Happy Feet

I wrote this on the bridge of the Aiviq, the chosen icebreaker ship that made the hectic 18 day journey across the Southern Ocean to Davis station to bring us everything the station needs to survive another year in Antarctica.  That is fuel, cargo, water and most importantly a fresh new crew.  

The last couple of months were nothing short of riding an emotional rollercoaster.  

Those in the know, know and fully understand that small things can be huge things on station.  A simple change of a few days to the shipping schedule might seem inconsequential in the overall scheme of things but for people who haven’t been home for more than 12 months can be seen as putting a climb of Mt Everest at the end of a long hike.  We all know this is what we signed up for but it doesn’t mean we all positively respond and accept the change like its a gift we were hoping for.  

Normally in life we can count down to something we are looking forward to but in Antarctica everything is subject to change.  I recall experienced expeditioners saying to me that you are not home until you step foot on dry land in Hobart and I finally understand what they mean.   Many people on station had a count down but I always wondered to what date as we only got an arrival date confirmed 3 days out.

The last month on station was a case of hurry up and wait while trying to stretch out the new things that bring us joy.  Even the latest tasty delight someone has put into a toastie or a resurgence of the Chicken Crimpy brings untold joy to the group.  It’s one of those Antarctic things that simply cannot be fully understood unless you’ve lived it.  We spent weeks packing our rooms with the sound of boxes being taped late into the night signifying the end was coming.  As is tradition the now flogged out winter team moved into the summer accommodation spread across 3 different buildings – the first time we had be separated in almost 12 months.  

We cleaned the station within an inch of its life and I couldn’t have been more grateful and proud of my beautiful team that worked hard to leave the station in immaculate condition, they knew it was important to me. We rushed out to see the bergs, the seals and the penguins one last time and spent evenings downloading shows to watch on the ship, copying photos from each other, on-line shopping and starting to make plans in the outside world. We celebrated with an end of season dinner, another one of Hermann’s al a carte nights that didn’t disappoint, and managed to enjoy the last of the alcohol on station eventually drinking Davis dry.

On November 21st the Aiviq arrived with many new faces some who were stepping foot on Antarctica for the first time together with other familiar faces who regularly call Davis home over the summer.  Its a very strange feeling for someone to move into your home while you are still living in it but we rolled out the welcome mat and hopefully managed to hide any level of discomfort while we showed the new crew around the place they would call home for the next 12 months.  

We officially handed over the station to the 76th Australian National Research Expeditioners (ANARE) at midday on Sunday 27th November which is the moment in time I went from being the person that had all the answers, at least perceived, and responsible for the safety, health and wellbeing of my team to…..well… nothing, no responsibility and aside from being exhausted I didn’t really know what to do with myself.  I took a final walk around station with Stu to take it all in and a final lap to Marchants with Lee as an attempt to cement all those conversations and moments into the memory bank.    

The day had finally come to leave Station and most of us decided to walk to the ship which was tucked neatly into the ice some 2km away.  It was a cracking day, the bergs in fine form, the boys put some tunes on and we excitedly took photos, filmed, danced and laughed our way to the ship.  It wasn’t a quick departure taking almost an hour to turn the ship around in the ice but it was spectacular.  The ice and the bergs continue to lesson across the first few days and by day 4 it was just us and the Southern Ocean, oh and some fabulous little blue tablets called Phenergyn.  

The journey has been largely uneventful.  We have all enjoyed long showers, many naps, read books, watched movies, exercised and lingered on the bridge keeping a look out for wildlife, all the while patiently waiting to see land and our loved ones again.    

I have been asked many times would I do it again?  and the answer is I have absolutely no idea but I do know you can’t do it for the first time again.   I am not even close to having processed this past year and what it means to me or how it has changed me.  What I can say is that this is an experience like no other that I will cherish forever.  Its the sum of all its parts that has made this year for me, the people, the summer, the winter, the events, the work, the wildlife, the cold, the huts, the dinner chat, the bar chat, the wine club chat, hut chat, the hiking chat, the gym chat and the trash tv tuesday chat.  

