Up at 0500, pickup at 0630, 0700 change into ECW (extreme cold weather) gear, then weigh in luggage, get another briefing then carry-on security and person weigh in, bus to the plane, stand around a bit, get another briefing, load the plane, (a NZ Air Force 757), wait finally take-off and head south! I was psyched with a window seat on the west facing side, exactly where I wanted to be.I spent most of the flight looking out the window in eager anticipation of ice. The ice was collecting, we were less than an hour from reaching the northern most points of the continent in our flight path. We were almost to the Antarctic circle. And then…the plane began a very shallow turn. Okay, I thought, I know there are multiple flight paths to the Ice.
But then…oh, shit, this turn isn’t stopping. Nooooo, say it ain’t so. I looked around the cabin to see if others were registering what was happening. We were pointed due west and still in a turn. Despite no call from the cockpit, it was happening. Boomerang.
Sure enough, within a minute, the cockpit crew came on the speaker to say there’d been a technical problem that was unresolvable and that we are heading back to Christchurch. The cabin immediately exploded in chatter and people immediately began to shed their ECW gear. Never a dull moment!
It reminds me of my first flight to the Ice, which also boomeranged. Having never been there, it was tantalizing, and sort of felt like I was never going to get there. So it goes.
We won’t get our luggage back except for one small bag. Then we’ll standby for an update on when we’ll try again! A little more time in Christchurch isn’t so bad!