January 17-18

Took a motor coach tour of Christchurch where in 2011 they had a massive earthquake which killed 185 people.  The white chairs symbolize the people who died that day when the building they were working in collapsed.  There is still a lot of workers rebuilding buildings. We visited a shopping center made out of shipping crates.   Also saw a church made out of shipping crates and cardboard.

We stopped at a sheep farm and observed the owner shearing sheep. He and his son operate a farm with 4,000 sheep and 180 cattle and fed no grain. So these aninimals had to survive on grazing the land for their feed.

We ended our day at the Sir Hillary center where New Zealand's highest mountain Mount Cook is located. It was raining when we arrived and is raining today too. Not able to see Mount Cook.  This hotel was named after an adventurer named Edmond Hillary. He used this mountain to prepare himself to climb Mount Everest 67 years ago.