I have formed some really wonderful friendships this past year and this one deserves a massive shout out. To the lovely Hana, the original Antarctic hero, a true inspiration to woman and men across the globe and the only other wintering female. I simply could not have got through this past year without you…ok well it definitely would have been less fun and I would have most definitely lost my sanity. xoxox

A blog about a year in Antarctica would not be complete without some discussion on ice and water.  For those that don’t know less than 1% of Antarctica is free from snow and ice so it pretty much defines our lives.  

At Davis throughout the summer we have beautiful water views but through winter the sea and most of the lakes freeze and becomes ice.  While the change of scenery is nice the real value is the ability to drive a Hagglunds vehicle on the ice.  As much as I enjoy the hiking, once the temperature drop below minus 20 its no longer comfortable to be outside for too long and a noisy bumpy Hagg quickly becomes the preferred mode of transport.  It also allows us to pack a little less lightly and load eskies full of delightful treats and keep them from getting too cold – yep that’s right the esky prevents the cheese, wine and beer from freezing!  There are upsides to the cold too, as we’ve been able to transport ice creams and ice cubes (for gin and tonics of course!), on the roof of the Hagg and a bottle of bubbles only takes around 10 mins in a snow bath before its ready to drink.

Now a Hagg floats but its not something any of us really want to test out as recovering it from an ice breakthrough we are told takes upwards of 5 hours and that is not anyone’s idea of fun.  So religiously we go out and drill holes in the ice to make sure it meets the safe standards, 20cm to walk, 40cm for a quad bike (sadly the fun police limit their use to Search and Rescue), 60cm for a Hagg and 1.3m to land a small plane.  

In addition to sea ice we also get lake ice and that is some of the most spectacular with varying colours of blue and incredible patterns of trapped frozen air bubbles. Walking on these lakes can be very slippery so you either need to put spikes on your shoes or walk like a penguin, which is my preference. 

A couple of the team brought purpose built ice skates and have been attempting to skate all the lakes in the area.  I can barely stay upright on the slippery ice without spikes, am not good on skates in a rink and would be a recipe for disaster if I were to try skating on dodgy bumpy ice but I have followed them in a warm Hagg so they can skate downwind – not a bad way to spend an afternoon.  Its also pretty fun to drive on as the Hagg slips and slides around a little.  Of course I would never do anything as silly as a ‘donut’ in a Hagg on the ice but that’s not to say I haven’t thought about it :). 

Icebergs are common place around here as is carrying an ice axe, throw bag, survival pack and radioing every hour you are on any frozen water.  Driving on a road at anything more than 30kms an hour not having to avoid bergs, penguins and snow mounds will feel very strange for the first little while at home as this has become my normal.  Throughout the year the bergs can change shape and colour depending on the light.  White is obvious but they can also be the brightest of blues, jade green, grey under the clouds and hues of pink and purple under the sun.  Iceberg cruising is a popular pastime both on water in small boats early in the season and weaving in and out of them with a Hagg throughout the winter.

There are many Glacier’s on the continent but only one on the edge of our operating area The Sorsdal which on first sight took my breath away it was that beautiful.  I was lucky to see it from a helicopter and have returned to it recently on foot.  As close as we can get to glaciers and icebergs you still can’t get close enough to touch them as there is always that risk of part of it breaking away.  I’m told that the Sorsdal glacier moves up to 1metre per day.  At one stage a few of us planned to camp out near it in the hope we might see or at least hear the movement but the weather wasn’t kind enough and the time just passed. 

I remember being blown away by the volume of blinding white fluffy snow in Canada and Japan after only ever having seen the Australian ski fields but this place is next level.  It doesn’t snow that often but when it does it dumps!! And more often than not it comes with scowling winds of 40+knots which blows the snow in all manner of places, including through the smallest of cracks in doorways while also forming some beautiful blizz tails (snow build up downwind of a building or a vehicle).  This is where Tim our very talented plant operator becomes the most important person on station clearing our roads and finding places to put this ridiculous amount of snow – a problem I never considered before this year.  

While there are no children here there is definitely childish behaviour with the throwing of snow balls, jumping into fluffy snow only to find out it’s quite hard and sliding down blizz tails.  Bosco even built an ice cave in one of our blizz tails and slept in it several times.  We have very different ideas of fun!!  We even do science with the snow including probing it, measuring the weight and assessing the crystals. Fair to say it’s not an exact science but I love doing it.    

