The sights of the last of the sea ice!

Here is an Adele Penguin up close and personal.

Weddell seals hanging around their hole in the sea ice.

The pool of water they were hanging around. They do actually get in every know and then to break up the ice and cool of after sunbaking.

Weddell seal sunbaking and soaking up the rays!

A Weddell seal just keeping a watchfull eye on what is going on in the world.

Tide Cracks Can Be Hazardous!

The next task is in a way the least favourite, most nerve racking but also rather exhilarating. Coming to a stop at a safe distance to survey what the tide crack has to offer I confidently get off the quad with ice axe in hand ready to poke and probe. This process is supposed to make me and the expeditioner’s feel safer as though it is an exact science! When the tide is out this process can be done with some confidence as you can walk the tide cracks without getting wet but when you cannot see the bottom and you cannot walk the route it is a bit of a stab in the dark as it were. The first crack that I came too was deeper than the length of my ice axe handle and already had the surface 1cm refrozen just to make it a little more interesting.

Gulp (large gulping noise)! Should I hold my breath (option one)? Cross my fingers (option two)? Look like I know what I am doing (option three)? Break down and cry (option four)? I lock in, look like I know what I am doing then start the engine and find 2nd gear.

Icy Chess Pieces

I spent the afternoon coming back down Iceberg Alley a couple of nights ago and it was just amazing!

In disbelief at the sheer number of icebergs we weaved our way through them just like mice through a maze. Each of the icebergs stood like a solitary piece from a chessboard that was made of the purest crystals. Many of the icebergs had the resemblance of castles from medieval days of old when knights protected the virginity of the women they desired (maybe I should write a romance novel while I am down here). The deep blue colour of the sky and recesses of the icebergs cracks mimic each other as though they were looking in a

mirror.

This is not always fun and games as it is often that the quads get a little stuck in the driffs of snow. This is usually just a bit of huffing and puffing to get it out but in this instance I decided to watch!

Has anyone seen a gas station?

Although one may think it unusual to find both bottled gas and 600 odd litres of petrol this is a common sight at each of the huts in the Vestfold Hills. These are sling loaded in by helicopter and were freshly painted last year before these were put out there. I guess the fresh sea breeze is not as good as you think. This particular drop is about 1/2 a tank of fuel away from the station so it is not such a bad idea to fill up before returning.

An Odd Couple!

These guy's were spotted a couple of days ago and clearly seem to be a little out of sorts. A David and Goliath type relationship I think! The little fellow is and Adele which by himself makes perfect sense as he is very close to an Adele Rookery, but the juvenille Emperor is just miles away from any hope of mating. Somebody will get a surprise if this unlikely couple gets together!

Gone Fishing!

I managed to get onto a fishing/wading collection of marine life for the aquarium today and found it rather interesting to see the scientists with their dry-suits on and their child restraint harnesses. These were to stop them being swept away by the current and were held onto by their dive assistant. They collected a large number of sea urchins, a couple of starfish and a small fish along with a few other little critters. The tide crack is where I went fishing with my ice axe. It was very gently to collect sea urchins from the bottom without getting ridiculously cold. I do not have any photos of this as it was my head down the hole! We got there in the local taxi/ helicopter service (the public transport system takes you where ever you want to go down here). The other photo is of the sea ice edge as it is breaking off. These pieces break off each day with the rise and fall of the tide!

Training Trip Survival Training and Quad Travel

As you can see from the rugged appearance and the large numbers of icebergs in the backgound I am still down in the great southland. Having to pinch myself sometimes when i wake up in the morning as George is not there to do it! Had a great trip with a crew of 6 people doing their survival and quad training. The picture of the quad was part of the recovery section of the quad ridding training. It shows 3 ice screws in sea ice with a 3:1 pulley system. There were 3 people pulling and they were ablbe to drag the quad with its breaks on and the person on top (total weight approx. 350kgs) more than 10 meters. Great fun and we then took out the best 2 ice screws and found that it was still strong enough to pull the quad off 1. Thge photo of me is around the Bandits Hut area which is as far as we could travel in a day of quad training and area familiarisation.

This is a shot of one of the expeditioners after there night out in a bivvy bag. Would you believe that there was 3-5cm of snow on that person, the lake and the surrounding hills at 01:00 that morning and I had thought I will just get a photo in the morning, but by 06:00 it had all but disappeared. The snow in the background are semi-permanent snow patches left over from winter.