Catching Up

It has been a while since we last used this space to talk about our travels and experiences. Since we left Antarctica on February 20 and I (Sheri) got to fly out in the cockpit of a military C-17 aircraft, we have spent 5 weeks on the South Island of New Zealand, a few days in Southern California and a month in the Netherlands. We are currently back in Alaska for another summer season and living in the same guest cabin (with wireless internet access, but no running water) as last year.

Over the next couple of weeks, we'll attempt to get this weblog back up-to-date by recapping the highlights of our journeys in March and April.

New Zealand's South Island (February 20 to March 30): We were pretty exhausted after leaving the ice and I remembered after my first Antarctic season (2000-2001) how hard it is to make decisions again. During the 5 months at McMurdo, our toughest decisions were choosing between going to yoga class or to the art film showing in the coffee house or deciding whether to order that third glass of wine on a work night. Suddenly, we had to decide where to sleep and eat; we had to be aware of traffic (especially difficult getting used to the drivers in the left lane); we had to PAY for food!

Keeping all this in mind, we spent just a couple of days in Christchurch (we had to have Thai food at a good restaurant!) before heading out to the coastal town of Akaroa.



We spent four days hiking, walking, kayakking, exploring and socializing with other ice friends who had the same idea.


Kayakking in Akaroa Harbor

The rolling landscape of Banks Peninsula



It was on one of these hikes that Michiel saw his first New Zealand sheep muster (moving the sheep from one pasture to another). A farmer on a four-wheeler had just picked up a reluctant sheep and was commanding the dogs to herd the sheep in front of us.



After recharging in this wonderful, formerly French harbor town, (with an excellent art cinema! We recommend the movie "Mad Hot Ballroom".) we were ready to return to Christchurch to pick up our rental car and start the drive south east towards Mt. Cook and Lord of the Rings country.