Today we’ve increased in numbers, not by one, but three! Cat joined us in the morning, and before long we were picking up her petite campervan/car. There was a bit of time convincing the rental guy that the tyre was flat, and that having a nail in it wasn’t a good idea, before it was replaced. With a few hours to spare the Antarctic centre beckoned. Christchurch is the launch point for many visitors to the coldest continent, and the centre gave us a taste of what it’s like down there, including a chamber where they drop the temperature to -18C, a summers day on Antarctic, but a bit nippy! They say it can get down to -93C, that’s a third of the way to absolute zero! The final bit of fun involved a rattling ride around in the Antarctic people mover, an enclosed buggy that zoomed up steep hills whilst we clung on for dear life in the back, the ride finished in a deep pool with the water rising up behind us – fortunately the thing floats!
With a Mum and Ian found at the airport, we all had enough time to punt down the Avon river in Christchurch, in gorgeous sunshine – so much for those thermal undies we bought yesterday!