Advertisement
Published: December 9th 2006
Edit Blog Post
Hagglund
This was so much fun! My first proper day in New Zealand. No flights! Last night, when I got the my guest house, I had the worlds best hot shower ever. Just getting out of those clothes and washing your hair, able to lie down on a bed... pure bliss! After going a bit bleary midday yesterday, I managed to survive the rest of the day. Bizarre how it mucks up your eating patterns and most of you know I have a bit of a blood sugar level issue, so getting that right has been a bit odd. As your awake so long you need the energy and use it more as your sleep deprived I guess. I caught the bus from the suburbs of Christchurch (Russley) into the town centre. Busses were cheap (only $7 (about 2 quid or so) from the airport and $2.50 from the 'burbs), ran on time, clean, bus drivers very friendly. People even said "thanks" once they got off the bus. Not in Tolworth!! In the centre of the city there was even a little gadget where you pressed the bus line you wanted and it told you how many minutes from where you are the bus was. That was cool if, like me, you can't read any sort of time table! I wandered through the town centre, got a new SIM card ($30) and some credit from Vodafone, they are the only providers here. Text me if you want the NZ number which I can text from. SHould only cost you about 20p. Saw Christchurch Cathedral, the layout inside reminds me a bit of St. Pauls, and then walked through the botanical gardens back to the bus stop, feeding some ducks on the River Avon along the way. It's a bizarre feeling walking through here... it's so English! You get lots of names, like Canterbury is not far from here, there's the River Avon... all sorts. Also the planting and trees are very English, as is the weather. About 15 degrees here at the moment, bursts of sun, then some rain. Ever now and then you see a palm tree though, so you know you aren't in Blighty any more. This place also reminds me a lot of the States. The layout of a lot of the roads is in blocks, so the roads feel very US like, and the road signs look similar. So it's a very bizarre contrast.
I'm styaing in the
Roadrunners Guesthouse. It's like a big log cabin. The hosts are from Holland, so it's a different experience again. They have their own gardens and chucks, so their own eggs. My breakfast this morning included strawberries from their garden and home made yoghurt, and then some South African bread, which was lovely. When talking about the roosters (or "roasters" as the guy pronounced it) he said "cockle coo", which just sounded bizarre.
Brr!
This morning I felt fairly good after a nice long sleep, about ten hours. Rob, the guy at the guest house, dropped me off at the Antarctic Centre, rather than me having to get about an hour's worth of busses - that was so nice of him. The
Antarctic Centre is the tourist spot highlighting the expiditions than fly from Christchurch to the Antarctic. It's next door to the airport and the US have their own base there for the huge planes that make the 5.5hr flight to the Antarctic. There are exhibits and some interactive stuff about the visits, the history, geology, plant life, marine life and so on. They have some little blue penguins there, which are very sweet. They even have a blind penguin, a girl, called Elvis! Two of the best bits was the polar room and the Hagglund ride. The polar room had real snow in it, very crunchy. You went in with rubber boots over your shoes to keep the snow clean, and put on a big warm coat. I was wearing a t-shirt, my black wooly, Lewis' Hockey jacket AND this coat. The lights dim and you hear a mock radio conversation about a storm coming in. Then they start blowing cold air into a room that is already -5. There's an ice slide to slip about on, a little igloo you can climb in, and also a tent to climb in. You can stand next to a windchill machine, which drops the temperature down to about -25 or something ridiculous. It's an obvious statement, but it really was VERY cold. Aparently Sir Edmund Hillary has said it was "quite realistic". The coldest windiest environment I've ever experienced! The
Hagglund Ride was great. The Hagglund is an all-terrain amphibian vehicle they use in the Antarctic. You buckle up and they take you over this special made area to show of the abilities of the vehicle. You go up some very steep inclines, and down the other side, holding on tight all the way! There was a gap that the vehicle can climb over aswell, so you don't have to worry about gaps in the ice. It's also able to cope with water, and we sailed through the water. It can cope with very steep angles too, she says as she was leaning against the door of the vehicle! It was great fun. Lewis will also be pleased to know that I have purchased myself a mac from the Antarctic Centre, so he can have his hockey one back (I still love it though!).
Right, I think it's time to get something to eat, to book my car hire for the next few days, and see if I can get a ride in the
Christchurch Gondola.
Advertisement
Tot: 0.077s; Tpl: 0.009s; cc: 6; qc: 43; dbt: 0.0387s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
sue & dave
non-member comment
hey S. Island sounds great!
hey you! it sounds fab there, although we don't really do cold but hey, sounds good! glad you're keeping in contact - get some photos up when you can - enjoy! love S and D x