i have arrived

after one other delay we were finally cleared to fly to McMurdo on Saturday (Friday for North Americans).

i got on at 2 am on Saturday so I could meet the shuttle to the CDC in the lobby at 3 am. at the CDC we had to put on our ECW gear and weigh our luggage before heading to the USAP customs area. they weighed our bags as well as ourselves. the we went to the antarctic visitors centre for breakfast before heading back to the CDC to watch a video on what to expect flight wise and upon landing.

we then went through a metal detector which went off on all but 4 people (because of our gear) and then boarded the plane. we had to wait about 40 minutes before taking off because the flight computers werent working. of course i dozed off and woke up thinking we were already in the air because the engines were so loud. C-17s are cargo planes, so there isnt any insulation, and the seats are actually loaded in like a pallet of cargo would be. i sat sidways which was very odd during take off and landing.

both the take off and landing were smooth, and the whole flight was pretty smooth. oh yeah, and loud. like the kind of loud that makes you go deaf if you take out your ear plugs.

the benefit of flying the plane is the amount of space you have to walk around. the wierd part was not having any windows other than the exit peepholes, so you werent certain of your orientation.

about 30 minutes before we landed i got up to look out the window and i was able to sea the sea ice and its cracks. it was AMAZING.

our flight landing with mount erebus in the background

we landed at pegasus airfield in a windy -42 F and boarded ivan the terra bus, which is a large ice land rover thingamajig that travels at about 30 mph. after our mile ride we finally got into mcmurdo and went directly to the galley for a briefing. this gave them ample time to unload our luggage at the post office.

after getting our keys and linens we went to pick up our luggae and were privvy to the most spectacular sight ever...nacreous clouds. evil little buggars, but beautiful none-the-less. i could have stayed out all night staring at them if the wind chill wasnt at a brisk -62F.


i really cant believe i am here at the bottom of the world. there arent words that can describe how i feel, and i can only say that i am thankful and excited for what is to come!

post script: i must admit that i have borrowed these photos from some fellow antarcticans because i can not use my computer to upload anything as of yet. i have to have it approved by IT before i can do anything. so thank you wally and cathy!

delayed

yesterday all of winfly was supposed to leave the hotels for the CDC at 3:15 am, but we got a call at 2:45 am saying that our flight was delayed due to weather. we later found out that there was a storm at mcmurdo with 100+ mph winds!

at 8 am we took off for the travel office to pick up our per diem and shuttle vouchers. around noon i took off with a few other NANA employees for "burgers, bowling and beer" and had a blast!

i am still adjusting to the time difference (+18 hours) so i took a nap. for dinner i went out with three of the chefs and a RSPC contractor to the most amazing place for dinner, Annie's Wine Bar http://www.annieswinebar.co.nz/ . it was slightly outside of the city center and in the courtyard of what looked like hogwarts - so beautiful and striking. walking inside i was blown away! the dining room was warm and cozy and the staff was super friendly.

right before we ordered i saw another NANA employee come in and sit alone. i expect that on the ice we will all be one big family, so i invited him over to have dinner with us which turned out to be great since we all got to hear his interesting story of being a rappelling fireman for the US dept of forestry. one of the great things about this adventure is getting to meet so many interesting people who come from every state in the union and all walks of life. since what we are doing isnt the most usual of things, we each have our own unique story as to how we came across this opportunity and why we want to do it.

anywho, on to dinner...

their wine book had the labels with hand written notes instead of a simple typed out price list. this was really handy and so much better to made a decision with since i had never eaten there before. we all shared a bowl of new zealand green lipped mussels in a tomato/chipotle/cilantro sauce that was simply divine and sopped up the sauce with some slices of rye bread made fresh on-site. i ended up with their goat cheese & artichoke homemade ravioli which was set atop a manuka smoked tomato finished with lemon cream sauce and toasted pistachios. the manuka is a type of bush that grows here which is highly scented and imbued a nice flavor into the tomatoes. i thought the cream sauce was going to be heavy, but it was very light and refreshing. the pasta was perfectly tender, these were seriously the best ravioli's i have ever had - ever.

