Two days in New Zealand

We had two full days in Christchurch, NZ. Before being able to explore, we had to get our extreme cold weather gear from the US Antarctic Program office.

Abby, myself, and Carolyn trying out our extreme cold weather gear
Abby, myself, and Carolyn trying out our extreme cold weather gear

That afternoon, some of us explored downtown Christchurch. There were a lot of buildings destroyed by the earthquake in 2011, and there were barely any people in the city center area. It took McBride awhile to recognize the city, even though he’s been there five times before.

Carolyn sitting on a sheep statue
Carolyn sitting on a sheep statue
Carolyn, McBride and Brent trying to navigate
Carolyn, McBride and Brent trying to navigate
Some destruction from the earthquake
Some destruction from the earthquake
A building being demolished through the trees
A building being demolished through the trees

We also went to the Botanical Gardens, which was a lot of fun. The gardens were beautiful and relaxing, and we had a good time walking around, as well as sitting on a bench watching baby ducks.

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really adorable baby ducks!

Carolyn, Brent and McBride trying to hug a tree (in typical Berkeley fashion?)
Carolyn, Brent and McBride trying to hug a tree (in typical Berkeley fashion?)
Carolyn encouraged everyone else to make a silly pose
Carolyn encouraged everyone else to make a silly pose

The next day I went to the mountains near Christchurch with Harm and Stephanie (from ANITA) and Rob (a seismologist we met at our hotel), while the rest of the COSI team explored the Christchurch container mall. Harm, Stephanie, Rob and I made a few stops on the way to Arthur’s Pass, a national park in the mountains. The highlights were Castle Hill, where we got to scramble on some rocks, a hike to a waterfall in Arthur’s Pass, and delicious meat pies!

me at castle hill
me at castle hill
Rob was pretty good at climbing up the rocks at castle hill
Rob was pretty good at climbing up the rocks at castle hill
Rob, Harm and Stephanie and our meat pies. Everyone was really excited about them
Rob, Harm and Stephanie and our meat pies. Everyone was really excited about them.
Stephanie and I at the waterfall
Stephanie and I at the waterfall

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