You would be forgiven for thinking that water is abundant here and I guess it technically is.  But practically it’s not, so we have been living on 2 minute showers daily and 1 load of washing per week each.  We have 3 large water tanks, 1 is not finished and 1 has a leak so not ideal really.  In summer we pump water from a salty tarn and use a reverse osmosis plant to remove the contaminants and make water fit for human consumption.   So for around 6 weeks we get to have 3 minute showers – pure luxury.  It has become second nature to turn the water on and off throughout my shower but I’m sure this is one habit I will kick immediately.  

In the field we melt snow for water and here’s a fun fact it seems to nearly always taste like chicken noodle soup which is particularly strange as no poultry products are allowed in the field.  It’s entirely possible it could just be an old pot from the kitchen that has held on to the chicken flavour but let’s not let the facts get in the way of a good story. Where possible I avoid the chicken water and stick with the soda water I carry from the civilised post-mix machine on station.  

One of the things I have always loved about operational roles is that I can leave my office and find someone doing something way more interesting than emails. I find it super energising and educational so its the first thing I do if I’m lacking enthusiasm for my own work.  

Antarctic Summer was such a whirlwind of activity and together with my newness the time went by so quickly.  I had very little to do with the trades team during the day other than crossing paths at meals. So with some extra time during the day, a thirst for learning and the realisation that I will likely never get this opportunity again I kicked off ‘tradie day’.  

So I rolled out my very new and shiny hi-vis shirt and my hard yakka pants and joined Tristan our resident boiler maker for the day.  I learnt that while things might look simple in the finished form they can take quite a bit of time and effort to measure, design and set up before finally drilling the holes we needed.  I’m a little embarrassed to say that I really had no idea what a boiler maker did before coming here but as it turns out quite a handy trade to have around.

Next up I spent the day with Bob and Sacha in the waste water treatment plant basically cleaning out poo.  I had such a lovely day with these characters who are quite entertaining with never ending dad jokes and clearly enjoy each others company who also happen to be pretty good at their job. While I couldn’t get into the small space, as I’m not trained, I helped with what I could which was cleaning poo out of filters. Bob was somewhat impressed as he reflected that I didn’t complain once!! 

Sparkie day was a little more challenging as I couldn’t really do too much outside mop the floor under the oven they were fixing and attempt to vaguely understand the workings of our electrical system.  I learnt that sparkies are the cleanest trade and perhaps the most difficult for my brain to understand but I enjoyed my time watching Will and Hayden troubleshoot the oven and learnt a little bit about our RMU’s (ring mains unit).  Sadly I didn’t get any photos of the day…..so just a couple of random social sparkie photos. I’m yet to spend time quality tradie time with the other 2 talented sparkies Matt and Dave but plenty of time for that.  

As we all expected Dieso day was well planned and executed with Stu who I have learnt is quite a good teacher and has a lot of patience, at least for me.  I did a service, heavily supervised, on one of our 4 generators who are named after the Beatles, Paul, Ringo, John and George.  I even received a certificate complete with the Director (fake) signature.  I learnt how to use use a bunch of tools including a rachet and will always remember lefty loosy righty tighty. I also had no idea that a magnet was so useful but seems I’m not the first person to drop something through a grate to a drain.  

Jamie our lovely and only Chippy is in high demand and not only hosted me for tradie day but also helped me (and others)  make our mid-winters gift.  Open shelving is everywhere on station and for those that know me know that drives me crazy!  All I wanted was a drawer to put some of the crap away so Jamie and I built it on tradie day.  Unfortunately I can’t put the battery chargers in there as I thought – damn sparkies and their safety rules 🙂 but at least I can put pen and paper in there so a small win.  

I spent a day with Lee our Engineering Supervisor who is also a boiler maker by trade and did some welding while Tristan was away to improve our blizz lines.  Such a fun thing to do and definitely not as easy as it looks.  But left my calling card for Tristan in case he needs my help in future.

Last but by no means least I spent the day with Scotty and Garv our other two plumbers.  Again I mostly looked on and cleaned up a little but was impressed with their enthusiasm to get the job done and do it well. Common theme of things that look simple are simply not!! Finding the right fittings, cutting the length of screws and using ratchet straps to create space to put a valve in that is 10mm bigger than the last one all takes time but the job is now done and it looks great.   

