NZ6: Out of Isolation!

We have officially made it out of isolation on July 22nd (yes I’m posting two weeks after, we’ve been quite busy!).

We did our managed isolation in ChristChurch, one of the larger cities in New Zealand with nearly 400k people. We decided to rent a motorhome and drive from Christchurch through New Zealand since we had 10 days until I started work.

Lucky for us, a great friend happened to be in Christchurch when we got out and we managed to get Breakfast with her at the Strange Bandit. 5/5 stars, very yummy, great coffee. Great coffee is going to be a recuring theme, get used to it.

We got the motorhome and packed all 11 of our suitcases and our carry-ons and headed to see a bit of the city before heading north. We were going to go on a gondola ride over the city, but it was too windy. So instead w headed to the International Antarctic Center. This is where many countries start their journey for Antarctic research (the US being one of them).

<– CLICK TO SEE ZOOMED IN GIF OF WHERE CHCH IS!!!

The center had tours and outlined all the many expeditions to Antarctica as well as the ongoing ones.

Also, they had several huskies hanging out that you could pet, so we were happy :).

We did a tour and rode in the HagGlunds (super offroad mega vehicles that they use in Antarctica). They had an area where the rode over tires, VERY steep hills, and large holes to simulate chasms in the ice. Hagglunds are BEASTS! My wife said I couldn’t get one.

After touring we had to say goodbye to Christchurch for now.

We tried some new drinks (pictured) which were all quite tasty. Then it was time to head up to the capital city of Wellington. But to get there, we had to cross from the south island to the north island via a ferry. On the map, there doesn’t seem to be too much water right?

Turns out, looks can be deceiving, but I’ll add more in the next update.