Akaroa/Anarctic Center

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Our group had an educational trip to the Anarctic Center in Christchurch. It was so cool to have a penguin walk around while we were at the seminar. The arctic storm simulation was terrible! I left Michigan for a reason: to get away from the cold.

Julie and I went on a trip to Akaroa. It's about an hour outside of Christchurch. It was settled by the French instead of the English, so it's a unique place to go. We went on a dolphin swimming experience, which it was amazing to swim in the ocean with dolphins two feet away from you. We had a nice relaxing stay at a bed and breakfast. Our hosts were really cool people who had spent the last 10 years in South America. It was a very relaxing place with awesome views.

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Photos

Penguin
The smallest penguin in the world was a visitor during our anarctic seminar

Temperature in the Anarctic storm simulator
This was the temp before they put the storm on. I never bothered to look up during the storm because I was too cold

Ice Slide
I did get over myself for long enough to actually slide down the ice slide.

Igloo
After 3 minutes of a storm, my nose was so red. I can't imagine having to deal with that for more than a few minutes.

View from Balcony
The view from our room was amazing. It was so peaceful to wake up in the morning and just sit on our balcony.

Olive Grove
The bed and breakfast had an olive grove. They made their own olive oil infused with garlic or mandarin/lemon. The grove smelled so wonderful!

Moped
Our B&B was 10 miles out of town. Since we took the shuttle there, we needed some transportation. The only thing they had was a moped! Good thing I have a cycle endorsement because julie refused to ride her own. We have never laughed so hard at ourselves!!

Swimming with the Dolphins
This is the only picture that I actually got with a dolphin.

Frigid Waters
The water was so cold while snorkeling with the dolphins. The wetsuit didn't seem to help at all, but it was still worth it. I had a dolphin swim right under me and a group of five dolphins jumping around about five feet from me.

View from on the water
Well, i couldn't get a pic of the dolphins while swimming with them, so this is all you get to see!

French Farm
The French Farm winery has amazing views, gardens, and reisling.