Thank feck it struck more or less away from any major population centres, theoretically something far less powerful magnitude wise could wreak havoc if occurring in the right (see: wrong) place.
I felt it all the way up in the Waikato, which is saying something. Felt slightly less violent than the offshore September one (no doubt due to the proximity) but seemed to last a heck of a lot longer. Drapes were swaying back and forth for a good while afterwards. My immediate reaction, naturally enough, was to head to twitter to verify I wasn't losing my marbles and had indeed felt an earthquake.