Safe Arrival in Christchurch New Zealand

We’ve arrived safely at our hotel in Christchurch New Zealand. Because of the magic of the International Date Line, we’ve lost a day. We left Papeete at 02:45 on Mon March 6th, & arrived in Auckland at 07:10 (23 hours ahead) on Tues March 7th, after just a 5 and a half hour flight. We had a reclaim our bags, race to the Domestic Terminal & go through security again & just made last boarding call on our connecting flight to Christchurch. Before we checked into our hotel, we visited the Antarctica Exploration Centre, a place we didn’t get to see on our last visit here, which was just a short walk from the airport. We dropped our backpacks in a secure area of the Centre & enjoyed the exhibits. They set up one room to simulate an Antarctic storm. We put on a parka, & “suffered through” it. It felt like home, as it only went down to -8C with a -18C windchill. We learned about the different species of animals & fish that survive in Antarctica, including penguins, krill, & whales, as well as some previous past Antarctic expeditions. We enjoyed a 3-D movie made specifically for the Centre, which had stadium seats that rocked & rolled. We were misted and blown with fans, to simulate what it was like to be on an Antarctic ship. The Centre housed some tiny penguins that were born in captivity or were injured in the wild, so they couldn’t survive without intervention. We missed feeding time so they were huddled up in their small boxes. We also had a fun ride in an authentic all terrain vehicle that was used in extreme cold & rough terrain. Our driver drove us through a 10 minute obstacle course designed to simulate Antarctic terrain. Christchurch is where most countrys’ scientists fly from to get to Antarctica, including the US. After our ride, we summoned an Uber & were whisked away to our hotel for the next two nights. Quite a refreshing change in the weather. Sunny & 18C.Read more