So finally I make it to Antarctica ! We mooored up on Thursday night, at Creek 4, a cove 15 km from Halley base. A tent was set up for me up on the ice cliffs to run an experiment from and since then I have been walking the mile round trip from ship to ice camp every three hours to sample air and emissions from the snow. I have thoroughly enjoyed walking across the ice shelf, seeing the occasional penguin and marvelling at the skies, the cliffs in the background and the differences in weather, which are quite pronounced at the coast. Yesterday morning thick black clouds hung over the ocean to the north and clear blue skies over the continent to the south. Having been on the ship for over 4 weeks it’s nice to get some exercise outdoors too!
We returned from our visit to Halley yesterday to find a group of emporor penguins watching the ships activities. I sat at the end of the mooring lines to take a photograph and they decided to leave, walking down the line towards me. I was soon surrounded by penguins who were close enough to touch, what an amazing experience.
Photograph courtesy Kjersti Daae
Photograph courtesy Kjersti Daae
We’ve picked up about 30 people from Halley, some have just worked the summer season, whereas for others this will be their first time off the icy continent for 16 months. It’s nice to have some new faces on board and last night we played games and drank punch until the early hours of the morning. Getting up a few hours later to pack up my equipment at the tent and carry everything back to the ship in strong icy winds and blowing snow was possibly the least enjoyable way I could have imagined spending my Sunday morning, but it cleared the hangover at least. This afternoon I’m having a little time off, my new roommate Kjersti is teaching me how to knit and speak Norweigen.
Earlier in the week I was taken out in the fast rescue boat to collect pieces of ice and make cores on promisng looking ice floes. The captain himself was in the driving seat on one occasion, I think he enjoyed tearing around in a small boat for a change, and I had a go at driving, it’s quite difficult as the boat takes a while to respond – you end up steering too much and before you know it you’re going in totally the wrong direction. I had also had a go at steering the ship which was great fun, for such a huge vessell she’s suprisingly responsive, meandering round ice floes was a little nerve wracking, the captain took over when we got to thicker ice!
Photograph courtesy Patrick Robinson