Wellington to Christchurch

July 12, 2008
Today we went to Te Papa. It is a museum with so much cool stuff; I really couldn’t decide what I liked best. First we went to Awesome Forces. There was an earthquake house, a place where you could make and earthquake, a baby’s crib with bricks in it, and a screen with mirrored walls and floors.
Next we saw “Mountains to Sea”. There was the skeleton of a baby whale. The skeleton was so large it stretched from one end of the room to the other. We saw other sea animal skeletons.
Next there was a Discovery Centre and I walked on blocks, played a Maori stick game and swung what looked like balls on the end of string. I also went into the meeting house, sleeping house and food house.
Then we went to the 1800’s exhibit. I played a ship game and came in second place. Then I smelled some whiskey. It was disgusting! I read about a woman who made whiskey and died when she was in her 90’s after drinking her own whiskey every day.
Next we went to Blood, Earth and Fire. It was about invasive species and how they affect everyday life in NZ. I inspected a cargo hold and found mosquitoes in the tires, bats in the bananas, termites in the desks, spiders in a barrel, maggots in tomatoes, and beetles chewing a mask.
Next I went to the fake meeting house and did some crayon rubbings.

July 13, 2008
This morning we sailed to the South Island of NZ. It wasn’t much. Weather Report: blue skies, turquoise waters, perfect day for sailing. We saw jellyfish and NZ fur seals. Soon someone who worked on the ship said, “Whales on the right side of the boat!” everyone ran like a stampede of wild bulls to the right side of the boat, cameras ready. I am very surprised the boat didn’t tip over into the water. Soon everyone realized the “whales” were rocks, water and trees.
I had done a paper treasure hunt sheet and the winner would get a prize. But when we found out the winner it was someone called Shaun. Soon we got off the boat, got in the car (as on deck 3 there was a garage of people’s cars). We drove and got prepared for the whale watch tomorrow.

July 14, 2008
Have you ever seen a star fish? Probably not a 6 legged one. We were messing around in tide pools after our whale watch.
We got onto the boat and I saw petrels and albatrosses. Albatrosses are like giant seagulls. Then behold! I spotted the whale before anyone! Behold the great SPERM WHALE! He blew geysers in the water, showed his back, and then showed his tail.
Soon… we saw dusky dolphins. Do you know those small bags you carry? The ones you take on trips where you find out the more luggage you take, the more money you pay? The dusky dolphin could fit in one. We soon were in the middle of the pod. One of the dolphins was so close, one inch to the left, I could have held him. They also did flips and flops.
We turned back and once we were at the shop I got 2 plush whales, a sperm whale and a humpback. Then we went to the camper. We saw 2 seals flopped on the grass, and more on the rocks and water. I also saw snails and a crab carcass.

July 15, 2008
We drove to the Antarctica Center. I went in and stood on the North and South Poles at the same time. They had a platform with 2 footprints to stand on with tubes of water from each pole, so you could be on both at the same time.
Then I went into the 4 Seasons room. The snow was bubbles. Next I saw a funny movie about real penguins and seals. Next we saw the little blue penguins. They were all bloody and injured and having check-ups.
Then …we got onto the Hagglund. We were bumped and there were steep hills and gaps. I thought 2 of my ribs had cracked. On the last one the hill was giant. At the very bottoms was a lake 3 meters deep! Luckily, the brakes worked. After that, the ride was over.
Then, PENGUIN LUNCH! Little fish were tossed into the water to the little penguins. After that we went to the gift shop, had a snack and hit the road. We saw alpacas, and ostriches.
I forgot to mention the freezing room. It was all real ice and snow with an igloo and a very fun ice slide. It was -8 degrees Celsius in there and then a giant penguin came in and there was a huge storm with 40 mph winds and the temperature dropped to -20 degrees Celsius.
They also had a room filled with giant stuffed penguins.