I stayed with a lovely young family in Christchurch and they took me on a foraging trip one beautiful autumn evening. , In post-earthquake Christchurch large tracts of the Eastern suburbs have been deemed as unfit for rebuilding and the damaged homes have all been removed, leaving the trees that once decorated their gardens. this is the red zone, now a huge park-like expanse where you can take a stroll and collect all manner of fruit. We found walnuts, pears, apples and one very ripe peach which young Chester devoured with relish.
Did you see any of the weird mushrooms I found there last week? It's an interesting yet kind of sad place to stroll especially when childhood memories of what it used to be like come flooding back.
It's amazing, isn't it, to see this huge expanse where neighbourhoods and communities once flourished. We don't live far from the red zone and it still astonishes me just how much our city has changed. it will be interesting to see just what this land is used for - hopefully parks and walking and bike tracks.
That must feel quite surreal to visit. My friends house was in the Red Zone and now a lot of her neighbourhood relocated to another suburb, all getting brand new houses! I love the late afternoon sun and long shadows.
beautiful light and shadows tell the story