Still too far north

We're still in Christchurch.  As it stands now, Dean--who is considered critical staff--has been moved up to the first flight (AZM034), leaving tomorrow at 4 AM.  I, the chopped liver, will be staying on until the next one (AZM035) departs.  To fit more people than originally anticipated on Dean's flight, they had to remove cargo, i.e., the explosives for building the new base.  So those are now on my
No me.


flight.  Oh, joy!  Regardless, Gary, the airfield manager who is going to McMurdo on AZM034, is only cautiously optimistic even about tomorrow's expedition.  Dean may head out to the airport only to be sent back to bed.

Interestingly, the weather in Antarctica is grabbing attention in New Zealand. A highly unusual phenomenon called Southern Stratospheric Warming--similar to the polar vortex of the northern hemisphere--is threatening to bring frigid conditions to New Zealand in the next few weeks.  I'm not sure whether the SSW is responsible for our McMurdo delays but it certainly has the Kiwis talking.

In anticipation of a (vaguely) imminent departure, we've been going whole-hog on the Kiwi experience.  Yesterday, we took the spectacular TranzAlpine train across New Zealand to the sleepy stopping point of Moana at Lake Brunner, where we took a short hike before catching the train back. We were met at the station in Christchurch by two transplanted Americans--Lynn and Rick--whom we had met while escaping the swarms of midges on our bike trip earlier in the week. They (Lynn and Rick, not the midges) had us over for a delicious dinner and great conversation at their home.
Swing Bridge in Moana. Gotta love the sign.


Lake Brunner







Today's warm spring weather drew us into the Christchurch botanic gardens for a jog. In the afternoon, we took in a professional rugby match (Canterbury routed Southland 80 to 0) and then joined Lynn, Rick, Jay (an American, former Navy doctor now practicing in NZ) and his wife Felicia at a stellar, Thai restaurant for dinner followed by a brilliant performance of the Mozart Requiem by the Christchurch Symphony.




After the concert, Dean and I went out to a pub.  When I asked, "shouldn't we be heading back to the hotel?  You have a 3:15 AM hotel departure", he replied, "Why? I'm not flying the plane".
Botanical gardens

Comments

Linda Maepa said…
😂 Not flying the plane. --Linda Ma
September 1, 2019 at 4:22 PM
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