Today we planned to visit the Antarctic Centre as we had overheard someone in Auckland raving on about it and the guide book recommended it. After another well earned lie in and some 'brunch' we set off.

We spent the next part of 4 hours in the centre where we learnt all about life at Scotts Base and experienced a 'snow storm' which gave us a wind chill of -18ºc. I had said to Mark just before we entered the storm chamber that I wanted to visit Antarctic to see penguins etc although after experiencing that cold I'm not so sure now!!
The coldest ever recorded temperature out there was -89.2ºc and if you ventured out in this in your normal clothes you would be dead within a minute! Scary huh! The scientist out there have up to 4 layers of clothes that they put on before they go out depending on the season. Their summer consists of 4 months of constant daylight and their winter 4 months of constant darkness; therefore they have to be physically and mentally assessed before they leave.
We also visited the blue penguin enclosure which is made up of disabled penguins that have been rescued. One was blind in one eye, one only had half of her right fin due to a boat propeller and one was missing a foot. The poor little things! We watched them being fed and it was nice to see them so close and be able to take pictures (no flash) after seeing them in Omaru. We then went off for a ride on a hegglund which is the transport widely used over at Scotts Base, due to its versatility. It is amphibious, can be driven over crevasses and will climb at a maximum angle of 45ºc.

All in all and ok experience, nothing to really rave about apart from the cute little penguins!

Tomorrow we are going to the cinema to watch Angels & Demons!! So excited! Mark is now a keen fan of Dan Brown after I persuaded him to read Angels & Demons. We're both excited to hear that a new book is being released in September! Aren't we sad :o)

Anyway we will update you with our review tomorrow evening. Until then.… xxx