An Update

The 'Rena' is still stuck on the rocks, now it has a huge crack through the middle and it will eventually break up. Looking at this photo I don't know how she is still afloat.

The good news is that some very brave men are boarding it each day, they have managed to get a pipe line to the oil tanks and are pumping off some of the remaining oil onto tanks on barges. They are hampered every now and then by bad weather but as soon as the seas calm down, they resume their work.

Most of the beaches have been cleaned of oil by the volunteers numbering in the thousands. But Motiti Island which is next to the reef and has a rocky shoreline, is a mess.

Many containers have slipped off the ship into the sea, some have washed up on the beaches, others have floated many miles down the coast and have either sunk or have drifted to shore. They are set to become a major shipping hazard.

There's Nothing to say!

I am so upset about the desecration of our beautiful coastline and wildlife - all I can think of to say is...why did this happen?

Images from Sun Live

All eyes are on the 'Rena'

Salvage operations onboard the stranded container ship Rena are concentrating on preparing the ship for the storm expected to last the next couple of days.


The containers onboard have been lashed down ahead of high seas expected to be whipped up by gale forces onshore winds which are expected to arrive later today.

The New Zealand MetService has a gale warning in force for the Bay of Plenty and is forecasting a northeasterly rising to 25 knots this morning and to 35 knots this afternoon, with sea becoming very rough.

Bad weather has halted efforts to pump 1700 tonnes of oil from a stricken container ship off the Tauranga coastline.

Crews aboard the barge 'Awanui' have pumped 10 tonnes of oil from the Rena, which is stranded on the Astrolabe Reef, since 8:30pm last night.

They were called off this morning due to safety concerns amid "changing weather conditions" at the reef.

NZ Herald and Sun Live

Another jolt in Christchurch last night and NZ through to the semi finals in Rugby World Cup!

Big quake rocks Christchurch
By Amelia Wade
5:30 AM Monday Oct 10, 2011
NZ Herald

Christchurch was rocked by a 5.5 magnitude aftershock last night - its biggest shake since June.

The tremor, at 8.34pm, was centred 10km northeast of Diamond Harbour and was 12km below the surface.

Last night, police said there were no reports of injury or damage although residents said the jolt was "big and noisy".

Aftershocks have been keeping Christchurch on edge since the 6.3 magnitude quake on February 22 that killed 181 people and caused billions of dollars worth of damage.

That quake was an aftershock of an even bigger 7.1 quake in September last year, which caused extensive damage but no deaths.

Christchurch Mayor Bob Parker was watching the All Blacks' Rugby World Cup quarterfinal match against Argentina with Prime Minister John Key at Hagley Park when last night's quake struck.

The tremor was definitely large enough to be cause for concern straight after it struck, Mr Parker said.

"It felt sharp enough to worry me but I haven't had any reports of anything too significant, so that's a relief."

The mayor said no one in the crowd seemed to worried about the "wobbly" quake and most stayed at the park after it struck.

"Everyone was very relaxed because we were out in the open. Nothing fell over or tipped up and the power stayed on.

"It was a very significant one and we were all bouncing around a little bit ... But there were quite a few people jumping up and shouting at the ref, and I don't think they even noticed."

Coming closer............

Emergency responders are expecting oil to wash ashore at Western Bay of Plenty beaches, south of Mount Maunganui from Wednesday.

The heavy fuel oil emanates from the leaking container ship, Rena, which grounded on the Astrolabe Reef at 2.20am on Wednesday 5th oct.

Maritime New Zealand national on scene commander Rob Service says an approaching storm is expected to upset the emergency response and cause more oil to spill into the water.

“As a result of that we can expect oil on the beaches.”

Sun Live 10th October

Disaster on the coast - OUR coast

A severe weather watch has been issued for the area where a container ship has been leaking oil off the coast of Tauranga.

The MV Rena has been stuck on the Astrolabe Reef since Wednesday.

It has already spewed 20 tonnes of fuel oil into the sea, sparking a massive operation to try to offload the 2000 tonnes it's still carrying.

The Navy is on its way to help the clean-up effort, with the HMNZS Endeavour scheduled to arrive in Tauranga around six this evening.

Public health warning after spill

Earlier today a public health warning was issued for Bay of Plenty residents not to eat seafood from waters around the Rena.

Medical Officer of Health Jim Miller said no shellfish or fin fish should be eaten from waters with visible oil contamination.

He's highlighted Motiti Island as an area that should be avoided for the collection of shellfish and warned against consuming any seafood with an off, or petrol-like, smell.

Although there is no evidence of the oil spill reaching the coastline, conditions are continually changing, he said, and the health advisory will remain in place until further notice.

NZ Herald, 9 October

Haka Flash Mob at Sylvia Park Auckland (3 Camera Mix)

And Rugby World Cup fever begins!

Christchurch is still shaking!.

A shallow magnitude 4.9 earthquake has rocked Christchurch early this morning.

The quake struck at 3.29am, and was centred 10km east of Lyttelton, off the end of Godley Head, at a depth of 6km.


Since the September 4, there have been at least 8,300 earthquakes in the Canterbury region, with more than 300 larger than magnitude 4.

NZ Herald this morning.

The power of a song

This morning I went to my usual exercise class. We are a group of ladies with a teacher leading, who do a variety of stretches and exercises in a(vain) hope of keeping fit and even losing weight!

The exercises are to music supplied by the teacher, some of her music is more modern but occasionally she adds some very old time songs. Today she played this song, an oldtime tune released during the first world war I think.

As I listened I was absolutely carried back to when I was a young child. My father had been a soldier in the second world war, serving in the middle east and mediterranean, and had a huge repertoire of songs from that era. Some had been altered to include their own army version.

He would rise in the mornings at around 5am, make himself a cup of tea and toast, and then head off down to the milking shed to milk the herd of cows. My bedroom was right next to the kitchen and I would wake to his singing as he waited for the water to boil and then get ready to begin his days work. He had a beautiful singing voice and, as I mentioned, sometimes a slightly different version of the song.

I stood there in the hall with all the ladies around me, trying to hold back the tears. Nobody noticed, they were all too busy trying to keep up with our teacher.

My dad died nearly 40 years ago at a relatively young age. I would walk over hot coals to be able to hear his voice singing again.

Nearly Spring