On the Travelstart Blog I often post about current news and global events that might influence our upcoming travel plans, and today’s post will be no different.
Christchurch, NZ
Two very popular travel destinations have been all over the news of late, that being political turmoil in Egypt and more recently a devastating earthquake in Christchurch, New Zealand’s second largest city.
Quite often, I advise travellers that such unfortunate events don’t necessarily mean you should cancel your vacation immediately. Constant headlines can sometimes cause us to lose perspective on the scale of global events, or sometimes a local situation can be (wrongly) applied to an entire country or continent. Oftentimes, the area affected by unfortunate events is smaller than the region we plan to visit. Common sense should prevail in determining whether we must alter our travel plans, not only for our own safety, but in considering the best interests of locals.
But………. there are also times when I advise that it’s best to reschedule either the timing or specific route of your travels, and current events in Christchurch (New Zealand) and in Egypt would qualify.
The Christchurch earthquake on February 22nd was a 6.3 magnitude quake that caused severe damage to buildings and infrastructure in the popular tourist city, as well as sadly claiming many lives. The recovery is still under way and will continue for some time. Christchurch will be back on its feet soon enough and I wish all the people there the very best at this challenging time. But in the meanwhile Christchurch should be avoided, unless you are somehow involved in the rescue operations. Christchurch is located on the south island in New Zealand, so any travels you might have planned to the North Island should be unaffected.
Egypt presents different challenges to the traveller in that the political situation is somewhat unpredictable at the present time. I am not an expert by any means on the local situation in Egypt, but would strongly advise you to be well aware of the situation on the ground before you go visit the pyramids.
Be it natural disasters or political tension, we should always be aware of the current situation in areas we plan to travel. Do your own research and form your own opinions of the risks involved, and seek the recommendations of those with local knowledge. We of course can’t plan for every unpredictable situation life might throw at us, but we can equip ourselves with the good information.
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* photo courtesy Wikimedia Commons