Day 16: Rain, Rain Go Away

The rain caught up to us in Christchurch.
We had to stick to indoor activities. We went to the Art Centre and the Museum. Both were free and wonderful.
Then we headed out to the airport where there is a new Antarctic Exhibit at the Antarctic Center. All flights to Antarctica's Scott Base leave out of Christchurch. All the US, NZ and English teams have there main research stuff in Christchurch as well.
We went in a snow storm simulator that blew winds at -17 F. We were given boots and coats but Chris and I both had shorts on. There was one crazy guy in there with his shirt off. I climbed in the igloo to hide until it was over. We saw replicas of the equipment they use and learned about the conditions there. They also have a great penguin area.
They have actual blue penguins which are the small ones we saw in Akaroa and live in NZ.
I fell very educated in the ways of Antarctica.

Day 13: Milford Sound

This post will have to be pictures only. We saw mountains, pastures, Alpine rain forest, temperate rain forest, a fjord and the Tasman Sea.

Day 11: The Life of a Kiwi

*The NZ Wood Pigeon is the largest pigeon in the world. Wouldn't Fat Boogas love to get her paws on one of these.

After a nice cereal breakfast in the motel, we headed across town to the Kiwi & Bird Life Park. It was really cool. We saw a lot of native birds including the Tui (which we now have a painting of), the Wood Pigeon (which is the 2nd largest pigeon in the world - boy wouldn't Boogas like one of those) and the Kiwi bird! Kiwi birds are nocturnal so we went in a dark building and their enclosure was lit with red lights. They are really big! Like a basketball and their beaks are about 6 inches long. One of them was being hyper and running around, it was so awesome. We also saw the conservation show and then a Maori dance including the war chant the Haka. I think I should learn the poi.
We then went up the skyline gondola which actually goes up a really steep incline. At the top we watched someone do the Sky swing which is like a bungy jump but you sort of sit in a harnass and they release you and you swing. I told Chris I would do that since it is not upside but I decided I can find a better way to spend 100NZDs. - And I did! We road the luge at the top which are those sleds on the concrete path. It was steeper than any of the others I have been on and fun.We went back to the motel and ate lunch of leftover Indian food and peanut butter. Then, we had a power nap.
We have come back into Queenstown and done some shopping. I got a Kathmandu fleece and bought Chris one for his birthday. I also went to another NZ store and got some shirts. We just finished shopping and decided to pop in an internet shop and get everyone caught up. We have activities booked the next few days and then will be driving so this will probably be the last post until we get back to Auckland. I will backtrack and add pictures to all these posts then.

Day 9: Akaroa and Barry's Bay

Anna, Chris, Jen and Auntie Sandra
Well, we made it. We had a non-eventful flight and met Chris's Auntie Sandra at the airport. Sandra and her daughter Anna took us to tea - which is coffee and pastries.
We drove from Christchurch to Barry's Bay and checked in at Halfmoon Cottage. It is a backpackers hostel and super cute however, there are no keys for the doors. Your room is just unlocked all the time which doesn't matter since the windows are at group level and there are no screens. We still like it.

We drove in Akaroa and got tickets for a Scenic Cruise of the Bay which offered dolphin viewing. It was so awesome.We saw Hector's Dolphins! They played with the boat and tried to race us.We also saw New Zealand Fur Seals which are the Fat Boogas of the Sea. The first one we saw cleaned his nose, scratched his butt and then put his fat belly up in the air - those are the 3 requirements to being a fat Boogas.We also saw Blue Penguins which are the smallest penguin in the world and sometimes called Fairy Penguins.

I hope to blog again soon. Sorry this is so short, we only had $2 coin for the computer slot.