A day in a Melon

Whole Day in a Melon! A whole day in a Melon that is right a whole day due to the ridiculous winds blowing outside we were trapped in the small fibreglass hut built for three. It was rather cosy but would have been far better should the day have included a bit of a walk towards our original plan of Boulder Hill!

After dinner most of us went up to view the sunset and moonrise from the top of a nearby hill almost being blown up it as we climbed to the top. Great view but still very windy to say the least! This was followed by yet another howling night in the Melon. I will add that the mattresses are terrible in the melons!

 After dinner most of us went up to view the sunset and moonrise from the top of a nearby hill almost being blown up it as we climbed to the top. Great view but still very windy to say the least! This was followed by yet another howling night in the Melon. I will add that the mattresses are terrible in the melons!

Woop Woop as a Weather Tech!

Another day of indecision! But wait I am going to Woop Woop, no going to go with the Scatman, but no actually to Woop Woop! OMG! How frustrating it is that the weather forecast seems to be all over the shop, it is just the Antarctic way.

 It was a max of -40C while we were up there so it was rather difficult to do fine motor skill with your gloves off for long periods or with your gloves on for that matter. Still it was really nice working on the roof of the workshop out in the sun and just great to get another look at the Ice Cap that is the true Antarctica.

 Above me excited about being off base again. Below is Nick working on taking down the broken generator.

 It was actually good fun doing a little bit of work like this as it was just easy to see progress and have a sense of satisfaction when it all goes together and works! Our ride to and from the Skiway was rather full as we had the AGSO (Air Ground Support Officer) doing some grooming on the skiway that has finished being used for the season, and a couple of free loaders along for the ride. This meant that the helicopter was as full as full both ways. To be fair, they did manage to lend a helping hand to our little project and to the AGSO throughout the course of the afternoon.

 There they are the twin 6watt generators to replace the 10watt one that was smashed over last winter! The smaller ones are supposed to be stronger and there is a chance only one will break at a time. Below is the helicopter after it has been tucked in for the night (tied down)!

Jade Berg Cruis'n

 Heading for a spectacular looking berg off in the distance we caught sight Jade iceberg which are not that common and just amazing to see due to their jade like colour (this is a little more glacial blue than green). Ecstatic onlookers went off with the sighting and it was nothing short of spectacular so we circumnavigated it and looked on in awe of it as though looking upon a mythical creature.

 Jade bergs form underneath glaciers that are flowing out onto the ocean. They are refrozen sea water that percolates into the underside of the glacier and refreeze in doing this all of the salt is pushed out of the sea water that it forms from. It only happens on a couple of glacial flows in Antarctica so is a real find and worth a mention.

It was a very cold afternoon out on the water but well worth a bit of discomfort!

Berg Cruis'n Leopard Style!

 The Leopard was just amazing to watch and was a bit of a camera slut butting on a great show for all to watch. Being one of those things that you rarely get to see we hung out for a little while to see what he would do and he just worked the camera, sniffed the air, sussed out the boat and cruised along a magnificent berg. What amazing luck to see him out in the open water and in such a playful mood? It was lucky for that Emperor that he did not seem to hungry!

Cruising the Ice Bergs!

Last of the Adele Penguins on Magnetic Island and the loan Emporer Penguin living dangerously!

 Just call us a couple of cool chicks. Anyone know a good hair dresser?

 Beautiful icebergs on the cruise!

Jolly Good Time Day 2 Continued

 Coming closer to our final resting spot we stumbled across yet another wonder of melt stream creation. This cave once had a flow of nearly two meters depth running through it and proved to be very hard to get around but has now been refilled with spindrift off the Plateau. Leaving a gap of about half a meter and with a few inches of ice over head it was irresistible to crawl through. Poses were struck and photos were taken by all before heading off again arriving at Platcha Hut shortly after the photo shoot where the adventures were just beginning!

 Funnily enough our food and beverage drop had ended up in the right place and was waiting for us in the hut. What else should we do but knock over a couple of beers and a bottle of Champaign before dinner. This resulted in the first outrageous trip to the Heli-deck! Although not that far away from the hut the atmosphere had been set with toasting and posing for an arrangement of shots. At first, rather tame with the timer doing more of your traditional group shots. This soon morphed into a semi human pyramid with supporting crazy people. Then into a bit of acro-balance which I am not really sure how we got to that but it was very fun!

Reflecting back on our experiences of the day and the trip to date it is definitely a memorable moment to exchange the odd chuckle about in the future and the start of long friendships for all! Shortly after this we all crashed out in a blaze glory totally exhausted and satisfied with the Antarctic experience!

Jolly Good Time Day 2

 Once inside it was as if you were in a fairy tale, a very cold one but the light being dispersed through the ice was just amazing and an incredible deep glacial blue that you just couldn’t take your eyes off. The formations were a lot like your typical limestone cave but it did not seem to have been forming for that long as the growth of the stalagmites and stalactites seemed relatively new. The smooth edges could have been formed by running waters or by warmer air currents over the summer months but there was a fresh dusting of snow over the bulletproof ice floors and entrance.

 The cavern headed in about six meters perpendicular to the plateau ice and then headed around another ten to the left before heading deeper into the plateau. On the low side of this left hand corridor the edge dropped way to a pool of water with a crusty grey (I think this colour comes from the rock flour that is created by rock being crushed up in the glacial moraine) inch of ice over the top of it. There was more of the dusty flour in small deposits higher up the walls but who could guess at how deep these pools were? As your eyes adjusted the colours intensity was heightened and etched into my mind as one of the truly amazing wonders of Antarctica.