Bivvying out

 

 

 

 

To bivvy out in antarctica means to dig a hole in the snow, chuck your bivvy bag (which is a nylon sack with a 1/4 inch foam mattress shoved in it) down, wiggle inside with your pack and hop into your sleeping bag where you should be able to sleep soundly out of the elements. It should be the most uncomfortable experience by rights, but boy oh boy did i have a great nights sleep. In fact, i had to be awoken by our field training officer in the morning i was so comfy! The photo's show my dug out hole, bivvy bag inside it (with a rather curious penguin eyeing off my digs) and the view from my bivvy and a couple of shots inside. Keep in mind that the photo with the sun still above the horizon was taken at around 10 pm. At no time overnight did it get dark!

igloo ice blocks

 

mmm, yum... dehydrated food

It just doesn't get any better than this. Fortunately this is probably one of the only times here that i will be required to eat this food!

Igloo building

 

One of the things we are taught is how to build a shelter in case you ever should be stranded in inclement weather. This particular building is a little more advanced than one you would build in an emergency, but hey, we wanted somewhere nice and cozy to eat our yummy dehydrated meal!

24 hour survival training

Before you are allowed to venture out into the wide white yonder, you must partake in mandatory training that covers all sorts of stuff like navigation, survival techniques, cooking, search methods etc. Basically for a day you strap on your pack grab a map and compass and go for a walk as a group stopping at various landmarks along the way. That night you get your bivvie out (nylon sack), and that is where you sleep. The day is tiring but heaps of fun.

Snowboarding

 

Yes, i have already managed to get out on a snowboard. We found that the blizz tails off the end of the buildings were heaps of fun as ramps! This photo shows Troy at the top ready for a run!

Christmas tree

Yes, Christmas came to Casey as well, and it was an exciting day the day the wallow got decorated in anticipation of Santa's arrival!

Inside the main power house

This is the 4 gensets that supply the station power and heat. Usually two run at a time and if more power is required for some reason or another (such as the autoclave in science starting up) then a third will kick in automatically. This is all done by an electronic controller, so it is pretty easily managed.

Gensets

 

This is the inside controller cabinet of one of the 4 gensets in the main power house. It is the sparky and dieso's job to maintain these and keep them supplying our station power.

My 15 minutes of Casey fame

 

Yes, what you are seeing is real... I got up and sang with our Casey band "double bagged".. We are a little bluesy, a little rocky.. but most of all it was a heap of fun - the hangover from my litres of courage wasn't so much fun though!

Casey sign at sunset

 

Oh, boy am I happy to be back here once again, sure feels like home!

Weather balloon

Ever wondered how there is so much data known to meteorologists? Well, here in Antarctica, as well as all over Australia a weather balloon is released at the same time morning and night that measures data all the way into the atmosphere. The balloons are filled with hydrogen which is produced on site. In this photo, Kheyan our Met Tech on site is releasing the 7pm balloon. You learn so much here!

Penguin curiosity

 

So this is what happens when you adhere to the rules that govern approach distances to wildlife here in Antarctica. We must maintain certain distances from all wildlife to maintain the natural environment. That is all very well and good but i guess the penguins can't read the handbook. If you stay really still their natural curiosity has them wander right up to your feet. Here Al watches on very amused as one comes to investigate!

Penguins as far as the eye can see...

 

Shirley Island really is an amazing sight to behold.

Penguins on eggs

 

This is what we came to see. This is an adelie penguin colony. In the centre of the photo you can see a penguin raised up off the egg that it is protecting. All of the surrounding penguins that are lying down are protecting an egg. It will be exciting to see the first sign of chicks emerging later on during summer.

Beautiful O'Brien's Bay

 

In the background are broken up bits of Ice hanging around the point near the entry to O'Briens Bay. It really was such a lovely night and there was so much to see. How lucky can one person be??

First sign of life

 

This is a Weddell seal. It was just lazily lying about when we happened to stroll past. It didn't seem to care that we were around taking photos.

Nice day for a stroll

 

There was an opportunity shortly after arriving at Casey Station to head over to Shirley Island and have a look at the penguin colonies. Here we are walking over the sea ice that seperates the mainland from Shirley Island.

In the ice

 

We didn't encounter too much ice, but this was where it was getting slightly heavier closer in towards Casey station. You could actually feel the excitement building on the ship once we were within the ice.

Ship lifestyle

 

Not bad eh? Barbecue out on the trawl deck, with steak snags prawns and scallops. Its not a bad way to pass some time. Makes me feel very lucky to get a trip on the AA rather than on a flight as was the original plan!

King Neptune's visit

When you cross 60 degrees south it is a tradition that there is a crossing over ceremony that involves a visit from King Neptune who arrives from the depths! Fortunately as i had been down before I didn't have to suffer through the fish kissing and covering in slops that the other expeditioners did! Phew!

Shipboard muster

If any emergency happens aboard the Aurora Australis, all the people on board are required to muster on the heli deck. Once a week, the ships captain organises a drill where you have to go upstairs at the sounding of the alarm dressed in all your warm gear and life jacket and have your name signed off the muster list.

60 degrees south

This is a significant position because it is traditionally the point where antarctic waters begin.

First Iceberg

5 days into the voyage, there it was, our first iceberg.. what a beauty!

A little bit of swell

This photo shows the difference even a couple of metres of swell can make to the water coming over the bow of the ship. I liked it like this much better!

Like a mill pond...

This photo shows the view from the bow looking at the ship moving through the water. As you can see on this day the water was very calm and in the reflection you can even see me standing up on the bow leaning over taking the photo's. This is just totally uncharacteristic for the southern ocean! It was kind of like this for the whole voyage, which was amazing.

Southbound - finally

Well, after 2 1/2 months of training in Hobart, finally we got word that instead of flying down as anticipated, we were to drop everything and jump on the next ship that was departing for Casey. So we got to leave a couple of weeks early, but the good thing was that we also got an unexpected sea journey. Fantastic. Here I am standing right up the top of the ship behind me is the bow of the ship, moving through the water. Beautiful!

Could this be the last time my feet feel the sand in the ocean for over a year?

Out and about in Tassie again, and I felt that I should take the opportunity to dunk my feet in the sea perhaps for the last time in a while! This was at the South Cape of Tasmania, what a beautiful place.

Training exercise

 

This was one of the training excercises we had to complete successfully in order to gain our competencies. We had to dig out a load of earth from the pile and load it into the bucket of the front end loader until it was full without spilling any. Then the front end loader had to go and tip it back on the pile and the process started again. This is rated right up there as some of the most fun days I have ever had at work! Thinking of a change of career perhaps into earthmoving!

Learing to drive all over again

 

Here I am in a JCB telescopic handler. Over winter we are responsible for operating all sorts of equipment as there is not always someone else around that can do it for you. So we got training on this machine and also a big front end loader. I think dad was so proud!