It is 15 degrees and the wind is howling as it whips across my face. My checks feel tingly and I bury my hands deeper into my pockets. Flags above the igloo snap in the wind. We are in a cold chamber walking on a blanket of snow and in direct line of huge fans that create the gale affect. What a great way to get a bit of a feel of what it is like to be out in the weather in the Antarctic.
Little blue and white-flipper penguins glide through the water snatching up tasty morsels. We are here for feeding time for a dozen or so Ambassador Penguins. They are rescues that have been injured beyond return to the wild so they remain here to entertain and educate visitors. What amazing swimmers.
A 4D movie! In this case the 4th dimension is seal sneezes, snowflakes, wave spray, gull poop, and the thud of iceberg impacting ship hull. We take a short expedition among the icebergs and Antarctic wildlife. Pretty cool.
Theses boys don’t work too hard. A Husky rescue works out of this same space. We meet three adorable members of 59 who hang out here. They hope to train teams; but, as in nearly all rescues they are looking for volunteers to get that program rolling. They are beautiful just chilling. I love the clear blue eyes.
Why an Antarctic Center here in Christchurch New Zealand? Supply and support convoys for all manner of Antarctic scientific expeditions set off from here. South American is actually closer but politics and dollars being what they are, multi-country collaborations have been set up through here. Huge C130s outfitted with skies sit out on the tarmac just waiting for their next mission. The center preserves artifacts from early exploration and has an interesting display on the geology and life on the continent. Some displays could use an update but it is well worth the stop. Even if you just disembarked from a red eye!