unprecedented 3 days of snow so who really knows!

We all want to sing “Don’t let the sno~~~w come down on me~~” 

Thanks for thinking of us in Christchurch

It’s been another interesting day here in Christchurch with 2 shakes, one of magnitude 5.5 and the other a 6.  We’d like to take this chance to say thanks to all those who have sent their best wishes to us and to say that we are still standing tall!

The smaller quake came first followed by the larger one just an hour or so later.  Both were centred just at the edge of Banks Peninsular.  Thankfully no-one was killed and this can be attributed to the decision to block off the inner city until the area can be made safe.  On the not so good side, the Cathedral and other buildings have suffered further.

The full extent of damage will become clearer tomorrow but there is widespread liquefaction damage in the eastern suburbs and there were more rock falls in Sumner.

We had minor superficial damage, which means things fell over scratching on walls etc. and we lost water for about 4 hours.  Talking about water, after a hard day we had just a little bit of fun, tipping out the dirtied well water we got as a back-up and videoed it cos that’s what we do!   

Dalai Lama – a message of positivity at CBS Arena

Today the Dalai Lama dropped into Christchurch on his way to Australia for a planned visit.  He said it was meeting Hillary all those years ago that gave him the chance to become friends with many New Zealanders.  He said that when friends are in trouble, you try to help them and that is why he is here.

It could almost be said that it was a hard ask.  How do you comfort people who have lost so much?  But he spoke of using intelligence to find positivity.  He spoke of how the feeling of loss for those left behind is real and strong but that there was a need to hold onto something precious and somehow find a positive way forward. 

He said that often in these circumstances some people did not like the word death being used but that death this was not a taboo word.  He said that life has a start and an end and we all experience both.  It’s just that some experience the end earlier than others.  He said that we need to be aware of that and be prepared for it, and that if we did that we could enjoy our lives. 

He also spoke about how the earthquake was not caused but just happened and this was also part of life.  In terms of how to move forward positively, he urged everyone to think of others around them – around the world – and invoked the disasters in Japan and Haiti.

When asked what was the best way to rebuild Christchurch, he said “I don’t know, that is up to you, I’m leaving tomorrow!”  The crowd happily laughed.

The crowd was put at 5000 and it would have been all that.  It started with the Dalai Lama personally meeting and offering condolences to those who had lost someone.  And he then received a Maori welcome including a hongi. 

Before he spoke he was introduced by a Tibetan member of the local community.  

I expected the Dalai Lama to sit at his chair and talk but he came up to the lectern and stood and spoke for about 30 minutes.  Admittedly sometimes it was hard to follow some words but he did warm into it.  His language assistant did an amazing job, following every word and instantly offering the correct English word when needed.  We were then treated to a Buddhist Mantra which ended with “that’s the end just a short one!” The crowd was buoyed by these sporadic humorous interludes which underscored his message of positivity.

There was then a presentation of gifts from 2 schools, one local and one from Wanaka.  Aspiring School in Wanaka has been studying Tibet and presented a book of poems and some edible Lotus flowers.  In one of many spontaneous acts, the Dalai Lama opened the box and handfed the 2 pupils a petal each.  He then had one himself before hand feeding Bishop Victoria and the Iwi representative.  He then spoke at length to the pupils about how they had the role of taking the world into this century, that the time of us older people was over and of the responsibility they, as new guardians, held.

That was just so amazing to witness and once again summed up the reason he was here, to give us hope by looking positively to the future.  After presenting the pupils with a white scarf each it was time for the Hongi and the second girl was praised for being well endowed for this – she had a very large nose! A most interesting comment but given by the Dalai Lama in his spirit of positivity it should be a wonderful memory for the rest of this pupils life.

And for that the Dalai Lama’s gets a positive “like” from me.  It was an honour to be able to participate and directly receive his message of positivity for Christchurch.