We go to the airport hotel, and as we approach, the driver recommends the Antarctic Research Center. Located next to my hotel and across the street from the departure terminal, it is a perfect destination for me before my flight home on Monday.
Kate, Gary, and I have our last dinner together. They will be leaving the hotel about 4 AM. I will be sleeping in. It seems weird to be saying goodbye, and I feel a little emotional and sentimental.
The Antarctic Center is just yards from the hotel, and across the street from it is the United States Antarctic Research Center.
US in NZ : Another touch of home so far from home.
As I head for the Antarctic Center I think what a good idea to put this kind of tourist attraction next to an airport. How often do travelers have time to wait but not enough time to really *do* something? I realize it’s here because the US Antarctic Program is here, but it works well for me.
The first thing that grabs my attention is the penguin refuge (surprise, surprise). I see blue penguins, I see the same ‘Faerie Penguins’ I saw on Phillips Island nine years ago. All have been rescued, tagged, and have a safe haven here. The setting simulates their natural habitat while allowing visitors to see their nests, feeding habits, and underwater antics.
rescued NZ penguins, above and below
On my way out, I see the ‘blizzard simulation room’. That sounds cool (I think, for a minute) After donning a full weight winter parka and rubber boots, I join others inside, awaiting the countdown to a ‘real’ Antarctic summer blizzard.
We take turns photographing each other in the cold space as we await the storm.
The temperature drops, the wind picks up, the lights dim, people giggle and laugh and nervously watch the tents blowing, and I think, “What am I doing? I’ve seen blizzards. I'll see them again. Real ones.”
I realize a summer blizzard in Antarctica is more severe than any I’ve seen, even after the winter of 2015. But still---a blizzard is not new to me. I leave for the warmth of the real world.
I make a quick stop for coffee and find myself seated near some US troops stationed at the center across the street. Again I feel the ‘smallness’ of the world. Yesterday-- Starbucks and the Sox capped-tourist, today, the U.S. troops next to me. Thus ends my trip to New Zealand…with a taste of home and a taste of the winter that is waiting for me in Arlington.
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| View of South Island of New Zealand from plane bound for home |
PostScript
I leave sunshine and fake blizzards, 75 degrees and spring in late October. I arrive in San Francisco 7 hours before I left Christchurch. I get into Boston 8 PM on Monday but I think it’s 2 PM on Tuesday. I sleep through the first snow of the season—real snow. I see the vestiges on my car when I finally get up. The flight has me confused but the memories are very clear.
It’s great to see the world.
It’s great to be home.
# # #
Original Tales from the Trail (Places I've Been) will be taking a brief hiatus until late January or early February.
I continue to welcome feedback here, on Twitter, Facebook, and elsewhere.
On http://originaltalesfromthetrail.blogspot.com/ I will occasionally highlight selected posts that have drawn the most responses, and will try to share these on Gatehouse Media's blog sites as well (arlington.wickedlocal.com/section/blogs01?taxid=1963 or any of the other 50 town papers that post Tales from the Trail on their web sites).
Happy Holidays to all, and thank you for following Tales from the Trail. See you in 2016.
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