While I’m proud to say that my hi-vis is getting a little dirty I’m definitely not finished with tradie day and looking forward to a few more days hanging with these talented and entertaining people.  I haven’t spent nearly enough time with the electrical team and I’m looking forward to being involved in building the ski landing area on the sea ice with Codey and Tim in the new groomers.

Huge thanks to everyone for hosting me I enjoyed every minute!!! and would happily be your apprentice if you’ll have me. 

Mid-winter on an Antarctic station is bigger than Christmas and is something that is only shared by the few that winter here, in our case 24 of us.  Otherwise known as the winter solstice it marks the sun being the furthest away it can possibly be and while this is an exciting milestone, to be honest I can’t wait for it to come back.  It results in the shortest day although arguably given what we achieved on the day it could be considered one of our longer days here at Davis.

Being a small town you can imagine most truths are grounded in folklore so it was hard to know what to expect for mid-winter.  It will be dark for 6 weeks they said! Its the party of the year they said! watch out for snow leopards during the swim they said!  The truth is that the mid-winter celebration is a lovely combination of honouring those who came before us together with whatever the current crew want it to be, putting our stamp on history and further evolving what makes up this tradition.  

So firstly let me just bust the myth about it being dark.  No sunset or sunrise so no sun for around 6 weeks but it is not pitch black and in fact is more like an overcast day in winter in Melbourne its just that it only lasts for about 4 hours a day.   As a sun lover I’ve never thought much about the moon but my now good friend is working overtime and throwing much needed light our way each day.    

It takes the entire village to get ready for the party of the year so everyone was busy in the weeks leading up and on the day.  Now the winter swim gets quite a build up and rightly so.  Why would anyone think cutting a hole in the ice and ‘swimming’ in the middle of an Antarctic winter is a good idea.  There’s a reason we have to sit through a briefing from the doctor and be medically cleared to do it.  Here’s a fun fact…when we submerge into cold water quickly some of us have an automatic gasp reflex so going under is not only a bit crazy it can be quite dangerous.  I now understand why we go in with a harness and have a limit of 60 seconds in the water not that I was ever going to last that long.  

I reckon our pool was the best I’ve seen as it was round and watching the mechanical team dig the hole was quite amazing as they used a combination of heavy machinery, a chain saw, shovels and then kept it pristine with a couple of purpose built ‘pool skimmers’ made from large colanders on sticks to remove the ice that quickly reforms.  

I decided to go first somewhat as a station leader right but more so the girls could get changed in dry warm comfort before handing over the change room to the boys.  At minus 15 degrees Celsius outside with little wind thank goodness, I stepped down the ladder into our little plunge pool.  I don’t remember much as it was so quick and I lost feeling pretty quickly so hugely grateful to those that captured the moment on camera.  No snow leopards, no seals but definitely lots of krill (they look like transparent shrimp).  Antarctic winter swim box ticked!!  and in case you were wondering the gloves and shoes are mainly so our skin doesn’t stick to the ladder.

I thought I would be cold for days but I managed to get warm and dry and watch everyone else enjoy their Antarctic plunge.  Strangely the general consensus was it was easier than the summer swim as it’s straight in and out into a warm van and warm clothes. 

Hermann spent weeks in the lead up to the day meticulously preparing a feast for us.  We kicked off the day with brunch which included some of my favourites; poached eggs with hollandaise, and freshly baked bread and pastries.  Dinner was nothing short of outstanding with canapés served at the bar followed by shared platters of duck, lamb, beef cheeks, salmon, chicken and our very own hydroponic freshly grown greens.  As for dessert we are still eating it more than a week later, mousse, pavlova, chocolates and the most beautiful ‘ice’ toffee painting.  Now as it turns out the ‘ice’ wasn’t for eating which we learnt after a little nibble off the edge – oops.

With no access to shops and not being handy on the tools the most daunting thing for me for mid-winter was the pressure to make a gift but I was determined to have a go.  With lots of help from a chippie, boilermaker and a plumber I made a cheeseboard for Derryn who is known to love a good cheese plate.  This team was never going to let me fail and they patiently helped me learn and make as much of it as I possibly could and I have to say I’m pretty proud of my efforts and the best part is I reckon Derryn might even use it. 

