Christ Church

I made it to Christ Church, New Zealand despite a touchdown in the windy sandstorm of Sydney to change planes. It looks like the flight to the ice is delayed due to stormy weather in Antarctica. But CC is definitely not a bad place to be while waiting it out. We had more orientation with the recommendation that we take four 8-min showers per week while at McMurdo. This is actually quite liberal compared to the mandatory restriction of two 2-min showers per week for the folks at the South Pole station.

Today we went to the US Antarctic Center to get our issue of Extreme Cold Weather gear. My sister and I were here four years ago. It was then that I decided I was going to find a way to work on the ice so it was fun to return under these circumstances. The clothes for our work were distributed. I'm getting adjusted to the time change and getting some runs in around the beautiful botanical gardens. I'm currently reading The Last Place on Earth: Scott and Amundsen's Race to the South Pole by Roland Huntford and next up is a re-read of Endurance by Alfred Lansing.

Good news on the budget front. The program was given quite a bit more money to go toward fresh vegetables while on the ice so the veterans are really happy about that as am I. We are hoping our flight doesn't "boomerang" tomorrow. Slang for an ice flight that takes off for McMurdo but has to return due to inclement weather. The record for boomerangs is 7! So if all goes well I will get to the ice this week without having to turn around. More time in NZ isn't too shabby though!