We arrived in Auckland on Saturday, and checked in to our beautiful waterfront apartment. We wandered around Auckland that night, managing to find a supermarket for breakfast foods, and finding quite a nice Thai restaurant for dinner.
The conference officially began Sunday night, at the Icebreaker Reception. We were welcomed by a traditional Maori dance troupe, with quite an enjoyable performance, which included the haka and the performance of traditional songs. Wine flowed freely while we mingled with the other delegates.
This morning the plenary seminars took place, with Dana Bergstrom's presentation the stand-out. She is currently working to bring the message of the global importance of Antarctic science to the world, through a cultural experience called Pure Antarctica. This exhibition will demonstrate the importance of Antarctic research to the general public, in a new and exciting way. More information is available at: http://pureantarctic.com/
We are looking forward to many exciting talks throughout the conference!
