International Antarctic Center

Today we travelled to Antarctica! Except we really only went to the Antarctic Centre in Christchurch. It was a pretty action-packed visit, but of course the best part was seeing the penguins! Did I mention that I love penguins? :)

The most hilarious part of our visit was the antarctic storm room - basically you get to experience a storm with -18 degree C windchill (though I have to assume this would be a pretty mild antarctic storm). We stayed for a few minutes until we realized "Wait a minute, why are we enduring this by choice? We get this in Canada!". So we left, haha. 

There was also a very old-school "4D" film, complete with sprays of water every time the boat splashed or a penguin shook off water. The spray effect was a bit overused in my opinion, but at least all the kids in the audience seemed to enjoy it. 

The most adrenaline-rush part of our visit was the Hagglund ride - driving around an obstacle course in an all-terrain amphibious antarctic vehicle. It was a pretty wild ride: we drove over a crevasse, sped over hills and even floated through water. 

Overall worth it to see the penguins, but the extras were fun too :)

Alas there were no giant penguins to hold hands that we could find  :(

The Antarctic Centre

Ahhh the storm is about to start!

We're so scared and cold!

Almost down to maximum coldness..

Learning about penguins

Little Blue Penguin in a burrow, so cute!!!

Hanging out on the shore

They are so awkward on land! Hehe

Feeding time! Om nom nom.

Waddle waddle

How do I get down there?

This one needs extra help eating. All the penguins are rescued from the wild and have
physical disabilities that mean they can't survive in the wild. Lucky they have a nice place to live!

The Hagglund (this picture is not by us, can you tell?)

Get ready for a wild ride

Up the hill!

Over the crevasse!