An Antarctic Chill in Christchurch

Step into the freezer room - neither of us were quite sure if we'd enjoy our visit to the International Antarctic Centre in Christchurch but, as it turned out, it was a great mix of hands-on experiences, fascinating displays plus a visit to a penguin rehab centre, a husky talk and great audio visual material.

The first thing we tried was a 10 minute ride in one of the Centre's Hagglunds (Swedish) snow vehicles. These are the go-to all-terrain vehicles for most Arctic and Antarctic expeditions, as well as any number of military operations that involve crossing tough terrain (ie. the Falklands war). Four sit up front and 8 passengers sit in the rear trailer module. For safety you have to wear lap belts and hang on to the straps dangling from the ceiling. The vehicles travel over extremely rough terrain, climb a two-story hill at a 40 degree angle then plunge straight down and through a watery mud bath. I'm not sure that it was 'fun', exactly, but it was certainly a memorable experience.

Another 'experience' at the Centre is to sample what it's like to be in a room cooled to minus 8C. Thankfully the centre does hand out padded jackets just in case you feel the cold and, once in the refrigerated room, powerful fans start up, simulating what it is like to be facing a wind-chill of minus 18C. After a couple of minutes of that was quite enough.

As if minus 18C isn't enough you can also stand in front of the 'wind chill' fan to add to your personal level of misery. It was a bracing, but interesting, experience that really highlights how tough all those early explorers must have been to bear such extremes of temperature. And this before the invention of polar fleece, heated suits, scientifically-balanced nutrition and electronic monitoring was invented!

The trusty husky - these dogs no longer work in the ice - only compete in locally run sled races

One of the many magnificent wide screen projections depicting the fragile and stunningly beautiful nature of the Antarctic continent.