This week, Grace and her family are at the Kurow Holiday Park, as part of a Presbyterian Support Otago initiative to support families severely affected by the quake. While Grace clamoured for a ride on park owner Chum Chamberlain's horse, her mother, Wanita, spoke of how humbled she felt by the experience.
Presbyterian Support Otago wanted to do something tangible for quake-affected families that "got them out of it [Christchurch]", family works director Paul Hooper said.
Last week, nine families spent from Sunday to Friday at the camp, while eight families from the city's eastern suburbs were in residence this week. Presbyterian Support South Canterbury provided a barbecue at Caroline Bay during a stop-off at Timaru.
The trip was fully subsidised, with no cost to the families, and there had been great support from businesses in Kurow and Dunedin.
A children's programme was held each morning, with activities in the afternoon if families wanted to participate. It was low-key but working well, Mr Hooper said.
While fire engines had been associated with disaster in Christchurch for the children, members of the Kurow volunteer brigade turned up for a lolly scramble.
For Mrs Astle, it was nice to have a week when she, her husband Daniel, Grace and younger children Jacob (4) and Olivia (11 months) could "just be a family and have fun . . . chill out".
Their Burwood home sustained a lot of damage after the first quake in September but was still habitable. This time, there was silt, the result of liquefaction, through the house.
They had been staying with family in Darfield and while it was a reasonable commute to the city, "it's away from the shakes".
She described the break in Kurow as "just amazing" and she was enjoying simple things such as being able to brush her teeth with water from the tap.
