Winding Down, Speeding Up

With about 4 1/2 5 1/2 weeks until the ship arrives - is that all??? - we're starting to get into resupply mode. The Met office and the various buildings housing experiments we look after are being cleaned, tidied and made ready for new occupants. We're planning final field trips around the island - I'll be heading out on Friday for a week - and enjoying our time here as much as possible with so little left. I went off station for one night at Brothers Point last Friday and was lucky enough to have the hut to myself. This is a very rare occurrence considering the number of people based in the field.

Some have started to book holidays or, for those coming off contract, employment. I've put in an application to go south again (it's kinda fun down here) and if that falls through, then... I don't know and I don't think that it's all that important. Either way, I'm going to visit a few people around the world and reacquaint with society.

In the mean time, we're keeping a careful watch for aurora and had a fairly good one last night. Hopefully there'll be better ones over the next few weeks.

We couldn't see the aurora this well with the naked eye, the moon was very bright and dulling the effects

It even started to get a bit of red in it. How pretty :)

Circumnavigation

Yesterday we were lucky enough to have suitable weather for an island circumnavigation. Ordinarily the winds and seas are way too high for our little IRBs. Being able to see the west coast was a little bit special as most of it is closed for most of the year - unless someone has the necessary permits to enter these areas for work purposes. I was in the fun boat with Admiral Tim, Lieutenant Claudia and Cabin Boy Trev.

Here's a few photos of the trip, all photos courtesy of Claudia.

Launching out of Green Gorge

Rock stacks at the southern end

Cliffs near Windsor Bay

Fancy a walk?

We're too sexy for these suits

Caroline Cove is obscured by three funny looking people in a boat

Me, Tim and Trev

Tim and Claudia with Bauer Bay in the background

Wheeee!

The crew rounding Handspike, heading north towards station

The little boat floated across the sea, exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn't

Somehow, I Survived to 30

The past couple of weeks has been full of fun, silliness and sadness. I spent another day chasing after fur seals and putting tags on them, taking DNA samples and micro-chipping, although this time we were more interested in the juveniles and adults . I was doing a great job at trying to get bitten... Last Monday we said a very sad farewell to Dean. If you check out the last item in the most recent Icy News you can even see me playing the drums (I'm buying a kit when I get back) - and yes, I'm wearing a Fez.

I ran away from station last Wednesday with Belinda in tow. We walked the length of the island over two days, but spent the entire time on the south bound leg in fog with about 40 metres visibility. On the Friday the low cloud cleared for some lovely photographing weather, which I left Belinda to do on her own and a great walk up to Green Gorge with the occasional snow shower. Windy Ridge lived up to its name in rather formidable fashion. At Green Gorge we were joined by Dana, Claudia, Julia and Stumpy and treated to a fantastic scallop soup with plenty of laughter afterwards. Who could ask for more than wine, women and song for a birthday?

On the Saturday (my birthday) I stayed in and around the hut the whole day and at times had the whole place to myself. Dr Eve dropped by while on her way towards Waterfall Bay and Pete K dropped in on his way back to station. Dana had left for another hut that evening and Belinda returned to station. Over the day, Claudia, Stumpy and Julia returned to the hut and Tom and Dan joined us for the evening - more wine, more song and wierd and wonderful discussions on life the universe and everything.

Sunday had the most appalling winds for my walk back to station. After a slow start to the morning with pancake breakfast at around 10am, I waited for a little gap in the weather and started the trek back at around midday. Around 4hrs later after battling 40kt winds with gust around 55kts (and being blown off the track a couple of times) I arrived back to a welcomed shower and relaxing evening. A thoroughly enjoyable birthday.

Stumpy cooking up a storm

Belinda taking in the amazing stories from a magazine recently donated from a tourist ship

Dana waiting patiently for dinner

Mmmm, scallop soup

Julia serenading Thylacine

Everyone made me laugh while doing the nightly radio sked. Note the cordial wine on the table

Thylacine was having a great time out

Belinda got the pampering for my birthday... why doesn't this surprise me?

Keeping Busy

There's many things to do to pass time in a place like this: practical jokes on fellow expeditioners; going into the field and enjoying the scenery; conversing with the wildlife (especially on the beaches); play badminton or pool or some other sort of sporting type of activity.

I've done all these things and more while down here, but a couple of weeks ago I started having a little play in the chippie's workshop and made a chess board. Now, what to do about the pieces....

At 480x480 it's kinda big

Scrambled Brains

A couple of weeks ago I was given the option of staying on after the resupply in April. I took a week to make the decision and in the mean time spoke mostly gibberish, couldn't think coherently and ran away from station for a night to converse with the penguins and ele seals.

In the end I've decided to head home in April and will put in an application for next year to do the job again - hopefully at a different station, I'd like to see the ice.

Sitting at Green Gorge with Claudia and Dean (Jack and Dana are hiding behind the lens), having some beers and general good times.

Summer Science Programs

As previously mentioned (don't ask me where or when, I don't have much a sense of time any more) there are extra expeditioners sent in to work on various science programs over the summer. Two of the longest running and most extensive programs are the fur seal project and the albatross research program. Everyone is given the opportunity to help the scientists out if they need the help and I was lucky enough to do so recently.

A day or so before New Year's I helped Jaimie and Julia on the east coast near Brothers Point Hut where we were counting how many Light-Mantled Sooty Albatross were in the area. As we climbed the slopes Jaimie said she saw a couple of chicks that had hatched within a few days, sadly I missed seeing these little guys. A lovely night was had in the hut with gnocchi, prosciutto and wine and we had a nice walk back to station conversing with the penguins along the coast. A young King penguin may have been running up to us and chewing on our fingers, but if that did happen, we didn't take any photos.

Jaimie making her way along the slope while a Sooty checks her out

Julia giving directions around the more precarious parts of the slope

A Sooty in a nest - gotta love telephoto lenses

Last week some time, or was it the week before?? Anyway, last week sometime I helped Mark with the fur seals on North Head. This program monitors the Antarctic, Sub-Antarctic and New Zealand fur seals and their offspring as they slowly repopulate various parts of the Island after the fur seals were wiped out by the Sealers all those years ago. It isn't known what species was here before and the anecdotal descriptions by the Sealers hasn't been good enough to identify weather or not the fur seals were one of the listed above, or their own "Macquarie Island" fur seal.

A male, female and pup. I don't remember what kind of fur-seals these are, but there's different chest colouring or snout size or head shape which make it easier for those in the know to know which is which.

We were noting the tags of males, females and pups in the area in order to find out which ones were still around and which had already left for the season. Tim was having a day off and taking a day trip to the south of the station. We were also tagging the pups that had started to moult and let me tell you, these guys are vicious little bastards. Don't let their cuteness fool you, they have sharp little teeth and aren't afraid to use them - it's hilarious! The pups have to be caught and then held down, usually by using your knees against their head so that they have a kind of cave and are subdued by the lack of light. Unfortunately for me one of the pups wasn't as quiet as he should have been and he tried to bite in a rather delicate area... luckily I was quick enough to push him away while feeling only the lightest of touches. I would've been speaking in falsetto for a long time.

Pups playing in the tussock

NYE

I'm a bit late, but here's a quick note about New Year's Eve... Great fun, great food, lots of badminton, table tennis and dancing. The next day was very, very quiet.

Delicious salad all grown in our Hydroponics

Fire to keep us warm

Sparklers!

"How's this game played again?"