The fox in this photo started the day at the top of the world as Victoria's essential companion, but had been demoted by mid-morning and was left in the car in favor of a new blue penguin when we checked into the hotel. #Darwin
Victoria wanted to see the penguins, so we went to the International Antarctic Centre, which is across the street from Christchurch airport. Funny thing, the airport looks to be about the size of Colorado Springs or at best Omaha, but I could see planes from across the street and they were from abroad (Singapore and Australia). Well it was very windy when I left Christchurch (like feel your car getting pushed windy) and I realized that yes, despite its size, Christchurch is probably the biggest city this close to Antarctica. The experience itself is pretty cool (pun acknowledged but unintended). They've got a ride and a 4D thing (whatever that is), but Victoria's not one for too much adventure on a Monday morning, they had an option without it, so we went with the basics. We got to meet a young penguin and they have a room that they keep at 17 F (-7 C) so Victoria got to walk around on crunchy snow and prepare for visiting grandma in Pittsburgh come Christmas (photo with the red coat). They also did a bit where they crank up the wind to 30 mph, dropping the wind chill to about 0 F. We stayed on the other side of the glass for that. I grew up in an all too real simulator of cold wind and now live in a place where it drops below 40 about twice per decade. Everything else just looked cold, but was not. They even had a wall with the contributions various countries had made to science in Antarctica and Victoria recognized the Bulgarian flag - unassisted! Anyhow, it was a fun way to start the day before hitting the road.
Today was another gorgeous sunny day. Yes, it was blustery around Christchurch, but otherwise nice. Not sure if the weather will hold now that I am in the mountains. The scenery on this drive was flat out spectacular from Geraldine onwards. I had to stop myself from taking pictures every few miles. Among the portions not photographed, parts looked like the east slope of the Sierra Nevadas (picture US 395 from Mammoth up to Carson City) and parts resembled Colorado. If you have not seen either of those, I'll just stick to the word spectacular. My photos don't do them justice. The two lakes with views of snow-capped peaks were Lake Tekapo and Lake Pukaki. Lake Pukaki features New Zealand's tallest mountain, Mt Cook, at the far end of the lake. Both lakes have that bright greenish-blue water of glacial runoff.
On our way, we did get in a little playtime in Central Otago.
Not sure if I've mentioned my love for Hilton. 8 years ago, they just kept being good to Alex and myself in Australia. They've always done a great job with the kids on vacations, So far in NZ - 3 properties, 2 amazing upgrades. Again, I'm just appreciative of jobs that have allowed me to travel a bit and earn status. The view from the deck:
But its not just me: Victoria has gotten not one but two Hilton ducks (complete with the white ferns and black background of the national teams like the All Blacks rugby team). They had a kids check-in (complete with steps up to the check-in, putting her on our level), and two sets of coloring materials. Finally, we test drove the indoor pool- much joy.
Tomorrow, we plan to get out on Lake Wakatipu and maybe take a gondola to the top of the mountain, but if the rain comes, some of that may not happen. At the very least, we can take a water taxi across the lake to Queenstown. Regardless, I've got a day without driving on tap.
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