Two rest days in Christchurch
April 11th and 12th 2014
I was only going to stay in Christchurch for one rest day, but the weather was so bad the 2nd morning that I decided to stay another day. Alec and Alison were very gracious about letting me stay a 3rd night.
While I was in town, I got to look around a bit. I was excited to see the International Antarctic Center, which is located at Christchurch Airport. Alec and I cycled out there together. He wanted to get out for a ride anyway, he said.
More flights to Antarctica leave from Christchurch than from any other airport on the planet. The US Antartic Program has headquarters here too.
As I was parking my bike, I met a guy who works in Antarctica every summer. His name is Dan and he's from Alaska. He gave me some info on applying for jobs. I mean, how cool would it be to work in Antarctica??!?
I went into the museum and bought my ticket. I was given a pass for the Hagglund ride. These machines are big and can ride over uneven ground, across 1.5m wide crevasses and even thorough water.
Then it was time to experience an Antarctic storm. I put on a loaner jacket and some shoe covers and went into the snow room. A bunch of other people were there with me and we all stood around as the lights got dimmer and the wind began to blow. A screen displayed the air temperature as it dropped with the wind chill and we all stood around freezing. It got down to 0 degrees Fahrenheit, or -20C. Cold! Just looking at the pictures makes me cold.
I found the loaner jackets funny. They were color-coded by size. So everyone knew what size you were by which color you were.
Next stop was the penguins. These little guys were all saved from the wild by humans. They have deformities that would have caused them to die in nature. So now they live at the International Antarctic Center.
There were other movies and displays about the Antarctic, all which made me want to go there even more.
The rest of the afternoon was spent wandering around downtown Christchurch. The city is still recovering from the earthquakes in 2010 and 2011. It was easy to see simply by taking a stroll around the city center.
Alison told me some of the controversy surrounding the cathedral. Apparently the Anglican Church wants it rebuilt entirely. The citizens of Christchurch want to leave it as-is as a monument to the earthquakes.
There were some neat post-earthquake things, like the container mall and the pallet pavilion.
I talked to a few construction workers who were from Ireland. Apparently the bulk of the rebuild work is being done by Irish immigrant workers. Some things never change!
I returned to this area the next day with the other cyclist guest, Michael from Mainz, Germany. He and I strolled around, had some pizza, and even tried a cronut, which is a hybrid of a crossaint and a donut. Fatty but delicious. Our walk included a stroll there and back through Hagley Park. On the first walk through we watched a part of a rugby match in the rain. On the way back we were accosted by two young Mormons, one of them from Yakima! We also went grocery shopping so we could contribute salad, dessert and beer to the evening meal at Alec and Alison's.
In short, I really enjoyed Christchurch despite the cold and the rain. It's hard for me to imagine what it must have looked like prior to 2010, and it's sad to see the city in such ruins, but I have a feeling that the fighting spirit of the city will make it vibrant even as it rises from the ashes.
posted by Kyla @ 21:16
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