I was lucky enough to receive more than one gift on the day and I just love them all.  For my official gift (its like secret santa) I got a metal penguin with 75 in it to represent we are the 75th Antarctic Expedition for the Australian program.  Having spent some time learning to weld a couple of weeks ago I can now somewhat appreciate the talent it took to make this thoughtful gift – thanks Lee.  Hana and I both received the most beautiful roses crafted out of copper as a thank you for putting up with the boys – thanks Bob and I got a tractor made of 24 nuts and bolts to represent the 24 people on station – thanks Stu.  Not only do I love my penguin, rose and tractor but I absolutely love the sentiment of all these gifts and they now have pride of place in my window nook in my bedroom.  

With formalities of the day over we were entertained by the Davis band ‘The slippery picks’ and the ‘piano man’.   Props to these guys for spending hours practicing so they could entertain this forever grateful crowd at the party of the year.   Best live music I’ve seen all year!

While I can describe the swim, the food and the gifts what I can’t adequately describe is the feeling of the day other than to say it was filled with love.  We watched video messages from everyone’s family and friends, we connected with other stations, we ate, we drank, we sang, we laughed and we reflected on how special it is to be a wintering Antarctic expeditioner something that very few in this world have done.  

On 7 May I clicked 6 whole months of living on the ice – ok so not technically living on the ice more like a container park set on dirt and rocks that turns into a winter wonderland when it snows.  Some days it feels like I arrived yesterday and others feels like I’ve been here forever!!

I’ve had quite a bit of time to reflect on things here and it got me thinking about the things I have learnt that perhaps I wouldn’t have known if I didn’t decide to spend 12 months in the most isolated, strange and beautiful place.  

While it sound ridiculous to say this now I must admit I didn’t really think too much about what life would be like living in such a cold place.  I can safely say this is the coldest I’ve ever been in my life.   So far we have got down to -30C outside and sadly got down to 10C inside for a couple of days. Just a small electrical problem which thankfully was fixed. I think even the plumbers might agree the sparkies were Antarctic Heroes – for that day at least!   Trades hierarchy and the continual banter on who is the most important is another thing I have learnt.  

Stepping outside in those temperatures, particularly with any wind, requires additional planning and many layers to minimise skin exposure as this place is doing its best to kill us. Balaclavas and goggles are now added to thermals, fleeces, carhartts (toasty warm overalls and jackets) neck warmers and beanies.  The air can take your breath away and your nose runs pretty much constantly while outside but its ok as it freezes pretty quick too as does buffs to beards.

I’d hate to calculate the time spent in a day getting dressed and undressed including swapping outdoor boots for uggs and back again.  Then there’s the trickiness in remembering what layer you tucked into what when going to the bathroom particularly in a cold field hut – preparation is the key but make no mistake the struggle is real.

Weirdly none of our building are connected and in a blizz or ‘weather event’ you really have to consider whether going outside is necessary, make sure someone knows where you are going and follow the blizz lines (ropes that go between buildings to help guide the way).  A blizz, so I have learnt is only called a blizz if the winds are sustained 40+knots, the visibility is less than 100 metres, its blowing snow and its less than 0 degrees.  If its not a blizz its a weather event 🙂 Thanks Jason for the lesson.  

One thing I haven’t been able to nail is getting the right pair of gloves but just so you know it seems no-one else has achieved that either as when you increase warmth you lose dexterity.  Taking my hands out even for a minute to take a photo can lead to losing feeling in some fingers and a good 20 minutes in the warmth to recover, at least for me. Kudos to the trades team who seem to be able to tough it outside way better than me and my soft office hands.    

Antarctica is really dry and I mean nose bleed dry and the snow is as squeaky as the best beach sand you can imagine. Hands get particularly dry and cracked and for some reason it takes FOREVER for any part of your body to heal, even just the slightest cut takes weeks if not months to fully heal.  Humidifiers are a must and don’t even get me started on this place dishing out the absolute worst hangovers anyone has ever felt. At first I put it down to drinking too much of the ‘less than my preferred quality of wine’ but I am confident we all agree here that’s not the only factor. Thank goodness for Sprite and Berocca!

