by the numbers

I just acquired status with American Airlines, so before we left Australia we had breakfast at the Qantas Club before pushing off for a 13 hour trip across the Pacific. All-in-all, we put on 3337 kilometers on 12 day rental car using about 6 tanks of petrol (at about $1.33 per litre). We hit at least 9 Northeastern Australian and 2 New Zealand beaches. We camped 2 nights in the car, 9 nights in a tent, and splurged for 3 nights in a hostel or hotel with friends. And, while I'm talking numbers and friends, we encountered 5 friends from The Ice while we were in Australia. Our St. Patrick's day was 41 hours long since we crossed the International Dateline and started the 17th all over again. We had breakfast 2 times; once in Brisbane, then lunch on the plane, and breakfast again before landing in Los Angeles. We each had 7 flights to get us from McMurdo to our airport of departure. 2 many numbers, but definitely 1 fantastic trip!

a day outside

Storey and I had a lovely time in Auckland. After a rainy indoor weekend where our Friday and Saturday night cheap entertainment was going to the grocers for shish kebabs on the grill and watching a movie while we listened to the pitter-patter for raindrops on the roof, we were anxious to get outside on a semi-cloudy Sunday.

We drove for awhile and found Rock the Park. An Auckland radio station was putting on a live concert event that we stumbled onto. We had a pretty good time listening to music and people-watching.

Then we found an ugly beach with lots of crazy critters to look at. There was a park there where we had some snacks for lunch and Storey coached me on frisbee throwing. I remember laughing a lot. It's an amazing feeling to run around in green grass after leaving The Ice!

Auckland was a great break from the Antarctic life and a nice transition into the rest of our travels. Kirrin and Jeremy were so kind to allow us the use of their car in addition to offering us a place to stay! They will be in The States in August, if anyone wants to host a couple of Kiwis while they see my part of the world (Seattle, Vegas, Chicago, Memphis, New York).

red, white, and black

I have been adjusting into my life in Auckland. I picked up Storey from the airport on Wednesday morning. I had had a stressful drive down there in Kirrin's car on the opposite side of the car and road than I'm used to. It takes awhile to adjust to that again, and driving a manual, and trying to read directions by myself the whole way there! Storey and I nearly missed out connection there, but I found him just before he went to find a bus out of the city. He was an excellent navigator on the way back! We even found a park to stretch out legs at on the way back!

Yesterday we went to Brown Bay Beach to put some color back in our skin after 5 months in Antarctica. I used sunscreen and still, somehow, ended up a brilliant shade of red at the end of the day.

There were plenty of birds around and we joked about watching them as they flew over so we could dodge the bird poop. Unfortunately, my new sandal didn't fair so well. I went to put on my shoe and found a nice white splotch in the middle of it.

To top off the colorful day, I got home and took off my new black sandals to find that since they had gotten wet, they turned my feet black; and it doesn't wash off.

Besides the quirky colors that marked the day, I had a lovely time enjoying the warm water and sunshine at the beach! I like vacation!

christchurch to auckland

CHC-AKL: Qantas Flight 2762, Seat 1C, 23Feb.

The first portion of my trip is complete. I flew from Christchurch to Auckland this morning in business class for the short flight. This is the first time my platinum status with American Airlines turned into Sapphire status with Qantas Airlines and afforded me a much more comfortable seat in Business class!

My friends, Jeremy and Kirrin came to pick me up at the airport as planned, and, on the way home they brought me to Starbucks for an afternoon coffee, we enjoyed a wonderful meal out this evening. They were married in December while I was on The Ice. While they have a new life together, their interaction remains the same; comfortable with themselves, and life around them. I'm already glad that I came to see them again!

It feels good to settle in with friends for awhile!

wandering

My first day in Christchurch, I had a lot on my plate to accomplish. But, nothing could go forward until I had my trip to the Coffee House. This place is in my Top 5 places to be in the world. I hunkered down at a table from my little corner of the earth with my journal, my coffee, and some of their tasty toasted banana bread! Lucas and I started the season there and I was sorry we were not able to redeploy at the same time and end the season there, too, but I did have a Belgian Coffee in his honor! The beverage pictured is called Thunder Thighs and was fantastic!

I had to go to the Antarctic Center and pick up my bags and then pare down my belongings to a meager 20kg so I can fly my domestic flight in Australia. I ended up mailing a couple big pieces back to the States before taking the opportunity to use the free internet at the travel office. The Antarctic Program offers us some nice services. We are able to store bags there if we need to, we can mail things with US Postal rates back home from the APO box there, we have free internet access and they also handle our accommodations while we stay in Christchurch.

After getting through with the business there, I took the bus back to the YMCA, where I was staying, to drop my lightened load in my room, and then walk to the travel agent to pick up my tickets and travel information. I carefully crossed streets, looking right first, then left. I was self-consciously trying to obey traffic flow the sidewalk (you don't realize it, but people walk similar to the way they drive; sticking to the left side of the path if they drive on the left side of the road).

I like staying at th Y because a lot of Ice people stay there an it is right across from the Botanical Gardens; which, after accomplishing a number of tasks during the day, was my reward. It is the end of summer in the Southern Hemisphere and the rose garden was near its' peak bloom. I'm not sure if my eyes were not used to seeing such vivid colors, or if these roses were particularly rich, but I was overwhelmed by the saturated variety of colors around me. It's important to stop and smell the roses, too. Upon landing in Christchurch, after having the sense of smell suppressed for five months, I again remembered what the smell of "green" is. It smells like grass, and flowers, and trees, and all sorts of living things. It smells sweet and alive; rather difficult to explain unless you have the experience, but something close to the aroma of mowing the lawn.

the christchurch arrival

I have had a hard time adjusting to the idea of being back in a world of decisions and choices. McMurdo sort of wraps you in a security blanket and keeps you safe from the issues of the world around us. We are not forced to indulge in the consumerism of the grocery store or malls, and we can avoid the news around the globe if we choose to.

In any case, I had a treat on the plane on the way home; a continuation from my flight deck privileges from the previous post: I was able to sit in the cockpit for landing in Christchurch! In a place and time in the world where no one gets to see the cockpit, much less sit there for landing, I was thrilled to be strapped into the seat behind the co-pilot! I listed to the radio chatter between the tower and the our co-pilot and to the conversations of the crew.

We came into New Zealand as the sun was sinking in the sky and I was impressed at how the rivers glowed under the bright sun. For a woman who hasn't seen a sunset in four months, this was pretty exciting and impressive from my perch in the plane. The pilot pointed out Akaroa, and Lyttleton, the port town that hosts our cargo container ship, The American Tern, when it departs for and returns from McMurdo. Seeing the runway in front of us for landing was very impressive as well. I got a front row seat in a huge cargo plane as we touched down at sunset. What a huge kick-start to life in the living world!

After gathering our bags and checking through customs, we walk over to the USAP buildings and turn in our gear and get our accommodations for the night. On our walk, the huge moon had risen in the sky. Nevermind that we didn't get to see the eclipse like many people in North America did, we hadn't seen the moon in a night sky (or at all) for months! I collected my gear and took a shuttle to the YMCA. They have a nice clean hostel there and I dumped my stuff to head out for the evening at Ducs-De-Lux. It's a popular hangout for Ice folks and they were one of the few places open yet at 10pm for food. J ordered some of our favorite, kumara chips (like french fries out of kumara; similar to the sweet potato).