Christchurch: place of extreme hot and cold!

We had decided ahead of time to visit the International Antarctic Centre in Christchurch, and with a bit of research beforehand we had an idea of what to expect and the fees payable.  It's expensive but well worth it!  The boys got in free as the centre is running a special for Canterbury residents (still valid until the end of January for any would-be explorers; we just had to produce proof of address).  In our eagerness and over-anticipation of morning peak traffic we arrived a good 15 minutes too early so had to kill a bit of time in the warm nor'westerly winds outdoors.

Once through we made our way to the cold places, after experiencing a surprise snowfall in the first room.

In the "Ice and Snow Experience" room we donned jackets and overshoes and played in the snow before subjecting ourselves to an antarctic storm - the temperature in the room was -8C but with the windchill factor and 40 km/h winds we experienced -35C.  Fun!  Yeah, it was cold.  But honestly, before the storm hit and we were braving -8, it felt much like any winter's day here at its worst. 

Mom sat outside sensibly watching us - the room went dark and the wind blew through, with great sound effects to match!

After that chilly time it was bliss to head outside again into the warmer weather (did I mention that summer started yesterday?).  Nick, Dad and the boys were ready for their Hagglund Ride, which Mom and I thought best left to the menfolk. 

We caught them at the end of their 10-minute trip just before they went through a duck pond.  The ducks would have to be good swimmers to get to the bottom.  Hagglunds can float!

Phew, safely out the other side.

Back indoors to meander through the many other areas of interest, and tried on some super duper warm clothing - pants, jackets, overshoes and mittens.  Boy do you ever feel clumsy with so much gear on.

Penguin feeding time!  Pretty cool to watch these guys being fed their breakfast, and hear an explanation about what the penguin encounter is all about - all the penguins here have been rescued from the wild where injuries and/or disabilities would have left them defenseless.

One more major stop after the penguins - the 4D movie.  Wow, I really won't comment on it here but will just say that it's excellent and very entertaining!!
Lunch at McDonalds before the second phase of our Christchurch visit...

...in which the men dropped Mom and me off at Spotlight (hands-on fabric shopping) and drove around some of the interesting earthquake-specific sights.  The following photos were taken by Nick and I may be a little sketchy on details.
First though, is the Transitional Cathedral which is made substantially of cardboard, earning the nickname "The Cardboard Cathedral".  This is a temporary replacement for the Christchurch Cathedral was was badly damaged in the February 2011 shakes.

The Chalice, below, is an 18-metre high sculpture celebrating the Millenium.  Its shape mirrors the top of the cathedral which was knocked off in the quake, although it was never designed with any link in mind in 2001!

Fences have been filled in with colourful squares to make the construction sites prettier...

...and clever graffiti-ists have been busy!

The tram only just reopened two weeks ago - the men were pleased to see it in action.

We left the city around 2 pm in the sweltering heat (it was up to 32C today).  Stopped near Ashburton at the Book Barn, which is exactly what the name says - a barn FILLED with books.  Picked up a few good things including a Readers Digest music book of old favourites, of which Nick and I played a few for my parents' amusement.