Anne-Sophie Page had no inkling when she was counting whelks
on the mud flats of Otago Harbour her scientific experiments
would lead to the skies over the Antarctic.
Anne-Sophie and fellow Dunedin secondary pupil Meran
Campbell-Hood won Royal Society of New Zealand international
travel prizes at the Genesis Energy Realise the Dream Awards
at Government House, in Wellington last month.
They recently returned from an Antarctic sightseeing flight
from Melbourne to Commonwealth Bay and McMurdo Sound and
return.
Meran won the award with her project about minerals in plant
growth media, and Anne-Sophie's project focused on mud whelks
in Otago Harbour.
The 13-hour round trip on board a Qantas Airbus A380 was the
trip of a lifetime, Anne-Sophie said.
"I had no idea when I was counting whelks on the mudflats of
Otago Harbour that my experiments would take me to the skies
over Antarctica.
"While most high school students spent their summer at the
beach, I was flying over Antarctica.
"From the vast stretches of whiteness to the smoke coming out
of Mt Erebus, it was absolutely breath-taking.
"A summer of memories that I will cherish for the rest of my
life."
Meran was also delighted with the flight.
Despite being covered largely by ice, the continent was full
of vivid colour, she said.
"For me, the most amazing thing was the colours.
"They say it's the land of four colours - white, grey, brown
and blue.
"The light reflecting off the ice was blinding."
She now has ambitions to visit one of the bases.
"It would be great to experience the atmosphere and the
climate there."
- john.lewis@odt.co.nz
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