Photos!

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Here's a blog of just photos to catch you up on the visuals of my adventures so far. Not that my little digital camera does any of this scenery justice. I don't think they make wide enough angles for that... you might just have to come down here and experience it for yourself!

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Photos

South Island, New Zealand
Check out the awesome mountains, sheep farms and glacial run-off streams

Dear Future Roommate:
I took this photo of the note tacked up in the shack of one of the early Antarctic explorers (Shackleton, I believe) in the Canterbury Museum in Christchurch, NZ. Future roommates beware...

ECW gear!
This is all the manditory ECW (extreme cold weather) gear that they issue you in Christchurch. You have to wear it all on the plane and whenever you're going outside for extended periods of time (and standing still).

Beautiful Christchurch
This is THE Christchurch in Cathedral Square and a cool sculpture nearby.

...and at night!
postcard perfect

Lyttelton, NZ
The public bus took us through a huge mountain tunnel to this Christchurch suburb... we hiked up to the top (the walls of the volcano).

Diamond Harbor, NZ
A short ferry ride across the volcano crater from Lyttelton was this beautiful spot where we ate lunch

Inside the Air Force plane
Can you tell how happy everyone is to be awake at 5:50AM?

C-17 cockpit
The pilots were crazy nice

A sea of RED heading for the light...
Can you feel the anticipation?

We've landed!
First steps on the 7th continent...

Ivan the Terra Bus
The coolest airplane-to-dorm transportation ever!

Discovery Hut
This was built waaay back in 1902 by the British Royal Navy's Captain Robert Falcon Scott but looks new because of the minimal humidity and precipitation around here.

The view out most windows in McMurdo
Will this perpetual sunshine ever get old? That's the Royal Society Range in the distance that looks to be fairly close but is actually about 60 miles away!

McMurdo Station
My new home! Observation Hill is the mountain on the right. The main building/dining hall/my dorm (Building 155) is the long, thin tan building in the middle directly below Ob Hill.

Hiking Hut Point
All you need is a fleece and wind shell (Little Red) when hiking on a beautiful day

Comments

[Judith Parker]

How exciting!
Dear Betty, It sounds like summer camp except it's extreme winter weather! I'm so happy this is turning out to be a grand adventure. Your blog is great and the photos wonderful. Love, your doting aunt, Judy