Over the last month I have been extremely active with overseas speaking engagement, namely New Zealand Property Investors Federation (NZPIF), Christchurch and for NZ Wealth Mentor in Auckland New Zealand.
I also had some time to enjoy the fabulous sights of this beautiful Country and I made time to personally witness the impact and devastation caused by the Christchurch earthquakes in November 2011 and February 2012, which claimed 200 lives.
The impact these events had on the central business district of Christchurch has resulted in more than 70% of the buildings being declared unsafe and demolished. The upside to these catastrophic events is the rebuild of a completely new City Centre framework and whilst I was there Christchurch reminded me very much of South East England in build type and rolling beautiful countryside. The people are very resilient and the earthquakes have brought together the communities with the common aim to support and rebuild the City, to a far higher standard than previously.
The innovation of the local community could be witnessed in the Restart Mall, Where by the retail outlets were formed using shipping containers. This area in particular has become a huge tourist attraction and has become a very vibrant area of the city.
Locals hope that the Council will retain this superb feature post rebuild because it is such a a good magnet to increase tourism and in-turn to increase the GDP of the the area.
I was very fortunate to be given access to the 'Red Zones' of the city. These areas of the city are sealed off from the public due to the instability of the surrounding area and buildings caused by the quakes. My knowledgeable guide was a very kind and generous gentleman called Stephen who was one of the damage losss assessors employed by the insurance companies and also a delegate of the NZPIF event at which I was Keynote Speaker.
It wasnt just the business district that was hit, there are residential districts, which are now totally zoned off, where due to the unstable sub-strata and liquification there will be no future rebuilds allowed, because of this all peoples concerned have been relocated to other areas on the outskirts of the city.
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| Damage to residential property |
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| Damage to properties |
The second most innovative area of the city, that I witnessed was the Cardboard Cathedral which was erected quickly after the second earthquake in February 2012 severely damaged the damaged the main Cathedral in Catherdral Square.
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| Cardboard Cathedral |
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| Side view of the cardboard cathedral |
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| Inside the cardboard cathedral |
After Christchurch I travelled North to Rotorua, to catch up with Vicki & Colin Millar, old friends of mine in their wonderful Lakeside property. Colin has remained a friend since the late 90's when he brought his engineering skills with him to help me build a 'New Zealand style' cow-friendly milking shed and stall work out of a pile of stainless steel piping!
He is now enjoying semi-retirement as a multi-ownership property landlord, and as Colin and Vicki showed myself and close friend Lindsay around the volcanic and geothermal areas, we felt like the whole place could erupt at any second. It was quite an unnerving experience of what nature has to offer!
The highlight of this section of the trip was enjoying the delicious prawns grown in the waters of the high mineral content geothermal ponds at Taupo farm, whilst overlooking Waikato river.
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| Waikato river |
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| GEO-Thermal Pools |
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| Geo Thermal Pool |
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| Geo Thermal Pools |
Auckland was amazing as always, this being my 7th visit to this stunning and welcoming place. After the fabulous meals and meetings had taken place in the viaduct area of the city, and once I had delivered my Property and Business speech to over 500 knowledge thirsty delegates on behalf of David Leon of NZ Wealth Mentor, the next stop was a day exploring the vineyards of Waiheke. My most favourite vineyard was 'Mudbrick' with its fine wines, generous food platters and stunning views looking over the sea to Auckland City.
I could literally sit here all day writing about New Zealand's beauty and the great experiences I have had there, however I must tell everyone that it is the generosity and welcoming nature of the people that I look forward to every time I visit. I cannot stress how much the people of the country mean to me and how much I enjoy spending time in their company.
I will be returning to Christchurch on 21st and 22nd March 2015 to deliver a Kevin Green Wealth 2 day Business and Property Foundation Training event with an excess of 160 Delegates already attending. Please click this link to see more information on the event and book your place. I look forward to seeing you there!
