Back in NZ

I made it! All the way back to New Zealand!

With probably the last flight out of McMurdo before Christmas. You can only barely imagine how relieved I was when I was on the plane in McMurdo and we really, actually departed.

Don't get me wrong, staying in Antarctica in whichever place is awesome. And especially if you have good views around and things to do. The thing that drove me crazy was the constant uncertainty IF there would be a plane, and when it would leave. That information changed about five to six times a day, and every time I hoped it would be the last change. And was disappointed then. I could not even sleep in for very long since I had to check at about 5am if the flight was still on or not, and if the departure time changed.

But at least we had a really nice ride back home, when it finally showed up on Sunday early morning: we flew in an Airbus! That took only 4.5 hours to get back to New Zealand, and we were about 18 people on a plane with at least 120 seats. So LOTS of space! And the pilots were nice and let us come to the cockpit to see the incredible views of Victoria Land.

When I got off the plane in Christchurch and finally made it through customs, I was greeted by a good friend with whom I will travel here in NZ now for a while.

I will post some more pictures and stories from my last days in Antarctica around New Years (when I will be back in the reach of an Internet connection). Merry Christmas to everybody! Have a few wonderful days off!