International Antarctic Centre

After a relaxing chill morning at the LyLo, walked next door to check out the Antarctic Centre! 🇦🇶
It’s near the airport because this is where all the planes depart heading for Antarctica. NZ is one of the main connectors to the continent, with Italian South Korean and American scientists using these facilities. One of the planes was just about to depart as I got there!

The exhibit was fantastic! A bit pricey but I also paid NZ$5 extra for a Hägglund obstacle course ride! The Hägglund is a Swedish vehicle designed for the military which can go over snow and ice and crevasses and up a 45° incline. Got a front row seat as the Hägglund copilot! And the exhibit had so many cool things including a cold Antarctic room, blue penguins, a 4D movie experience and huskies!
The cold storm room was -8°C, we put on down jackets and there was snow inside! I finally got my winter snow, even though I missed the Victoria snowfall haha. An “Antarctic Storm” happens every 45min where the fans blow and it gets dark and the windchill gets down to -18°, was pretty cold in just shorts but without the wind it was quite comfortable!
Made it just in time for the penguin feeding! They are a sanctuary for Little Blue Penguins, the smallest type of penguin in the world! The birds here are ones that would not survive out in the wild, with many different disabilities including amputated feet, blind in one eye, etc. they’re all named and have personalities and are so cute! The lady feeding them and explaining it was very informative.
After that, saw the huskies who had just come back from a walk and so were quite tired, and then the 4D movie which was a voyage to Antarctica in 3D with some water and seats rocking and snow from the ceiling haha
Very cool experience and definitely recommend for anyone stopping in ChCh!Read more