![]() I spent several days in McM getting "debriefed" and waiting for my northbound flight. During this time I stayed in the brand new Mammoth Mountain Inn next to the Chalet. I was fortunate enough to score a boondoggle--a helicopter trip taking supplies to science teams studying the Adelie penguins at Cape Crozier at the eastern tip of Ross Island. This place reminded me of the "Woodstock" movie; the hillsides were covered with thousands of birds. All of them had to travel down to the sea to catch fish for themselves (and later the young) so the ones with the low-priced tickets had a long walk! Another view. ![]() The birds collected this time were quarantined at Sea World. In more recent years they have been able to breed them in San Diego rather than collect them from Ross Island. ![]() Our visit was in the middle of the egg-laying season. Most birds laid 2 eggs, so when we were there many nests had 1 egg. The yellowish spot on the chest was from another science project which was studying the feathers (another view). I was very fortunate to have this trip, few of the other Pole Souls ever had a similar opportunity. In fact, very few of the folks that go to the ice see much wildlife at all except for the occasional lost penguin that stumbles into McMurdo. Ten years later I had the first of 6 trips to Palmer Station and the Antarctic Peninsula and saw LOTS of whales, penguins, other wildlife and amazing scenery. And I was around Pole to see not one but TWO lost skuas that ended up there. ![]() A few days later I was chilling out, sitting on a park bench and watching these birds along the Avon River in Christchurch. ![]() I spent several days in Christchurch before I set out alone with camping gear on a bus/train tour of the South Island. The first stop was Arthur's Pass in the middle of the island west of Christchurch. I tried climbing to a hut on one of the hills, but I retreated when it got foggy and snowy at altitude. I ended up camping beside this lake, reading, fighting bugs and doing very little. After 2 days I hiked back to the road to flag down the westbound bus to Greymouth. As the bus took us over the pass I soon found myself swapping travel stories and snacks with other folks in the back of the bus. Eventually one of them asked me about an article in that morning's Christchurch Press about a fatal motorcycle accident near Queenstown. I stumbled back to my seat in shock. |