Journal Entry

New Zealand or Bust!

I'm writing this journal on a plane traveling from Auckland to Christchurch, New Zealand. From my window seat I can see the deep blue water, miles of coastline, and green hills behind them. I wouldn't mind spending some extra time here on my way back to the states!

New Zealand from the airplane windowA view of New Zealand from the airplane window on the flight from Auckland to Christchurch. Stephen Sweet and MichelleStephen Sweet and Michelle on the plane from Auckland, NZ to Christchurch.

Mapping My Route

Right now I've spend a little over 15 hours on planes, but I still have more to go! I left Austin on November 8th and flew to Los Angeles. There, I met up with my McMurdo research team and we flew a little over 13 hours to Auckland, New Zealand. I thought I would go crazy being on a plane that long, but it was quite comfortable. There is a t.v. screen in front of every seat where you can watch movies, listen to the radio, play games, or look at a map showing where you're flying. I took a movie showing our progress crossing the Pacific Ocean:

http://

Here's how far we've gone so far:

Flight mapThe path I took from Austin, TX to Christchurch, NZ.

When we land in Christchurch, we will check in to our hotel and rest up before tomorrow's day at the Clothing Distribution Center (CDC). There we will try on our Extreme Cold Weather (ECW) gear and make sure it fis before heading off to McMurdo Station.

Questions:

  1. What's the farthest you have ever traveled?
  2. Look at the picture below. It shows some land near Christchurch, New Zealand. Do you see the white specs in the photo? What do you think they are?
New Zealand countrysideNew Zealand country side as our plane lands in Christchurch

Math Connection

  1. If I spent 2 hours and 50 minutes on the flight from Austin to Los Angeles, then 13 hours and 15 minutes on the flight from Los Angeles to Auckland, New Zealand, and now 1 hour and 20 minutes from Auckland to Christchurch, what's the total amount of time I've been on a plane (so far)?

  2. Look at a map and estimate the distances between all of these places. What is my average speed? When did I fly the fastest? When did I fly the slowest?