December 14, 2008, Christchurch, New Zealand -- Len Shulman
I arrived in historic Christchurch, gateway to Antarctica, on December 11. It’s late spring, temperatures in the cool 60s, rainy and sometimes blustery.
I am deploying to the South Pole on the “second wave” this year. Tom Gaisser, Hermann Kolanoski, and James Roth have nearly completed the deployment of this season’s set of IceTop tanks. My job is to help finish the installation, and monitor the freeze-in process over the next month.
Christchurch has been the jumping-off point for many famous Antarctic explorers since the beginning. The fine harbor at Lyttelton facilitates the re-supply lifeline for intrepid souls to this day.
A monument to Robert Falcon Scott overlooks the old Visitor Center in Christchurch. Captain Scott and his entire party perished in 1912 on their return from the South Pole, having been beaten to the mark by Roald Amundsen. Scott’s widow sculpted the statue.
Amundsen’s nose is a popular good-luck rubbing spot for the South-bound, despite the Christchurch museum’s strict no-touch policy.
While waiting for my clothing issue at the Antarctic Center’s CDC, I took the opportunity to see the sights around Christchurch.
The Saturday Outdoor Market at the Arts Center is very popular. There are lots of interesting products available from colorful local vendors.
I took the Gondola to the top of the Port Hills crater rim for a panoramic view of the countryside and then hiked down the Major Hornbrooks Track to the harbor.
View of the harbor while descending via the Major Hornbrooks Track.
Christchurch sits north of the Banks Peninsula. This eastward projection is actually the remains of two volcanoes that erupted 8 to 11 million years ago. The central craters now form the Akaroa Harbors.
A point of interest is the Timeball Station. This building was used from 1876 until it was displaced by the advent of radio timing signals in 1935. The idea is that the ball is dropped at exactly 1 p.m. every day so that captains could synchronize their ships’ clocks for navigation purposes.
The Timeball Station sits on a high point visible to the entire harbor.
Bruce Carr, himself a two-time veteran of Antarctic service for the U.S. Navy, is the current caretaker of the Timeball Station.
Got to go, I’m off to the Antarctic Center for clothing issue….
