Here's something you might be interested in.
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed
Big Screen — Movie commentary
Blurt — Music's inside track
Booze News — San Diego spirits
Classical Music — Immortal beauty
Classifieds — Free and easy
Cover Stories — Front-page features
Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes
Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts
Feast! — Food & drink reviews
Feature Stories — Local news & stories
Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore
From the Archives — Spotlight on the past
Golden Dreams — Talk of the town
The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it
Letters — Our inbox
Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites
Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans
Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists
Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news
News Ticker — News & politics
Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated
Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna
Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated
Poetry — The old and the new
Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers
Reading — The hunt for intellectuals
Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails
San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds
SD on the QT — Almost factual news
Sheep and Goats — Places of worship
Special Issues — The best of
Street Style — San Diego streets have style
Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves
Theater — On stage in San Diego this week
Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative
Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work
Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego
Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads
Your Week — Daily event picks
Christchurch, New Zealand's International Antarctic Centre
Hägglund vehicles on display at International Arctic Centre
In February 2011, Christchurch captured world headlines when New Zealand’s second-largest city was jolted by a 6.3 magnitude earthquake, flattening downtown buildings and claiming 181 human lives in its debris-laden wake.
Though parts of downtown are still cordoned off due to instability, the process of rebuilding is in high gear and Christchurch wants the world to know they are open to visitors.
Destination: Antarctic
My first stop in Christchurch is the International Antarctic Centre located adjacent to Christchurch International Airport – it’s about an eight-minute walk from the terminal. With the availability of coin-operated luggage lockers just outside the attraction, it’s easy to visit either coming to or after landing at the airport.
What I didn’t know is that Christchurch is considered the official gateway to Antarctica because it was the staging area for Operation Deep Freeze I in 1955, when the U.S. Air Force arrived with eight aircraft. (The flight to Antarctica takes about five hours in a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster and about seven hours in the C-130 Hercules.)
Then, in 1992 and at a cost of more than $8 million, the International Antarctic Centre opened for visitors, cementing the Christchurch-Antarctic connection.
Today, the International Antarctic Centre is one of Christchurch’s prime tourist attractions. Located at the heart of a working campus, it offers an interactive experience that’s all about the frozen continent of extremes – the windiest, driest, highest and coldest place on earth.
Virtual Antarctica – Through the Lens
My favorite feature was the 4D “Extreme Theatre,” featuring 3D movie technology but with special effects like falling snow, wind and rain, fog, simulated motion and dramatic lighting. Don’t miss the stunning 17-minute film “Beyond the Frozen Sunset,” which follows the Antarctic seasonal arc from sunset to sunrise, as shot from the underbelly of a helicopter.
Smallest Penguin in the World
The International Antarctic Centre also houses Little Blue penguins that have been rescued due to physical disabilities that seriously jeopardized their survival in the wild. It’s best to catch the penguins at feeding times of 10:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., when these flightless birds are most active – and photogenic – and when the Antarctic Rangers give a commentary.
This is perhaps the easiest way to get a glimpse of the Little Blue Penguin, the world’s smallest penguin.
Antarctic Workhorse
Go for a ride in the mechanical workhorse of the Antarctic: a Hägglund, an authentic Antarctic all-terrain vehicle, the only one of its type in the world. This 10-minute outdoor journey will have you speeding across open ground, climbing the Hill of Terror, and then plunging into a pond to demonstrate its amphibious capabilities.
Billed as the "World’s Best Antarctic Attraction," the International Antarctic Centre is open every day of the year, including Christmas, from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Here's something you might be interested in.
Christchurch, New Zealand's International Antarctic Centre
Christchurch, New Zealand's International Antarctic Centre
Hägglund vehicles on display at International Arctic Centre
In February 2011, Christchurch captured world headlines when New Zealand’s second-largest city was jolted by a 6.3 magnitude earthquake, flattening downtown buildings and claiming 181 human lives in its debris-laden wake.
Though parts of downtown are still cordoned off due to instability, the process of rebuilding is in high gear and Christchurch wants the world to know they are open to visitors.
Destination: Antarctic
My first stop in Christchurch is the International Antarctic Centre located adjacent to Christchurch International Airport – it’s about an eight-minute walk from the terminal. With the availability of coin-operated luggage lockers just outside the attraction, it’s easy to visit either coming to or after landing at the airport.
What I didn’t know is that Christchurch is considered the official gateway to Antarctica because it was the staging area for Operation Deep Freeze I in 1955, when the U.S. Air Force arrived with eight aircraft. (The flight to Antarctica takes about five hours in a U.S. Air Force C-17 Globemaster and about seven hours in the C-130 Hercules.)
Then, in 1992 and at a cost of more than $8 million, the International Antarctic Centre opened for visitors, cementing the Christchurch-Antarctic connection.
Today, the International Antarctic Centre is one of Christchurch’s prime tourist attractions. Located at the heart of a working campus, it offers an interactive experience that’s all about the frozen continent of extremes – the windiest, driest, highest and coldest place on earth.
Virtual Antarctica – Through the Lens
My favorite feature was the 4D “Extreme Theatre,” featuring 3D movie technology but with special effects like falling snow, wind and rain, fog, simulated motion and dramatic lighting. Don’t miss the stunning 17-minute film “Beyond the Frozen Sunset,” which follows the Antarctic seasonal arc from sunset to sunrise, as shot from the underbelly of a helicopter.
Smallest Penguin in the World
The International Antarctic Centre also houses Little Blue penguins that have been rescued due to physical disabilities that seriously jeopardized their survival in the wild. It’s best to catch the penguins at feeding times of 10:30 a.m., 1:30 p.m. and 3:30 p.m., when these flightless birds are most active – and photogenic – and when the Antarctic Rangers give a commentary.
This is perhaps the easiest way to get a glimpse of the Little Blue Penguin, the world’s smallest penguin.
Antarctic Workhorse
Go for a ride in the mechanical workhorse of the Antarctic: a Hägglund, an authentic Antarctic all-terrain vehicle, the only one of its type in the world. This 10-minute outdoor journey will have you speeding across open ground, climbing the Hill of Terror, and then plunging into a pond to demonstrate its amphibious capabilities.
Billed as the "World’s Best Antarctic Attraction," the International Antarctic Centre is open every day of the year, including Christmas, from 9 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.
Comments