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I arrived at the airport around 6.45am, was so tired after only a couple of hours sleep. Checked in and managed to have excess baggage, (which I didn't get charged for), beeped through the security gate and needed to have a body check and to top it off was given a test to check I wasn't carrying explosives!!! What a start to the day huh!
The flight was supposed to take 3hours 20mins but because of bad fog in Melbourne, we had to sit on the runway for an hour before taking off. Didn't bother me too much though as New Zealand Air were fab. I watched 2 newly released movies, got a free meal and free drinks, wicked! The flight went so quickly.
Just before landing in New Zealand I had a look out the plane window - WOW. You could see all of the mountains and alps in New Zealand and they were covered in snow. The sun was shining and it was such a beautiful sight - was really nice to see something different instead of beaches all of the time!
After collecting my luggage I managed to find the bus to take me to Christchurch town centre. It was really cold but the sun was shining and there wasn't a cloud in the sky. I arrived at the YHA hostel and was surprised as to how nice it was. It was really clean with loads of amenities. I was supposed to be in an 8 bed dorm but thankfully ended up in a 4 bed one instead. I chucked my stuff in the room and then went for a wander.
I found a vodafone store and enquired about getting a NZ sim card as my Aussie one was going to charge a fortune to text, call and recieve calls. Unfortunately my phone was blocked and when I phoned vodafone they said I had to go into the store to get it fixed - how could I possibly do that when I was in NZ - they didn't seem to understand that I had left Oz - numpties! I then looked into buying a cheap phone but the cheapest one was way too expensive and I wasn't prepared to pay that for a phone I would only use for 3 weeks! Looked into getting a second hand phone but again it was too much money. So, I have decided to buy a phone card to phone my parents and sisters and I'm going to try hard not to text much - so if you don't hear from me then you will know why.
Christchurch has a little town square which is lovely. It's like an old English town. The buildings are a little older and there are trams running through the square, its a really nice place. The people are so friendly too. They will do anything to help you and always start a conversation with you when you walk into a shop.
I made my way back to the hostel and met 2 of my roommates, Helen and Caroline from Ireland. They are really nice girls and we had a good blether about our travels and our plans for NZ. They are going to the same places as me but are just travelling with a different company. Thankfully they wanted an early night too so we jumped into bed and tried to keep ourselves as warm as possible - so so cold here!
I got up early the next day and popped into town for a few bits and pieces. Then Helen, Caroline and I went to 'The International Antarctic Centre' on the 'Penguin Express', a wee bus with penguins on top of it!. It was wicked. Basically all of the expeditions to the Antarctic are planned and prepared at the centre and people actually fly from Christchurch to the Antarctic.
It was a very educational centre with loads to read about, but we were more interested in the fun stuff. We saw tiny blue penguins being fed and were introduced to them all individually - so cute. We were then in an Antarctic storm. We had to put covers on our shoes and massive thick thermal jackets. Then we were put in a room with real snow in it and a wind machine started to show us what an Antarctic storm would be like. On My God! You could imagine how freezing it was! After that we went on the 'Hagglund' ride. It was a funny looking snow buggy that took you around an assault course so you could feel what it was like to drive around in the Antarctic. We were flying up and down hills, driving along steep slopes, driving over gaps in the ground, in 3 metre deep water (we didn't get wet but the water was up to the windows) and also got a tour of the Antarctic campus.
It was them time for a well deserved hot chocolate, I could have poured it all over myself. We were so cold!
We got the bus back into town and then I went for a little shop and bought some warmer clothes - including gloves and some long sleeved tops! I got back to the hostel to meet our final roomate. She is from England and is in the exact same tour group as me, how cool.
Well I'm now off to the pub with the girls for a couple of drinks before another early night. We all leave tomorrow early in the morning to catch the TranzAlpine train to Greymouth. Its supposed to be a spectacular four hour train journey due to the scenery we pass. Looking forward to it!
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