Hiking in the Hills Above Lyttelton with the New Zealand Sail Grand Prix Below

I joined my friend Olav hiking in the Port Hills above Lyttelton. We intended to go up and over the hills, down to the village of Lyttelton, and then back over. On this day, the New Zealand Sail Grand Prix event was also happening in the port at Lyttelton, so we were able to view and enjoy the boats preparing and eventually racing below us along the way.

While stopped in Lyttelton for a coffee, I felt my first significant earthquake. The building shook for a few seconds and we could hear a loud rumble. I was startled, the couple beside us from England were ready to evacuate, and yet most others in the building continued reading the paper and sipping coffee. I sense seismic activity is something one comes to be familiar with living here in New Zealand. It was quite an active day of shaking and several quakes were recorded on this day around the Banks Peninsula.