Christchurch, New Zealand

New Zealand was everything everyone said it would be and more. Stunning views, great food, and some of the friendliest people I have ever come across. Within 2 hours of getting off the plane in Christchurch (finally, 25 hours straight in a plane or an airport) I was on a bus headed for the Port Hills overlooking the city. A 2 mile hike (steep!) got me to the top of the hills with fantastic views of Christchurch, Lyttleton, and the surrounding areas. Speaking of surrounding areas, the Southern Alps of New Zealand when viewed from the plane might have been the most spectacular thing I have ever seen (now that I am in Antarctica that might not necessarily be true... tough call). Anyways, from the top of the hills the town of Lyttleton and Church Bay beckoned, and before I knew it I was on a boat leaving Lyttleton and crossing the bay to a small island with a botanical garden on it, also rumored to have a great restaurant inside of an old Victorian house on a bluff overlooking the bay. The rumors were true, and the food and local beer were great, outmatched only by the astonishing views. There was a bachelor party (they called it "stag party") going on at the Victorian house, and before I knew it I was being invited to join them at a bar called Wunderbar (pronounced 'Vunderbar') back in Lyttleton. The bars never close here and before I knew it the sun was coming up, at which I decided it might be a good time to leave, although the others in the group showed no intentions of ever stopping.

Getting our ECW (extreme cold weather gear) was much more efficient than I had anticipated, and after about an hour and a half I was back in Christchurch with a free afternoon. I did some exploring in the city and then got ready for our flight to Antarctica the next morning at 5:00am. I can't wait to get back to New Zealand to do some REAL exploring.

Oh yeah if anybody has any idea of how to arrange the pictures within the post and/or put captions to the pictures, a few tips would be greatly appreciated. Sorry for the unlabeled, out of order pictures but I haven't really figured this blog thing out yet as you can see.

The first picture is of a riveting chess match in Cathedral Square with said Cathedral in the background. Then you see the boat ride from Lyttleton to Church Bay and then the harbor at Church Bay. After that are pictures of the Victorian house at the botanical gardens while eating dinner. A couple of people from Raytheon are eating with me. The next shot is a view of Church Bay from my dinner table, followed by two views of the Southern Alps from the plane. Finally, pictures of the hike in the Port Hills which lead to the view of Lyttleton you can see. I hope you all enjoy the pictures and sorry again for the lack of organization...