NZ 28 Antarctic Expeditions
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| Roald Amudsen |
The
proximity to the South Pole made, and still makes, NZ a natural springboard for
expeditions, supply depots and scientific research to Antarctica. No wonder
Bluff, the town at the most Southern end is such a busy, commercial looking
seaport.
During
our visit to the Canterbury Museum we saw lots of paraphernalia concerning the
race to conquer the South Pole. Roald Amudsen was the first man to arrive at the South
Pole…a section of the Canterbury Museum is set up to show the hardships those
pioneers had to endure.
There
were many expeditions that started from NZ or Tasmania.
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| Scott's Expedition Had No Energy Left For the Return Trip |
All kinds of machinery,
homemade sleds, dog teams or whatever is on display to show how the human mind
works when it is in search of answers.
Scott’s 2nd Expedition
(1910-1913) started from here.
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| Shackleton Used Horses to Pull the Sleds |
Antarctica,
a whole continent worth of adventure is 1737Miles away from Christchurch, if
you could fly in a straight line to the closest point of Antarctica, that is.
Well
the early explores did it that way in a sense, but naturally, they went by
ship. They got to Antarctica and found nothing there. Just snow and ice.
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| Mummy |
And
in the Museum they have items on display that show what those folks wore then,
and what folks wear today. What a difference?
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| Albatross |
We saw Egyptian Mummies, replicas of flying Albatrosses, a whole bunch of assorted
items one only sees in Museums.
We
had a good 3 days in Christchurch.
Carol
and I had a good time in Christchurch, we lived well, and we made our stay 'Deluxe' in Christchurch. It was not the 'deluxe' Fred Rau promised, but we
ended our stay in NZ a notch up, I believe.
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| Bridge of Remembrance |
We
walked back from the Museum that late afternoon and experienced life in
Christchurch in a gentle way.
We
passed the war memorial, the Bridge of
Remembrance NZ erected, a tribute to the fallen Soldiers NZ had in many
conflicts in the World. Places such as Palestine, Egypt, Gallipoli, Mesopotamia,
France and Belgium during WW1 were on the tablets mounted to the wall.
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| The Maori Mat (Patikitiki) |
For
WW2 they had Greece, Crete, N. Africa, Italy, Pacific, Atlantic and Europe
listed. Remember all of NZ only has 5 Million People but because NZ belongs to
the British Commonwealth, during War times those countries help each other.
A
Maori mat (Patikitiki) was
interwoven into the pavement near this bridge. A Maori tribute to the 'soul’s journey'
and serving as representation for all souls that leave NZ.
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| The Avon River Flows Under the Bridge of Remembrance |
In
Canada, fallen Soldiers are honored with a yearly showing of “the poppies in the
fields” and by wearing a Poppy on
the lapel of your jacket or coat.
NZ
does not forget its people, which is very nice.
We
had a pleasant evening, ambled along the River Avon that meanders through the
city, saw the sunset and then had
dinner in a quirky pub.
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| Great Maitre De |
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| Servers Maintain the Theme |
Also look at those folks: great people we met in Christchurch.
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| Another Server in the "Best Pub" |
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| Trolley Conductors |
We
met all kinds of people in NZ. “Nice” trolley conductors 2157
People feeding ducks in the park near the river
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| Feeding the Ducks |
Street musicians doing their thing.
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| It is Called "Stay". Made of Iron.The Figure is Rising From the Water Yet Looking Down at It |
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| Window Washer |
We
watched window washers dangling from the roof doing their job.
There
still are many wonderful ‘old’ places in Christchurch, too.
As these pictures, show…
Christchurch is a mix of things.
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| Staircase in the Old Hotel Where We Had Dinner |
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| Lobby of the Old Hotel |
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| End of Our Stay in Christchurch |
Christchurch
is a wonderful city… but now it’s time
to move on, we will drive tomorrow to the Airport and then take our plane to
Tasmania, our next stop on our journey.
Talk
to you tomorrow.
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