What an incredible beginning to agreat adventure! I began my travels to Antarctica at JFK airport on Friday, January 4th. The trip down entailed first a flight to L.A. where I connected onto a 13-hour Qantas flight toAuckland, New Zealand, followed by a short flight to Christchurch, New Zealand. From Christchurch,we traveled to Lyttelton where upon we met ourship, the ice-breaker Nathaniel B. Palmer.
I immediately ran into some good fortune when my seat on the Qantas flight was inexplicably changed to business class, which is incredible good fortune for a long, overnight journey overseas (and not an experience a graduate student typically encounters)!
In Christchurch,we went to the U.S. Antarctic Programs clothingdistribution center where they dispensed to usall the necessary cold-weather gear. It was very exciting, especially since the center is located amongst a popular tourist attraction highlighting Antarctica (since Christchurch acts as the connection between McMurdo Station, Antarctica and the rest of the world).
Today we spent our remaining hours on landwalking along the steep hills of Lyttelton before departing on the Nathaniel B. Palmer. As to be expected of New Zealand, it was not long before I spotted some sheep! From the ship, I also spotted a few Hector’s dolphins, a very small species of dolphin limited to this area of New Zealand, and one that is highly endangered from years of bycatch in local gillnet fisheries. Shortly after leaving the dock, I spotted my very first penguin– the white-flippered penguin, a subspecies ofthe little blue penguin! The region is extremely beautiful and I am proud to be in this incredible region of the world.
I immediately ran into some good fortune when my seat on the Qantas flight was inexplicably changed to business class, which is incredible good fortune for a long, overnight journey overseas (and not an experience a graduate student typically encounters)!
In Christchurch,we went to the U.S. Antarctic Programs clothingdistribution center where they dispensed to usall the necessary cold-weather gear. It was very exciting, especially since the center is located amongst a popular tourist attraction highlighting Antarctica (since Christchurch acts as the connection between McMurdo Station, Antarctica and the rest of the world).
Today we spent our remaining hours on landwalking along the steep hills of Lyttelton before departing on the Nathaniel B. Palmer. As to be expected of New Zealand, it was not long before I spotted some sheep! From the ship, I also spotted a few Hector’s dolphins, a very small species of dolphin limited to this area of New Zealand, and one that is highly endangered from years of bycatch in local gillnet fisheries. Shortly after leaving the dock, I spotted my very first penguin– the white-flippered penguin, a subspecies ofthe little blue penguin! The region is extremely beautiful and I am proud to be in this incredible region of the world.
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1 comment:
Hi Marianne,
What a wonderful experience you are having. When I was younger I should have chosen this career path.
Janice Raber (from LIDA-rememberme from the Marine ID dive with Bill P.?)
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