Earthquakes and Jet Boats

Three weeks ago I felt my first ever earthquake, a 4.5 occurring near Milford sound that rumbled all the way across the South Island hitting Queenstown for only a few noticeable seconds. Since then we’ve had three more in the last week: one big one, an aftershock, and another small tremor. It was a 6.7 at the epicenter, again near Milford Sound (see below) and lasted about 20 seconds. I was in Skybar at the time watching the lamps sway and bottles shake saying to myself I didn’t know alcohol had that effect! What a crazy feeling, the whole floor moved around back and forth like I was on a wave or something! I felt the aftershock out on the street a few minutes later; its weird feeling something your mind tells you is so solid and stable like the street move around. There was only a small bit of damage in QT including Absinthe bottles that smashed from the top shelf in the liquor store below Skybar.

NZ is one of the most geologically active places in the world, so it’s no surprise that earthquakes are commonplace here. In fact, there is one nearly everyday. The Southern Alps are the fastest growing mountain range in the world, causing major activity. If you’re interested, check out this NZ website, it tells you where the last quake was and also tracks volcanic activity including the eruption of Mt. Ruapehu last month on the North Island: http://www.geonet.org.nz/earthquake/quakes/recent_quakes.html

Last Tuesday we had a staff party for Skybar and the other 6 bars in Queenstown and Wanaka that are owned by mainly the same people. They make up the Goodbars group: http://www.goodbars.co.nz/

On that rainy Tuesday, we jumped into a Kawarau Jet boat and got taken around Lake Wakatipu and then up the Kawarau river gorge (http://www.kjet.co.nz/about-us/default.asp). It was a blast despite the cold rain as we spun 360’s and raced past rocky river banks and trees. Jet boats were invented right here in NZ and only need 6in. of water to function in. The are the same idea as the jet ski back home and are just as maneuverable. I was amazed at the control and power we had. Imagine rippin’ up the narrow river at speeds up to 80mph with the sound of a burly jet engine behind you, hugging all the turns and fishtailing. Awesome!