It wasn’t until I saw the giant, old fashioned departures sign in the middle of the LAX International Airport that I realized I was beginning the long journey to the South Pole. Packing had begun at 7 A.M. the morning of departure with piles of New Zealand and Antarctica clothing being strategically placed in the appropriate bag, taking care not to forget any essentials since there is little chance of finding a replacement item at the South Pole.
The departures sign above the check in counters at the international terminal in LAX.
The whirr of people marching about in all directions in the busy airport made me feel as if I was standing still in the middle of a massive ocean. I gathered my wits about me, checked in my two bags at the counter and proceeded to the international departures through security.
The 12.5 hour flight to Auckland was quite manageable. I am not a huge fan of flying, but having an entire row to myself in the back of the plane made the turbulence tolerable.
The view from the airplane window while landing in Auckland, NZ.
I gathered my bags in Auckland and transferred to the domestic terminal where I checked them again to Christchurch. Since New Zealand is 21 hours ahead, it was easy to adjust to the time because I landed at 6 A.M. New Zealand time which was 9 A.M. California time.
The flight to Christchurch was short - about an hour and a half - and I was greeted by a U.S. Antarctic Program representative shortly after landing. There were six other researchers heading for Antarctica that arrived on my flight and I had the opportunity to meet Ioannis Baziotis (Aristotle University of Thessaloniki) and Juli Gross (Rutgers University) who are a part of the ANSMET (Antarctic Search for Meteorites) research team. They will be traveling to the Shackleton Glacier Camp after flying to McMurdo and then heading out onto the ice to search for meteorites.
I was introduced to the rest of their team the following morning on the way to the Clothing Distribution Center. Scott Van Bommel (University of Guelph) and James Day (UCSD Scripps Institute of Oceanography) shared more about the challenging logistics of tent camping in Antarctica.
The inside of the Clothing Distribution Center in Christchurch, NZ.
A tsunami of information crashed on us as we watched videos and listened to briefings about safety and environmental protection of Antarctica. After having my computer checked for viruses and passing the final health examination, I made it to the women's changing room to try on my extreme cold weather (ECW) gear. When I arrived, there were two orange duffle bags with my name on them and each was packed full of gear. I tried on each item to make sure it fit appropriately. Barbara Cohen (NASA Goddard Space Flight Center), a member of the ANSMET team, has been to Antarctica before and mentored me in the proper fit of all my ECW gear.
Bags lined up at the Clothing Distribution Center packed with ECW gear.
The big red parka that is standard issue from the CDC.
The line of boots waiting for distribution at the CDC.
Bags waiting for distribution at the CDC with specific tags for checked luggage.
Tomorrow we are scheduled to fly south. Weather permitting, we will leave the hotel at 5:45 to check in for our flight. Tonight I will be repacking my bags, setting aside a boomerang bag in case the flight gets delayed and I can't access my checked luggage. But with any luck, my next journal post will be coming from McMurdo Station in Antarctica!
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