So on Tuesday when I left you all, I was off to Antarctica (well, not really, but the station that ALL people that go to Antarctica have to go to before they actually go). The place I went to was an "Antarctic Experience" something or other. It was pretty sweet! I caught the "Penguin Express" bus from Cathedral Square (it even has a bunch of penguin statues on top). I'm pretty sure that was what I was most excited about. I got to go and see little blue penguins being fed and they were super adorable. Then there was this storm room where you can go in and see what it feels like to live there. There's snow and everything. So I put on a jacket that they provide, walked in there, and thought, "Huh.. feels like Wisconsin." Then the storm came abrewing and it got down to a whopping -8 degrees Fahrenheit (with the windchill). Really??? Come on now! I was pretty disappointed ;-). So I paid a bunch of money to get the kind of weather that I get 4 months out of the year, ha. It was admittingly really cute hearing the kids come out and saying that it was the coldest they'd ever been or the first time they'd seen snow and stuff. So you gotta appreciate that. Then I read about life on Scott Base, which was probably my favorite part. My cousin Susannah lived in Antarctica for some time and it got me really interested in her life there! (Thank goodness I'm going to be seeing her in a few short weeks so she can tell me all about it!) Finally, I did a Hagglund ride, the vehicle they drive throughout Antarctica. It was hilarious. The guy that was driving it was really monotone, so he'd say something like, "Well... black flags mean danger...somewhere we shouldn't go. As you can see, to either side of us we have black flags. Let's see what will happen." (all monotone. He really got me revved up! haha)
So then I took the awesome Penguin Express back to town and walked back to the hostel and chilled for a bit (talked to Miriam!) waiting for Chelsea. She showed up about 20 minutes later and we went for a lovely stroll through downtown Christchurch. We were trying to find things to do and saw a city map, so we went and looked and there was a thing on there that said "City Mall", so we went in that direction. There was a huge department store on the corner, so we went in and were walking around, trying to find a door that led to the other stores, but couldn't, so I asked one of the employees. I said, "Yeah... so we saw on the map that there should be a city mall around here?" and he goes, "Oh, a mall? Yeah, I've seen those on TV!" hahaha. He was most definitely making fun of us. Come to find out it was just a strip mall along the street. So we were still trying to find something to do... and decided to go see Shrek. Best decision EVER. It was hilarious, I loved it!
So then Chels and I headed back to the hostel to chill for a while waiting for the shuttle that would take us grocery shopping. That was so nice and fun! The staff at the hostel we stayed at were awesome. They're all internationals and were there working for the bed they slept on every night. Chels and I ate dinner while they were all eating together and it made us laugh!
Yesterday morning we woke up bright and early to catch a shuttle bus to the train station to go on our TranzAlpine experience! It was INCREDIBLE. We got seats next to one another and were sitting there and then this girl came and sat across from us. And then we didn't leave each other's side until this morning when they left! She was so much fun and hilarious.
The sights on the train were incredible. They had an observation deck, so we went out there for a while and that was a blast. It was freezing cold, though! There was this guy taking pictures right over my shoulder in the cabin and that was driving me nuts, haha. We all slept for a little bit and then finally arrived in the booming metropolis of Greymouth.
Our hostel is incredible. I'm going to be sad to leave. They give each person a hot water bottle and free food in the afternoon and the morning. The owner is awesome, he's such a cool guy! He's also driven Magic Bus (the tour I'm leaving on today) so that's cool. He gave me some good tips.
Yesterday we just walked around and chilled most of the afternoon and then went to a brewery tour for Monteith's Brewery (my fav beer, the cider, is made there!) That was great fun, but while we were there, my camera battery died. We got home and I went to look for my battery charger, and what do you know? It's not with me. I packed it away into my other suitcase. Stupid! We settled in for the night and I slept SOOO well!
Today I'm off to hike a glacier. That'll be AWESOME! I'm off on my own for the next two days, so I'm looking forward to meeting some new travelers. Tomorrow I'm meeting up with Laura and her family and Chelsea for dinner and then her parents are getting us a room in a hotel for our last night together! Then they'll be off and I'm going to miss them :( But I'm going to Milford Sound and then to Dunedin to meet up with Pip and her family, so that'll be fun!
Peace out, dudes!
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