I don’t know why, but it seems like you always have to be patient when going to Antarctica… We were supposed to embark this Sunday and leave Lyttelton on Monday, but our vessel MV Italica is delayed. Yesterday we had a briefing. We will board on Wednesday, tomorrow,  and on Thursday we will leave for Antarctica. Finally! But … It’s the first time I go by ship to Antarctica, other expedition participants who have done this trip before tell us that the first week, when traveling the stormy Southern Ocean from New Zealand Cape Adare in Antarctica, will be awful…

In expectation of departure, I have visited Christchurch. Some years ago the city was hit by an earthquake with catastrophic consequences, and you can still damage from the event!

Ruins of the cathedral. Photo: Thomas Mörs

Then we paid a visit to the Canterbury Museum, to have a look at fossils of giant moa that died out 800 years ago. The museum also has an exciting exhibition on the Antarctic expeditions, with a focus on the Ross Sea. A good introduction to the cold regions we are going to.

Yesterday we went by car to the Banks Peninsula, discovered by James Cook and named after his expedition botanist Joseph Banks. The peninsula is a gigantic volcanic crater (caldera).

The fishing village of Akaroa on Banks Peninsula.Photo: Thomas Mörs

Benjamin studying ferns that are related to 250 million year old fossils, which we hope to find in Antarctica. Photo: Thomas Mörs