Antarctic Center

This morning we did schoolwork until lunch. For lunch dad and I went next door to a Chinese food truck. I got delicious fried rice (just like I did yesterday). After lunch dad took Kylie and I to Antarctic Center. We got to ride a Hagglund (an all-terrain vehicle specifically designed for Antarctica), and see blue penguins. We also got to experience a blizzard. It was cold! After all of that we all (including The MacDonalds) went to the Chinese Lantern Festival. We ate dinner there and looked at all of the different lanterns. My favorite one was a hippopotamus.

New Zealand Fact Of The Day- The Chinese Lantern Festival is usually on the 15th day of the lunar year and marks the end of new year celebration. There are many stories of how it started. It is also known as the chinese valentines day. It is celebrated around the world including NZ.

The MacDonald's

This morning we packed up and got ready to leave our small cabin. Yesterday we went to Hanmer Springs (a hot spring that is now a water park). After three hours on the road we arrived at Christchurch. We ate some lunch then unpacked into our new hotel room. Then mom got us some schoolwork (which we haven't done in the last two days). When we finished we were invited to the McDonald's (some of my grandparents good friends). They were extremely nice and have a beautiful house. After a great steak dinner they let me play Roblox on their computer while the grownups talked and drank wine. I learned that after the big earthquake (that happened two years ago) each day there are two to three small earthquakes happening even though we might not be able to feel them.

Kylie Day 45

Kylie Day 43

Seals

This morning we packed up the car and got on the road again. We drove several hours and stopped for lunch at The Store (The Store is restaurant name). The last thirty minutes in the car was right next to the ocean. At one point we started to see a couple of seals basking in the sun on rocks. We pulled over and got out of the car to look at them. Then we realized that there were hundreds of them along the shoreline. Some were fighting and making cool noises and some were getting out of the ocean. When we had seen enough we got back on the road again. We stopped to see a small waterfall that was close to the ocean. Apparently in the winter up to two hundred seal pups frolic in the pool below the waterfall. After we unpacked our stuff in our room we went out to a small aquarium. I learned that there are wild seahorses in the area. Then we got to go out for dinner. Dad had crayfish (rock lobster) for dinner. When he was finished I cracked the shell and got more meat for him. I had lamb for dinner. It was delicious!

Kylie Day 42

Packing up

After we did schoolwork all morning dad took us to the kids camp one last time. When we arrived there there were at least forty other kids already there (the most amount of kids I've ever seen there). I made lots of new friends and had a ball war with some of them. While we were at kids camp mom packed. After dad picked us up we had sushi and pizza for dinner. The next morning we would get back on the road.

New Zealand Fact Of The Day- Deer were brought into nz in the late 1800's, but they soon became pests. They began farming deer in the 1960's. Now there are more than 1.7 million deer on farms in nz. Their meat is very healthy for you.