Well, it started simple enough, an early surf, a drive south to a small town for lunch and walking through quaint streets with plenty of evidence of earthquake damage from last year. "This would not be a good place to be in an earthquake" says Jeff, looking at all the loose dangerous items above our heads and on the walls.
We were on the beach checking out some cool caves when the rumble began. Some of us were walking on the beach and felt the sand move. Some were laying on the beach with their ear to the ground and heard the earth speaking to them! Some were up on a rocky hill above the caves and were shaken significantly. Whilst the movement really was not that bad, the response of the local people was significant - they ran, off the beach to the safety of their cars and off to higher ground!
We were still stunned and standing there talking about our own experiences of the earthquake when Nathan and Cole said, "We really really need to get out of here!" Our drivers were equally keen to go.
The radio was commandeered for the next 5 hours with interviews and alerts. Apparently where we had just had lunch was very close to the epicentre and it was a 7.0, the largest in ages. There was a red alert tsunami warning and evacuation requested. Exciting!
Well, we felt a bit bad as we chatted away and watched families load their cars and head for the hills literally. Meanwhile, our tents were on the beach at sea level with all our gear there. "Maybe we should just stay here with these local people and wait for this alert to finish?" said Aaron, probably not without wisdom. But we really didn't fancy the prospect of all our stuff being washed away should a tsunami come, so it was back to the campsite.
As we turned up we passed some campers leaving, whilst others seemed to be just hanging around...no I did not see anyone paddle out waiting to ride a tsunami! With one eye on the ocean and the other on our packing we were out of there in record time.
The road ran alongside the ocean much of the way and with the radio still blaring alerts we all nervously watched. It was very sobering to think that a year ago, the quake and tsunami was at 3am in the morning and people had no visual warning and many died being swept away in cars and homes. We detoured to Constitution and the smelliest paper mill that has ruined a number of point breaks, then moved on to find a small Cabana at 11pm and collapsed into bed, glad to not be sleeping on board bags and at a higher level above the ocean.
We were on the beach checking out some cool caves when the rumble began. Some of us were walking on the beach and felt the sand move. Some were laying on the beach with their ear to the ground and heard the earth speaking to them! Some were up on a rocky hill above the caves and were shaken significantly. Whilst the movement really was not that bad, the response of the local people was significant - they ran, off the beach to the safety of their cars and off to higher ground!
We were still stunned and standing there talking about our own experiences of the earthquake when Nathan and Cole said, "We really really need to get out of here!" Our drivers were equally keen to go.
The radio was commandeered for the next 5 hours with interviews and alerts. Apparently where we had just had lunch was very close to the epicentre and it was a 7.0, the largest in ages. There was a red alert tsunami warning and evacuation requested. Exciting!
Well, we felt a bit bad as we chatted away and watched families load their cars and head for the hills literally. Meanwhile, our tents were on the beach at sea level with all our gear there. "Maybe we should just stay here with these local people and wait for this alert to finish?" said Aaron, probably not without wisdom. But we really didn't fancy the prospect of all our stuff being washed away should a tsunami come, so it was back to the campsite.
As we turned up we passed some campers leaving, whilst others seemed to be just hanging around...no I did not see anyone paddle out waiting to ride a tsunami! With one eye on the ocean and the other on our packing we were out of there in record time.
The road ran alongside the ocean much of the way and with the radio still blaring alerts we all nervously watched. It was very sobering to think that a year ago, the quake and tsunami was at 3am in the morning and people had no visual warning and many died being swept away in cars and homes. We detoured to Constitution and the smelliest paper mill that has ruined a number of point breaks, then moved on to find a small Cabana at 11pm and collapsed into bed, glad to not be sleeping on board bags and at a higher level above the ocean.
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