By David S. Potts
For those who can't face the cold of Antarctica, Christchurch has the next best thing.
My face bears the brunt of the Antarctic blizzard, a gentle 40km/h breeze compared with the fierce icy winds common on the icy continent. The wind chill factor, however, plunges the temperature from minus 5 degrees to a definitely frosty minus 25. Beneath me is dry, crusty snow. A few metres away is an ice wall. I'm tempted back into the shelter of a nearby tent or igloo-shaped ice cave.
Suddenly, however, it is all over. The wind stops, the realistic blizzard audio stops. I follow other visitors to the International Antarctic Centre out of the simulated Antarctic Storm Room into the reassuring warmth of the display area.
This is Christchurch's premier tourist attraction. Many visitors, the guide tells me, have never seen snow or ice - let alone been exposed to blizzard conditions. Every half-hour, visitors are booted and jacketed and ushered into a 12-metre by 25-metre room to experience an Antarctic storm. And they love it. They play in the snow and pose for pictures. The snow and ice are made on site and replaced every five weeks. A huge fan whips up a storm.
Built in 1992 at a cost of more than $NZ8 million ($A6.4 million), the International Antarctic Centre is in the heart of a working centre, a base for US, New Zealand and Italian Antarctic programs. It continues the city's century-old link with, and gateway to, Antarctica.
In 1901 Robert Scott's ship, Discovery, docked at the port. Six years later Ernest Shackleton followed in Nimrod. In 1910 Scott returned to embark on his ill-fated second expedition.
The US began its Operation Deep Freeze program from Christchurch in 1955. The icy continent's science season runs from October to February when the Christchurch centre hums with activity.
Antarctica is the coldest, windiest, driest and highest continent on earth. It is a cold desert twice the size of Australia, 60 times the size of New Zealand and about the same size as Europe and the Mediterranean Sea.
Those unable or unwilling to brave the continent itself may have an Antarctic experience at the centre. Examples of the equipment used in the Antarctic are displayed along with samples of rock and marine life. This year, a multimillion dollar penguin rookery will open at the centre.
Antarctic wildlife - all marine animals - is abundant. The centre's aquarium displays live specimens from the ocean floor in McMurdo Sound. Other displays showcase modern Antarctica, including the human impact on the continent, the wildlife and plants systems.
Humans can only exist in this icy wilderness with support from the outside world. We explore a replica Antarctic field camp and follow the routine of scientists, which includes cooking meals of dehydrated food, making regular radio checks with base and carrying out weather observations. We see photographs of Antarctic landscape, taken and transmitted to the Christchurch base that same day, and listen to base chat.
Some visitors dress up in survival clothing, sit on a skidoo or pose beside a polar tent back-dropped by an impressive ice vista.
To make the visit to the attraction even more meaningful, our guide is one of three at the centre who have lived or worked in Antarctica. They draw on their personal experiences to bring the continent to life for visitors.
After their visit, many visitors take a 15-minute ride on the all-terrain amphibian Hagglund vehicle around a specially built track. The ride simulates travel on the Antarctic continent and showcases the land and water capabilities of the vehicle.
Christchurch itself is like an English city - not unexpected, given the origin of its founders. The river which meanders through it is called the Avon.
Take a 25-minute ride on the excellent tourist tram, which covers 2.5 kilometres through the old part of the city - to the art gallery, museum and old university site. The former university buildings now host craft shops, art galleries and a theatre.
The university's spectacular 100-year-old hall, with its stained glass windows, is worth a look, as is Ernest Rutherford's den. The first man to split the atom, Professor Rutherford received his early education here. You can see the lecture hall where he studied, hear his voice speaking from nearly a century ago and see some of the equipment he used.
The writer travelled as a guest of New Zealand Tourism.
TRIP NOTES
· Qantas, Air New Zealand and Jetstar fly frequently to Christchurch (population 344,100).
· The International Antarctic Centre is a 10-minute walk from the domestic and international air terminals. Entry is $25 for adults (or $35 with a Hagglund ride).
· For information, visit newzealand.com and iceberg.co.nz
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