Happy Feet

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.

It’s hard to believe I have been in Antarctica for more than a month now.  Waking up opening the block out blind in my bedroom and seeing icebergs is my new normal.  As I’ve slipped into my new life I have been a bit slack with updates but I promised first impressions so here goes.

Davis station is called the ‘Riviera of the South’ and I have to say it is quite beautiful.  There are really only three colours here – white obviously with lots of snow ice and clouds, blue sky and water (not much of either at the moment) and brown land.  We are located in the Vestfold Hills which is more than 400 square kilometres of rocky coastal hills next to the most spectacular Sorsdel glacier of which I have been lucky enough to fly over. Flying in Antarctica might just be a post on its own.  

The only pop of colour is the station buildings.  Green is for the main living and sleeping areas and is also for the ‘green store’ which is what I like to refer to as the local Myer where we get our supplies but is actually more like a strange combination of Costco, Big W and Bunnings.  Yellow is for the operations building which is where my office is, Red is tradie land and blue is ‘don’t go in there without an electrician or Bureau of Meteorology people’.  There is also a science building, a field store, a hobby hut and the ‘pineapple’ which is where the budding musicians find themselves practicing.   This place has quickly become home for me and 41 of my new closest friends for the next few months of summer when we drop to 26 for the winter.

I’m sure you are all wondering how cold it is and I can tell you right now it is around zero degrees but the wind chill is -10 degrees celsius.  When the sun is out and there is little wind it is just lovely and all you need is a jacket, sunglasses and sunscreen.  When the wind picks up the beanie and the gloves come out for sure.  Its fair to say my fashion choices have shifted towards comfort and warmth and away from…well…fashionable 😦 My ugg boots are officially the most worn shoes here.  Lucky I have another 2 pairs coming.  

We keep our outside gear in the cold porch and its important to label your stuff as we have all been issued the same clothes.  I managed to ‘lose’ my jacket in week 1 only to be returned a few hours later the scientist who wears the same size.  Others have had boots go missing.  Seriously who wears someone else’s shoes without realising???  It’s not uncommon to see boots and jackets with different electrical coloured tape, ribbon or cable ties attached in an effort to identify what is yours. 

To help me not lose things in future one of our very talented chippies Lucas made me a ‘station leader hook’ with a little shelf for my beanie and sunglasses at just the right height for me. All the shelves were definitely built by someone more than 6ft tall. A few days later a plate appeared with my name on it from legend Dieso Brian!! I feel very spoilt and must admit sometimes it’s just awesome being the boss.  

Our chef keeps us happy and mostly healthy with his culinary daily delights.  Official meal times are 10am for Smoko (yep still called smoko) 1pm lunch and 6pm dinner while its make your own breakfast.   Sunday is catch n’ kill day where we clear out the leftovers fridge.  There is no lack of sweets with a whole table dedicated to chocolate. Ice-cream, chips, biscuits and other snacks are all available 24/7, a dream and a nightmare all in one.  

Evenings and weekends are a mix of social activities.  We have a large living area with a pool table, dart board, a cinema, a library and a bunch of board games.  We have a bar but we are largely dry for now until the ship arrives with our resupply in February.  I thought I would definitely struggle without my regular wine after work but have surprised myself.  Don’t get me wrong I’m as keen as others for my stuff to arrive and I look forward to Nina’s being in full swing!! Loads more to report and don’t worry I haven’t forgotten about she-wee….

After 19 days in pre-departure isolation which wasn’t nearly as bad as it sounds I bounced out of bed at 3am and started the journey of getting to Antarctica.  A bus to the Customs controlled area to process out of the country and get both myself and bags weighed was the first stop.  I have never been a fan of the scales and to do that in public with layers of heavy clothing was not something I was looking forward to.  But with very strict rules on luggage weights many people stuffed their pockets full of anything that they could get away with.  Fair to say the system was tested by our Doc!  

A short 5 hour flight saw us landing on the continent at Wilkins runway.  It was quite incredible to look out the window and finally see the ice through the clouds.   It’s difficult to describe my first impressions but it’s safe to say it will be one of my most memorable life moments.  I think it is the vastness that has blown me away but to be honest I am still processing the environment I have chosen to be my home for the next year. 