On a positive note there are no bugs!  Coming from Australia and living somewhere with no ants, no flies and no spiders is pretty awesome although it would be nice to have a dog.  And we don’t really get sick here either as nothing new is introduced into our environment so while its cold no-one has had an actual cold.  Not much more than a few sore butts and one broken wrist from slipping on the ice. 

While the cold is a big thing that dominates every part of your life it is actually the light and wildlife that defines the seasons.  In summer the Adelie penguins are curiously wandering around the station and surrounding areas.  Some of them are moulting and others can be seen running away from their hungry chicks.  Kind of a funny thing to watch the adults trying to hide from their kids.  

The elephant and weddel seals came and hung out on the beach for a few months and I could hear them talking amongst themselves from my bedroom throughout the day and night.  Sounds like a combination of burping and groaning.   Now here’s a life skill you don’t need anywhere else…if you need a seal to move out of the way say for example if its blocking the road just hold a broom over its head.  It is put off by something bigger than itself and retreats.  Not as simple as it sounds though as these seals are huge and getting up close and personal is a scary thing not to mention we really don’t want to annoy or aggravate them. This was their home well before it was ours.  They play rough with each other and I have no idea what they could do to a person.  

Then there’s the skuas a predatory sea bird and definitely not my favourites as they just lurk above you making you think you are their lunch – they just love my red jacket apparently.  I get the same feeling with them as I do with magpies and almost go to protect my head before I realise I’m wearing a beanie and I’m not about to get swooped.  The snow petrels however are really pretty and seemingly too gentle and beautiful for this harsh environment .  But for now its winter and all that wildlife has buggered off.  I’m guessing its too cold for them now.

As the wildlife dwindled the light show began .  Now I’ve seen some pretty amazing sunrises and sunsets in my life but nothing can compare to what we get here on station and the beauty for now is we get them both within about 4 hours of each other.  Deep reds, oranges, pinks and blues, full moons and eclipses are all nothing short of spectacular and I’m sure I will come home with thousands of photos that don’t even come close to capturing this beauty.  Until I came here I always associated sunsets and sunrises with warm places.

On the flip side auroras are better on camera than with the naked eye.  Yeah definitely disappointed to learn this but am also learning to love the auroras and watching them dance through the sky.  What I have failed to learn is how to take a good photo but I’m working on it – thanks for the lessons Stu.  What I have learnt however is the best camera is the one you have with you and for the most part that’s my phone.

I have also learnt things like I’m not in control of the remote 🙂  and that’s OK.  While my preference might be to sit quietly relaxing in a hammock on a weekend others prefer to watch the footy, boxing, F1 or lets face it any kind of sporting event in the bar.  I have learnt to love the solace of my bedroom to binge watch the latest show, listen to podcasts and talk to people from home and have recently discovered the sauna which is right now my most loved place in town.  And occasionally I get to laze in the hammock – thanks everyone.

While I know I don’t want to live in a pub I love being in that pub with these amazing people and as I go through photos it also seems I love my flanny.   

I never thought I would say this but I’ve learnt that shared bathrooms are not that bad and others have learnt that bathmats are not hand towels and that Dani likes them to colour match!  I’ve learnt that I like Jack Daniels and dry, can drive a Hagglund, can make a piñata, can cook bao buns and burgers for 24 people…with a little help, and I may or may not like gaming 🙂

One thing I haven’t learnt as I already knew it was I love to travel and experience new things and new people and here at Davis this whole experience is quite extraordinary.

I really had no idea what to expect or how we would entertain ourselves here in Antarctica. I found myself struggling when previous expeditioners said to bring my hobbies otherwise I might get bored.  How was I going to bring my friends and family, the beach, the nail salon, beautiful fresh food and winery tours with me?  

I have managed to stay connected with one of my favourite hobbies and that is Trash TV.  In fact we now hold Trash TV Tuesday.  Its taken a few weeks for the numbers to grow but we now have 8 regulars that watch 2 episodes of ‘Selling sunset’ while we enjoy a couple of drinks, commentate and heckle, something very similar to goggle box.  

