Day 2 In The Garden City - Christchurch

I woke up in my little cupboard - I actually slept pretty well! I packed up my stuff and was out of the backpackers for 8:30am. I went to the supermarket, got some apples and milkshake( it tasted salty - ewww). I sat on New Brighton Beach to eat breakfast. It was so beautiful, the sea spray was like mist coming of the crest of the waves. There were also lots of people gathered for a surfers competition, people in longboats and kayaks   even a woman jogging pushing a pram and a man out with a metal detector. The took the bus to town!

Hagglund and US Antarctic Programme

I walked back to the museum and reached the bus stop to the Antarctic Centre with plenty of time to spare! Its called the "Penguin Express" and had giant penguins on top! The driver was super nice! There were 2 other people on the bus - English couple from LA. They were so nice we were all having the chats and the woman even offered me a place to stay if I was on LA! Going out towards the suburbs you wouldn't even know there was a quake! It was fine, we even passed a vineyard  At the airport I saw two big American Military planes getting ready to go down to Antarctica! There was a massive hangar which said "UNITED STATES ANTARCTIC PROGRAM" very exciting and official! :D

I got a $10 discount on my ticket woooh! Went into this room which was in complete darkness and then it changed showing the seasons. I arrived just in time for the penguins getting feed! The woman came right down to the front to feed the ones that couldn't swim and eat. Some were paralysed after getting attacked by dogs when left in a car park. One even got fed by hand because it had brain injuries from getting hit by a boat : ( On the other side you could look into their nests :D! Sleepy wee penguins.

I went outside and got on the Huggland - a Swedish Military vehicle  The driver was so grumpy.  There where two New Zealanders(the woman had her leg in a cast), two Arabian (mum and son) - they were having stacks of craic! Then older Indian people got in. The ride was so much fun! It sped up and down hills and everyone was getting thrashed about, laughing and screaming! Then it went into water and floated!

There was a massive cold room where you could go into and experience an Antarctic Storm! I put on a big red coat and goofy shoe covers - it was already -8 and it hadn't even started! There was actual snow too. when it stared it got dark and a wind started blowing and it got down to wind chill -20! It was so cold I couldn't feel my hands! The Arabian people took my picture : ).

Then I went to a 4D film of a voyage to Antarctica. In the queue the woman with the broken foot started showing me pictures of a really ugly pig on her ipad and then her grandchildren and telling me her lifestory (FYI, she was born in the Netherlands.)The film was really good! The seats rocked, water, bubbles and snow came down. There was even a bit where a seagull came down and did a 3D shit and stuff sprayed in your face!

When I got back to Christchurch I waited ages in the tourist office to buy a redzone tour. I had an hour or so to kill before hand so I went outside and jumped on the giant caterpillar tour of the gardens. The driver woman was so funny and so where the 2 Australians on board too! I had to sprint afterwards to get the redzone tour. (I just made it!) Had to sit behind these two old biddies who gearned the whole way.The only bit of the tour that was good was the bit where it goes into the redzone and you get right up close to the cathedral  The redzone is guarded by the army...who had a stuffed sheep in overalls pinned to their hut they also had a big comfy arm chair sitting outside! It was really creepy like being in some post apocalyptic thing...

I walked up to the Gondolas took some pictures and went to container city again.. it was kind of busy with a band playing and some man sitting away up high in an orange turban with loads of ribbon coming out of him.. weird. And there was a woman giving out kisses for $2. I went into the Quake City exhibit - learned all about the Maori god that is supposed to be trapped in the earth, and he's angry when he stomps it creates earthquakes. There was also a beer called Aftershock. It was brewed during the September 2010 7.1 quake which caused the power to go off- leading to stronger beer which was ironically 7.1% proof! Then they had people's stories up on video - it was pretty sad. One woman was talking and then just said , "then I saw my fingers fall off..."

I dandered around to the Redzone again - it said no entry but everyone was dandering around so I did too. Seen the cathedral again up close. I went down to the cardboard cathedral and the CTV buiding and read all the cards people had left. Very Sad. across the road they have a lawn with different white chairs - one for each of the people who died. It was really sad too... office chairs, lounge chairs, baby carriers even a wheelchair. You;re invited to pick a chair that speaks to you and sit in it. ...

I got lost walking back to the bus station - and made it back to the backpackers.