Tuesday in NZ

Went to get my ECW today. They issue you quite a bundle of goods! I received fleece pants and jacket, fleece pajamas (shirt and pants), gloves, coat, wool socks, flannel/wool over socks that go over your wool socks, boots that go over all that, a fleece headband that covers your ears, fleece cap and a face cover. They gave me a patch for my flight suit that is kind of strange (more like our PACAF patch). Apparently, they didn’t order the cool Operation DEEP FREEZE patches this year. After my uniform issue the Jon and I went to the International Antarctic Centre across the courtyard. We wondered around the bookstore for almost an hour and made friends with the lady at the counter. It paid off; she snuck us into the movie theatre for the Antarctica video. It was an excellent video…I wish it was for sale! We decided that was the best part of the whole Antarctic Centre and decided we didn’t need to pay to go through the whole thing. By the way, they give us a discount (1/2 off) to tour the place. I was good with the video. We grabbed a ride back to the Commodore and met up with Greg. By the way, the Commodore has a shuttle that takes you around to places that are near such as the airport, the ODF offices and sometimes to the shopping areas close to the hotel. Other than that, we are jumping on the city bus. The Commodore provides free bus passes; you just have to ask for them at the reception desk. That is a good deal because the bus is $7.00 each way! We wondered around Christchurch most of the afternoon. There are so many souvenir shops, specialty and jewelry shops all over Christchurch. A lot of them have the same things over and over but some actually have lower prices and if you ask they will give you a discount for being part of the Antarctica program. We found some beautiful sweaters at the “OK” Gift Shop. All the sweaters are made from “Possom” which is actually mink. They aren’t cheap but you can find good deals. Just shop around, but the “OK” Gift Shop was my favorite thus far. Many neat specialty shops…one of my favorites was the Waldburg Balsam store on Colombo Street. If I had some extra money laying around, I’d open one of these in the U.S. They have wooden casks all over the store that have oils, vinegars & wines. They also have big glass bubble flasks that are everywhere that have liqueur etc. They let you taste them. If you want to purchase you select a glass bottle (they have all shapes and sizes) they bottle it for you and sell it to you by the 100 ml. They had some fantastic balsamic vinegars. I’m going to try to stop by there on my way home. Dinner tonight was at the Tap Room. They serve your meat on a stone platter. The meat is brought out raw and you cook it to your liking on the stone. A fun dining experience…something different/unique. I had kangaroo, venison, wild pork and goat! This was served with pumpkin & kumara mash (kumara is sweet potato). Each of the meats had a unique taste and I thought all of them were good. I think the kangaroo was my favorite. Tuesday is the best day to go to the Tap Room but get there early. They run out of stone plates. Tuesday is the best day because it’s ½ price mains (main dishes) and desserts. We all tried a different dessert and all were good. In my opinion, the best one was the bread pudding. They also have good Mojitos. Mikki if you are reading this…I found a good Mojito! Had to come all the way to NZ, but I found it. The day came to a close…we are due to leave NZ on Thursday. The first plane out is tomorrow but I’ve heard the weather is bad in Antarctica. If tomorrow’s mission is delayed, we will be delayed a day as well. By the way, for those of you following me. You will find out your scheduled departure date when you arrive. The evening before, you will receive a note under your door telling you whether the plane will depart or if it is delayed. This will have your reporting time/instructions and/or whether you are delayed or not. If you are delayed, they automatically extend your stay at the Commodore. Until next time…Cheers!