The cinema is used most nights and you can book a daily or weekly time-slot via the old school whiteboard outside the door.  There is something for everyone and I’ve taken it as a learning opportunity so have found myself watching some, ok very little, science fiction, documentaries, seriously I have watched a movie about an octopus, and a whole range of movies including most recently Jackass which still makes me laugh so hard I cry.  

Most of us also have some kind of tv set up in our rooms to watch our downloaded shows.  I have a little projector and have been working my way through all the Seasons of Friends while watching other shows in between.  I have so many recommendations I’ll never get through and that’s without access to new stuff on Netflix or Stan.

The internet is pretty good for a place that is so isolated, that is if Kirk our comms tech doesn’t cut you off for using all the bandwidth.  To date I am the most cut off person 😦 damn you icloud!!! Turns out having a Mac that wants to sync and update all the time is less than ideal here so all of that is turned off now. Next update to my Mac will be in November I guess.        

Games are pretty popular here and we have lots of them.  We have a pool table, table tennis, countless board games, chess, a golf simulator, a team of online gamers and probably the most popular game darts.  Pretty much everyone has their own set of darts including me and the game is called Shang.  If you don’t score any points then you have to do a blizz run which is a naked run outside the living quarters building.  Something you can NEVER un-see so Station Leaders are exempt, well that’s my rule anyway.  Thank goodness they let me get away with that.  

The bar is a popular location to gather even if you just bring a cup of tea.  Watching YouTube music videos late into the night is a thing here and there is often some kind of sport being streamed.  I mean what do you expect living with 22 men!!   

Just to keep it classy we also have a regular wine club hosted by our favourite hipster electrician, alcohol manager and Antarctic hero Will.

A few people play instruments including guitars and keyboards but they are searching for a singer to get a band together.  I’m told there will be a live performance at mid-winter so watch this space.  

This past week we had the Davis murders.  I could tell you all about it but I wouldn’t tell it as well as Hayden who wrote a great story for our weekly news article so check it out.  

https://www.antarctica.gov.au/news/stations/davis/

But for the most part we just entertain each other and there is nearly always someone laughing.  In true Aussie style we tease each other, laugh at others misfortunes and importantly laugh at ourselves. 

We also do kind things for each other like cook for our Chef Hermann’s birthday (it only took 12 of us) or make a cheese platter and deliver wine to the spa so the ladies can have the first soak in the fresh water.  How we look after each other might just be another blog entry.

So bottom line is I am absolutely not bored and even if you took away all the things and just left the people I would still be having the time of my life.  

For as long as I can remember I have been going to the hairdresser every 6 weeks to get my hair cut and coloured.  While the station here has so many things that make life so comfortable a hair dresser and beautician are not amongst them.  There are a few brave people who offer hair cuts and some even braver people who take them up on the offer.  And so every other Sunday the laundry turns into the Davis hair salon.  

Most people are just happy for a trim but others are keen for the mullet (still can’t work out why) and others are just happy for anything including Tristan who completely trusted Jenn to shave lines in to the side of his head and proudly agreed for me to take photos for the blog.  

Others shave their heads and some are growing it out wondering what it might look like in another 6 months.

For me I thought I would take the opportunity to grow it out and I have to say its held up pretty well.   I’m close to being able to put it up….like a kid with a little fountain on the top of my head up…and I’m back embracing some curls.  

At the start of the season the vast majority of men were clean shaven so they could learn the breathing apparatus during fire training and also raise money for Movember but now there are lots and lots of beards.  Not a day goes by without me hearing ‘hey mate you have some food in your beard’. I’m told the facial hair keeps them warmer but I also think like me its a good excuse not to get a haircut.  

Years ago I just liked changing colours now I just like any colour that is not grey.  Nope absolutely not planing on going grey graciously so every few weeks my colourist Kristian takes care of things for me.  Thank goodness for COVID as he learnt to colour his wife’s hair during that time.  I have to say he does a fabulous job, is very careful and thorough and I finally found a use for my hi-vis shirts.

After years of visiting beauty salons I’m doing my own eyebrows and I feel like I’m doing a great job although I’m pretty sure they shouldn’t be such different shapes or lengths.  Without a doubt  they will need some serious attention at the end of the year.  

