travel plans

Well, I won’t be in front of a computer very much more in the short time that I am down here.  So this is going to probably be one of my last posts.  I may, at some point, make a post or two about lessons learned or general insight, but my time in Antarctica is coming to an end.  And since this blog was mainly meant to share that with you, it too, will be coming to an end.

If you’re interested, here is my new flight itinerary.  You will notice that it is a lot different than what I posted three months ago (or you won’t notice because you forgot what it was those months ago too).  I will point out that I am not stopping in Hawaii like I originally thought and that is strictly by my choice.  Some will call me crazy, but I think by the time I’d get to Hawaii I’d really just want to be home.  Not to mention how expensive it would be to stay there.  And also not to mention that if I stopped in HI I would be considered a domestic traveler cutting my baggage limit to 1 50lb bag vs. 2 70lb bags as international.  These are a few things that helped make my decision.  By the way, why do we say “not to mention” and then go right on ahead and mention something?  You will also see that I am only spending 1 full day in Australia, also my choice.  I just don’t know how much fun it’d be by myself and I think I’ll be ready to get home at that point.  Well, here you have it:

As you can see, I will be spending the majority of the time in Christchurch, NZ.  I don’t know if you noticed from my few blogs on the subject before, but I really loved New Zealand.  So much that I talked my girlfriend into meeting me there.  Here is a list of a few of the things we plan on doing (weather permitting), including, but not limited to:  jetboat up the Waimakariri River, 4-wheel-drive adventure across a 10,000 acre working sheep and cattle farm, ride the world famous TranzAlpine train, skydive with a view of the Southern Alps and the Pacific Ocean, swim with Dusky dolphins off Kaikoura, ride gondola up the Port Hills overlooking Christchurch and Lyttleton Harbour, hike down the Port Hills down to Sumner Beach, spending a day on the beach, browse the Botanical Garden (Christchurch is the Garden City), go punting on the Avon, etc.  It should be a busy and fun time.