By Rachel Morton
The Farmyard camping ground in Geraldine is fully booked, in fact you won't find a vacancy anywhere in Geraldine this weekend.
That's because many people, like Pat Campbell and her family, have left Christchurch - fearing there could be an earthquake today.
“It all kind of lines up, we didn't know anything about the Moon Man until all of this happened but it makes sense and we think we shouldn't ignore it so here we are,” she says.
The "Moon Man" is Ken Ring - he believes he can predict earthquakes by charting the moon and the tides. And comments like his one on Australian Television have people running scared.
“If you're planning on coming to NZ around the 20th of March I would just suggest you avoided the Canterbury area,” he says.
Ring's predictions have been rubbished by skeptics, scientists and geologists, today some of them will defy Ring's prediction by meeting for lunch in the oldest and highest stone building they could find, on top of Christchurch's Port Hills.
It's not just Geraldine where there's no accommodation left, it's a similar story at other towns around Christchurch, like at Hanmer Springs and while some admit it’s the Moon Man who's scared them away, others say they've simply left because it's a long weekend.
The owners of the Farmyard camping ground say they've had to turn dozens of frightened people away because they have no room left.
And because the prediction is for today or the surrounding days, many aren't sure how long they'll be staying.
Even if today's earthquake never arrives, the Campbell family say they'll be quick to up and leave Christchurch again if Ken Ring predicts another one.
3 News
source: newshub archive