Antarctic Center

---

Christchurch is one of the main jumping off points for the Antarctic. Invercargill is closer (and actually the closest is Tierra Del Fuego in South America), but this is a bigger city with more research stations. There is a great museum about the Antarctic there with tons of information and reading. The cool thing is how they managed to make it interactive and hold your attention. There is a live penguin exhibit and feeding. There is a large room that you go in for 3 minutes that simulates a storm in the Antarctic. It actually is filled with ice and snow, and huge fans blow sub-zero air in there. You can also go up to this fan that brings the wind chill to more than 30C below! That's the coldest I've ever been! Sidenote from CM: I went skiing at Lake Louise in February 2006 where it was -24 C with a brutal wind. J stood in front of that fan and didn't even make it up to -24 C before he turned it off! You actually get dressed up in parkas and other gear before going in the room. You can also get a ride on an arctic cat, which is a cool tracked vehicle they use down there. This museum is also great because it's walking distance from the airport. So you can stow your bags (for a fee) and walk over to the museum and kill a couple of hours. Recommended.

---

Photos

Not on our Trip
One of the few continents not on our trip...

Standing on Antarctica
Really just some melted ice from the pole.