The post arrives

I used to think going to the  letter box and finding a birthday card was exciting but getting mail on station is a whole other thing. 

It is a very strange feeling not to be able to buy what you want, when you want.  I guess I have been pretty spoilt in the past and is no doubt the reason I know my credit card number by heart.  I guess everyone is experiencing this somewhat with all the delays and interruptions to the supply chain through COVID but being in Antarctica increases the difficulty tenfold.

Mail is pretty much anything under 1kilogram that fits in a mailbag and once you hit that magic 1kg mark it moves into the cargo realm which is a bit more complex.  We have 4 ships visiting us this year which is 3 more than normal and planes are few and far between due to weather limitations.  

So I’ve been away from home for almost 5 months, half of that here at Davis, and have been limited to 55 kilograms of luggage while I eagerly await my unaccompanied personal effects due to arrive lat February.  Now I know that sounds like a lot but when you start including a lot of warm safety gear issued its really not that much.  So when I discovered I could do a bit of online shopping after I arrived and some of it might arrive before February its fair to say I made the most of it.  We have only received one lot of mail since I arrived and our postie kindly delivered to our bedrooms. 

I was super excited to see my new ugg boots, some toiletries, notebooks, throw rug, Egyptian cotton 1000C sheets and a very popular cream faux fur floor rug for my bedroom.  Many laughed when I ordered the rug and they are now full of jealousy after stepping foot on my little piece of luxury.  

Many letters from home arrived and other online shopping all of which created a lovely buzz that afternoon.  I was impressed to see the volume and quality of darts that arrived with many claiming their game would instantly improve.

The most important and highly paid secondary job on station is the postie.  Its not long hours but when it’s on its on.  While we have a small post office that has recently been painted it is easier for the postie to set up in the library and sell postcards and stamps while Hermann pushes the limits putting small under 1kg parcels in the bag for his many family members.  

I even did my bit and flew over to the 2nd ship after it had finished transferring 800K litres of fuel to us to say thank you and deliver the outgoing mailbag.  Yes that’s correct I dropped off the mail bag via helicopter.  This is my life now and I’m loving it.