Upon landing in New Zealand, the captain blares the theme from Lord of the Rings over the loudspeakers to welcome the cabin to Middle Earth. I was expecting a run of the mill airport, perhaps with a few cracks from the earthquake. Actually, the entire Christchurch Airport has been converted into a Lord of the Rings theme park. Upon exiting the aircraft, passengers are greeted by a JetStar agent dressed as Lady Galadriel, who gives each of the passengers a unique gift for their travels (mine was a Mirkwood moss compass that would forever show me the way north, which I quickly discarded). After checking out the airports attractions, such as dwarf tossing, Rivendale rafting, and orc bashing, I followed some Riders of Rohan to the hotel.
A half-day in Christchurch was spent checking out Extreme Cold Weather (ECW) gear at the Antarctic Center in Christchurch. Being a winter-over, I was given ~40 lbs of winter gear, which includes a full spare set (which is stored on the dock for access in case of a fire). The next day, we arrive for the flight check in and baggage weigh-in. Before being shown several briefings prior to the flight. The flight was slated for ~44 passengers, but after the weigh-in 3 passengers were pulled from the flight because it was ACL (Above Cargo Limit).
To get to the South Pole you first have to fly to McMurdo, and then make a separate flight the next day to the Pole. Flights from Christchurch to the Ice ('the ice' = antarctica down here) are done on either DC-130s or LC-17s, depending on if the weather is cold enough for the ski-less LC-17s to land. DC-130s are always the transports from McMurdo to the Pole.
It takes about an hour to get to the airfield from McMurdo, passing through the kiwi Scott Base. Because they were transporting two flights of passengers out, we used the largest of their crawlers. While the flight from Christchurch->McMurdo is about 8 hours (on a DC-130) the flight from McMurdo->South Pole is only ~3. En route, all passengers wear their ECW gear.
A police dog ensured our ice baggage contained no contraband
To get to the South Pole you first have to fly to McMurdo, and then make a separate flight the next day to the Pole. Flights from Christchurch to the Ice ('the ice' = antarctica down here) are done on either DC-130s or LC-17s, depending on if the weather is cold enough for the ski-less LC-17s to land. DC-130s are always the transports from McMurdo to the Pole.
Boarding the DC-130
McMurdo station is often compared to a small mining town. My flight from here to the pole was delayed several days due to weather, so I had just enough time to check out the two bars and coffee shop. There were ~850 people on station when I was there, and the winter crew is ~200.
McMurdo Station
Transport to the airport outside of McMurdo
It takes about an hour to get to the airfield from McMurdo, passing through the kiwi Scott Base. Because they were transporting two flights of passengers out, we used the largest of their crawlers. While the flight from Christchurch->McMurdo is about 8 hours (on a DC-130) the flight from McMurdo->South Pole is only ~3. En route, all passengers wear their ECW gear.
Finally arrived at the pole