after dinner (and some great conversation) we walked back into the city center to our respective hotels. i decided to get to bed early since we had to be out for a 3 am shuttle. however, at 2:45 am i received another call that our flight was delayed for another 24 hours.

its 4:30 am right now and after i get some more sleep i am going to go out to the local wildlife sanctuary and feed some of the unique animals of this region. i might also head to the beach, which i hear is breathtaking!

denver, LA, sydney, christchurch

(please excuse my spelling and writing issues - i am still a bit off from the flight and time difference)

so i have finally arrived in new zealand! i was lucky enough to get isle seats on all of the flight down here, so that made the long trek so much better for me.

if you dont already know, i have a terrible fear of flying. traveling this far on three flights was not something i was looking forward to. however, all of the flights were pretty good, especially the qanats flight from LA to sydney.

denver to LA was a bit bumpy getting over the rockies, but it was smooth after that. when we arrived we had a 4.5 hour layover in the international terminal. since there are so many of us going in for winfly we were able to keep ourselves entertained.

the flight to sydney was about 14 hours and was pretty wobbly, somewhat like a train ride on old rails. qantas offered us dinner then a snack pack and some socks for comfort. we also had our on tv screen to watch movies and tv shows on demand - there was enough material to watch for a month! at some point we had breakfast and they also gave us hot towels to help ourselfves get refreshed.

the flight to christchurch was totally smooth until it was time to land, and that was not fun at all. it was horribly turbulent, but it was a quick landing, so i didnt have time to freak out.

after landing the USAP (United States Antarctic Program) had shuttle drivers available for us and they delivered us to our respective hotels. i am staying at the hotel SO. pretty modern - it took me 5 minutes to figure out how to turn the lights on...

unfortunately i took a 4 hour nap that screwed up my sleep schedule. i ended up staying awake until 11 pm and woke up at 4 am kiwi time.

last night i went to dinner at strawberry fare and had a delicious duck confit. i forgot my camera since i was so out of it, but i do promise to get some pictures soon.

the kiwis are VERY nice. i cant wait to explore this country more after i return in march.

now i am off to the CDC (Clothing Distribution Center) to pick up my uniforms and ECW (Extreme Cold Weather) gear. i also have to resubmit my laptop for inspection since i didnt already have an anti-virus program installed.

Antarctica Travel Itinerary

Zachary’s Antarctica Itinerary
Mountain Standard Time


Thursday August 13, 2009 - Sunday August 16, 2009

*Thursday August 13, 2009 - After 4 pm - Check in to Staybridge Suites in Lone Tree, CO

*Daily – Depart for Raytheon Polar Services at 7 am

*Friday August 14, 2009 (7:30 am - 4:30 pm) – Supervisor training, food service job expectation orientation, HR training, receive per diem

*Saturday August 15, 2009 - (7:30 am - 5 pm) - ServSafe training, expense reports, accessing money in the Ice, program overview, ethics/discrimination/benefits/evaluation training, “What to expect next?” & travel overview, submit laptop computer for screening

*Sunday August 16, 2009 - (7:30 am - noon) - Safety and environmental training


Sunday August 16, 2009

*4:30 pm - Depart Denver, CO via American Airlines flight 1519

*6:45 pm - Arrive in Los Angeles, CA

*11:30 pm - Depart Los Angeles, CA via American Airlines/Qantas Airways flight 7364


Monday August 17th, 2009

*2:15 pm - Arrive in Sydney, Australia

*3:15 pm - Depart Sydney, Australia via Qantas Airways flight 7345

*6:15 pm - Arrive in Christchurch, New Zealand

*Check in to Hotel So


Tuesday August 18th, 2009

*6:30 am - Depart for Clothing Distribution Center via shuttle

*Try on and receive Extreme Cold Weather Clothing and work uniform

*Submit luggage for weight restriction evaluation


Wednesday August 19th, 2009

*(Time TBD upon arrival in New Zealand) Depart for McMurdo Station via US Air Force Airlift: C-17 Globemaster III (Operation Deep Freeze)

Antarctica

so after many months of not posting i will soon be starting up again.

i am moving to antarctica to work in food service for 7 months at mcmurdo station and i will be documenting the entire experience here. including the general experience of being there i also hope to cover some history, food & exploration, and antarctic culture.

please leave comments and requests!