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Antarctic Center ---------- Arthur Pass -------------On Way Bridge
Christchurch to Greymouth, NZ 10/31/08
We visited the International Antarctica Center that is adjacent to the airport. The US Antarctic Program has its headquarters across the street. The Center gives you the feeling of being in Antarctica. They have displays on the 22 varieties of Penguins and standup cutouts of full size penguins. They range in size from the Little Blue penguin at 18” to the giant Emperor penguin at 51” or almost 5 feet. The Emperor is not only tall, he is heavy. I was surprised as I stood next to the cutout. The Little Blue is a favorite of the New Zealanders. They have extensive trap systems to capture the predators of the penguins. We saw about a dozen Little Blue Penguins swimming in a natural pool setting and also looked into their nesting tubes.
The Center has a snow room that requires special clothing and footwear due to the extreme cold and snow. We chose not to go into this arctic blizzard room. We did walk through the ice cave and it was very realistic. The sea around Antarctica freezes and thaws during the year. They had a display showing the depth of the ice. It is the height of a person. There was an exhibit with explorer’s equipment that you could dress in and take photos with the snowmobiles and sleds. They have Hagglund vehicles for you to ride on in the parking lot. Their extraordinary documentary film is shown on a 30 foot wide screen. The vastness of the icy wilderness is captured on screen. For example, you see an icy plain that you know is large but then you realize that the Hot Wheel size car shown on the screen is actually a helicopter flying below the camera.
We visited the AA Club of New Zealand and became reciprocal temporary members. They supplied us with knowledge and plenty of maps and suggestions. We traveled east to west across South Island on Highway 73 from Christchurch to Greymouth. We went through Arthur’s Pass and the Southern Alps. The area was beautiful with sheep and cattle ranches. We were surprised to see one car width bridges on this main road. The uphill car has the right away.
As we approached Greymouth, we felt we had gotten used to the one car width bridges until we came upon the Combo bridge. This bridge is a multi use one car width bridge traveled by car, bike, pedestrian, and TRAIN. We settled in Greymouth for the night and drove around the area. We saw costumed kids ready for Halloween night. We went to see the town of Blackball which is known for a pub called “Blackball formerly known as the Hilton”.. The town is “the way it used to be” We decided not to stop in for a drink!
We spent time walking on the rocky shore with the waves pounding. The evening was clear and beautiful. The countryside is pastoral with ranches and small villages.
We visited the International Antarctica Center that is adjacent to the airport. The US Antarctic Program has its headquarters across the street. The Center gives you the feeling of being in Antarctica. They have displays on the 22 varieties of Penguins and standup cutouts of full size penguins. They range in size from the Little Blue penguin at 18” to the giant Emperor penguin at 51” or almost 5 feet. The Emperor is not only tall, he is heavy. I was surprised as I stood next to the cutout. The Little Blue is a favorite of the New Zealanders. They have extensive trap systems to capture the predators of the penguins. We saw about a dozen Little Blue Penguins swimming in a natural pool setting and also looked into their nesting tubes.
The Center has a snow room that requires special clothing and footwear due to the extreme cold and snow. We chose not to go into this arctic blizzard room. We did walk through the ice cave and it was very realistic. The sea around Antarctica freezes and thaws during the year. They had a display showing the depth of the ice. It is the height of a person. There was an exhibit with explorer’s equipment that you could dress in and take photos with the snowmobiles and sleds. They have Hagglund vehicles for you to ride on in the parking lot. Their extraordinary documentary film is shown on a 30 foot wide screen. The vastness of the icy wilderness is captured on screen. For example, you see an icy plain that you know is large but then you realize that the Hot Wheel size car shown on the screen is actually a helicopter flying below the camera.
We visited the AA Club of New Zealand and became reciprocal temporary members. They supplied us with knowledge and plenty of maps and suggestions. We traveled east to west across South Island on Highway 73 from Christchurch to Greymouth. We went through Arthur’s Pass and the Southern Alps. The area was beautiful with sheep and cattle ranches. We were surprised to see one car width bridges on this main road. The uphill car has the right away.
As we approached Greymouth, we felt we had gotten used to the one car width bridges until we came upon the Combo bridge. This bridge is a multi use one car width bridge traveled by car, bike, pedestrian, and TRAIN. We settled in Greymouth for the night and drove around the area. We saw costumed kids ready for Halloween night. We went to see the town of Blackball which is known for a pub called “Blackball formerly known as the Hilton”.. The town is “the way it used to be” We decided not to stop in for a drink!
We spent time walking on the rocky shore with the waves pounding. The evening was clear and beautiful. The countryside is pastoral with ranches and small villages.
1 comment:
Good good good......
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