There is one saving grace and that is hats!! Everyone wears beanies outside and they are also quite popular, either that or a cap.  I never really had the head for a beanie but I have had no choice but to embrace it.  I have however discovered that my beanie from a popular fashion store was purely for looks as the wind just whistled through it so that one went into retirement a few weeks ago. 

We also have a pretty good selection of dress ups here so occasionally the wigs come out to brighten things up.

I often get asked if I am going to cut my hair? or have I done something different to my hair? My favourite was the other day when Will asked me whether I had done something different to my hair or had I just woken up from a nap?  It was the latter….and that just gives you a sense of how comfortable we have become living here together in our small little town of Davis.  

It’s a pretty simple thing and something that we all take for granted, the ability to exercise wherever and whenever we like.  Here in Antarctica exercise ranges from working out in our little gym, doing yoga in the cinema, walking to station limits, riding bikes, running the track and hiking over a weekend.  We even had a summer swim…yep that’s right a summer swim.

The gym is reasonably well equipped and there are people there from early in the morning through to late at night.  I have found the sweet spot of training during lunch with a couple of others a few times a week.  It achieves multiple goals – we get the gym to ourselves as everyone respects ‘powerpuff girls’ hour and we skip lunch.  The ‘A’ factor is that you leave your sneakers at the gym and walk over there is a puffer jacket, snow boots and a beanie only to strip down to leggings and tank top as the gym itself is actually the hottest room on station.  Possibly because the gym has an indoor spa and a small sauna which are both exceptionally popular.  

I’m also a part of the Yoga crew that gather a few mornings a week to do Jessica’s video, a lovely 33 min sequence that ends in my favourite move shavasana (laying on your back relaxing).

While I always feel great afterwards some days I genuinely think I have too many bones as my body just doesn’t move in that way and no amount of practice will get my head on the floor while sitting cross legged.  My favourite line from Jessica is ‘soft in the face’ as she clearly knows I am holding my breath at that exact moment.  

A popular place for an evening walk is Marchants landing.  It’s only around 2km’s, is flat and if you’re lucky you will catch some penguins and at this time of year some seals.   I have decided to walk Marchants every day in February as a little challenge and I have to say I’m loving it so far.   This is within what’s called station limits but as you wouldn’t be able to get to an emergency muster should an alarm go off you need to ‘turn your tag’ and take a radio.   

So just to explain we have a muster board and we all have tags with our names on them so should an alarm go off we all muster in one location to ensure everyone is accounted for.  One side is red to show when you are ‘off station’ and you have to write where you are going and when you will be back.  When you are on station your tag is white or brass,  mine is brass thanks to my secret santa.  Essentially we live in a fish bowl and everyone knows where everyone else is.  More often than not it is comforting but occasionally it can be suffocating and that’s when a more adventurous outing is required.

The step up from Marchants or ‘station limits’ is Dingle Road.  It goes for around 7 kms and is officially off-station so it requires approval from the Station Leader – me.  Same rules, turn tags and take a radio.  Dingle road is super popular for running and riding bikes.  We recently did an inter-station 10km challenge in remembrance of some pilots that lost their lives flying in Antarctica some years ago.  It was such a great day and 44 out of 45 of us completed the 10kms, many of us down Dingle road.  

The next level is truly going off station on a recreational trip and I just came back from one of these.  Again you need Station Leader approval and if its overnight needs to be a written submission that is also considered by the Field Training officer from a safety perspective.  There are 4 huts in the Vestfold Hills and a number of melons and apples yep these weird but very practical little sanctuaries from the weather in the shape of fruit.  The huts are very simple and are a minimum of 10kms walk from station so you need to take your full pack of survival gear which is around a 10 kilo backpack complete with warm clothes, sleeping bag, ice axe, throw bag, she-wee, wee bottle and wag bag for the number 2’s amongst other things.  

This type of trip is next level as you take multiple items so you can navigate and be tracked in an emergency as well as scheduled calls on the radio to check in with station on where you are, weather, and intentions for the next day.   Its not onerous but it does make you realise we really are living in the middle of nowhere and that having contact and a plan for search and rescue is pretty critical.  For now we are lucky to have helicopters but when they leave in a few weeks its us, our feet and a stretcher should anyone be injured and can’t walk.