Here's a funny wee tale. A friend of mine graduated from the University of Canterbury with a degree in Geology. He went off to South Africa to settle accounts with his native country and picked up a job prospecting for diamond mines near Kimberley.When we caught up I asked what he did.
"I walked around the veldt with my team. I pointed to a bit of ground and said 'dig here.'"
"That's cool," I said, "How do you know where to dig?"
"I don't. One bit of ground looks much the same as another out there."
"So what's the difference between you and me going out prospecting?"
"I've got a degree in Geology."
Today I took the dogs for a walk at Gollans Point near Sumner. Do have a wee look at the link because you can see the area in its pre-quake state quite nicely. On this fine sunny nor'westerly day there were half a dozen men abseiling down the cliff face you can see opposite the car park. They were pulling clumps of rock by hand off the face of the cliff, all six of them busily using ice axes and what-have-you. Traffic was held up for a good 1000m each way while they were doing this. When I had finally got to Sumner I walked back towards Gollans Point where I could observe this at close quarters. I understood what was going on. They were stabilising the cliff face, by pulling it to bits. I know that's not immediately obvious, but I live in Heathcote Valley where cliff stabilising was proceeding along very nicely aided by dynamite until a boulder very carelessly arrived in the middle of a man's lounge via the eastern (hillside) wall and took up rather too much space. Even that wasn't enough space for the boulder, because, get this, there was a stick of dynamite still embedded in the boulder complete with charge. The lounge owner didn't bother getting into a dispute with the boulder of course; he was far too sensible for that. He took it up with the boulder's supervisor who, according to The Press, said it was perfectly safe. Although that was not by any means the only boulder to have been exploded after the quake, the whole blowing things up to make the hillside more stable seems to have fallen from favour. And fair enough too.
But pulling them down by hand? They may know better than me but frankly I think the only difference is they have a degree in geology.
"I walked around the veldt with my team. I pointed to a bit of ground and said 'dig here.'"
"That's cool," I said, "How do you know where to dig?"
"I don't. One bit of ground looks much the same as another out there."
"So what's the difference between you and me going out prospecting?"
"I've got a degree in Geology."
Today I took the dogs for a walk at Gollans Point near Sumner. Do have a wee look at the link because you can see the area in its pre-quake state quite nicely. On this fine sunny nor'westerly day there were half a dozen men abseiling down the cliff face you can see opposite the car park. They were pulling clumps of rock by hand off the face of the cliff, all six of them busily using ice axes and what-have-you. Traffic was held up for a good 1000m each way while they were doing this. When I had finally got to Sumner I walked back towards Gollans Point where I could observe this at close quarters. I understood what was going on. They were stabilising the cliff face, by pulling it to bits. I know that's not immediately obvious, but I live in Heathcote Valley where cliff stabilising was proceeding along very nicely aided by dynamite until a boulder very carelessly arrived in the middle of a man's lounge via the eastern (hillside) wall and took up rather too much space. Even that wasn't enough space for the boulder, because, get this, there was a stick of dynamite still embedded in the boulder complete with charge. The lounge owner didn't bother getting into a dispute with the boulder of course; he was far too sensible for that. He took it up with the boulder's supervisor who, according to The Press, said it was perfectly safe. Although that was not by any means the only boulder to have been exploded after the quake, the whole blowing things up to make the hillside more stable seems to have fallen from favour. And fair enough too.
But pulling them down by hand? They may know better than me but frankly I think the only difference is they have a degree in geology.
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