We then jumped on the Terrabus which is something like a bus crossed with a tank and spent a very slow bumpy and hot 3 hour ride to Casey station.  I sat on the sunny side of the bus and certainly didn’t anticipate breaking into a sweat on day 1 in Antarctica.  About half way we stopped for a photo shoot and the boys took the opportunity to use the pee bottles.  The she-wee I have been given will be a whole update at a later stage.  On this occasion I chose not to drink anything and pee when I arrived at Casey.

Arriving at Casey station we were warmly welcomed by the Station leader and quickly ushered to an induction where I learnt what I could and couldn’t do on station, the importance of closing doors quietly, using the right shared bathroom, meal times and the wifi password amongst other things.  One night quickly turned into two (much more to come on how much work goes in to NOT flying) which opened up the opportunity to go on a walk to Shirley Island where I got to see my first penguins and get my first selfie with them.   They are sooooo cute!!!! 

To go on a walk ‘off station’ takes a bit of organisation and effort.  Firstly you need a trip leader and lucky for me one of our Field Training Officers (FTO) was lovely enough to take us out and he was very keen to make sure I didn’t miss out.  You then need a radio and a field pack where you need to include any of your ‘survival’ gear that you are not wearing plus things like a sleeping bag, compass (that’s just for show for me now as we all know I’m useless at directions but its on my development plan) and an ice axe that doubles as a walking stick.  

We had to cross the sea ice and to do so safely it’s important to drill the ice to see how solid it is to make sure we don’t fall through it.  160cms is good solid ground!  I’ve also started to learn about crevasses (big cracks in the ice) and to avoid stepping on them as that could end quite badly.  It took me back to primary school days with ‘Step on the crack break your mother’s back’ playing in my head.

We spent a couple of hours with these gorgeous funny penguins making sure not to get too close or scare them with our noise. I managed to get a couple of good pics with the new camera.  It’s on auto setting for now but watch this space for my progression.   I could have watched them for hours!! There were a few couples mating, definitely no foreplay and a few squabbles going on in the group which was pretty noisy but for the most part they were just chilled.  Watching them walk which is more of a waddle just makes me happy and seeing them belly flop and scoot along the ice is a whole other thing.

I’ve been at Davis now for almost 2 weeks and plenty to share about my first impressions but that’s for the next update.  

What a fabulous couple of months I have had in Hobart preparing for this adventure of a lifetime. I  am however pretty happy to be writing this update from pre-departure quarantine, yep another 2 weeks of iso and 3 more COVID tests, but this time I am days away from jumping on that plane where shit gets real!!

These last few weeks have certainly been packed with learning and new experiences but I have to say its also been a lot of fun.  With the exception of the Responsible Service of Alcohol course that I can’t seem to get through successfully…I am not prepared to admit defeat just yet!  I realise this may not surprise you and I can hear some chuckles but also want to assure you that my 19yr old niece also couldn’t work out what I was doing wrong and I’m not the only station leader struggling to get through it. Not sure what that says about us.

A highlight was spending a week with the Tasmanian Fire Service preparing ourselves to be the one and only Fire response team at Davis.  I can’t tell you how grateful I was to have so many of the team willing to train in the breathing apparatus as hearing myself breathing like Darth Vader is something I definitely struggle with and unlike diving there are no fish to distract me.  

The BA team entered and searched dark and smoky burning buildings, put fires out and rescued dummies.  I learnt how to ‘bowl a hose’ (terrible first time but nailed by the 3rd time), be the ‘pumpy’, attach ‘the branch’, be the BA controller and used a fire extinguisher and fire blanket for the first time. Oh and the less fun job of rolling the hoses back up once finished.  

It was a fun week of training where we really started to bond as a team. We will continue to train and run drills on station lead by my cracking newly appointed Fire Chief and Deputies (all volunteer roles) but fingers crossed we never have to deal with a real fire.  The weekend after fire week is the last time I cooked and for good reason as I managed to set off the fire alarm and evacuate the hotel…. oops.  I maintain the ventilation was poor but as you can imagine this will be a tough one to live down.   We’re had 2 more fire alarms since then which all involve messages/jokes from my team ‘Dani??’.

Station week quickly followed where we all got to live together for the first time and do some awesome first responder training where we learnt how to approach an incident, used all the gear available to us and had some fun role playing incidents. While not part of the training our very talented, inquisitive and super fun Doctor even tested how many people could get into one of the tents.  

We spent a couple of days on the softer skills including some personality profiling and learning who are the peacocks, doves, owls and eagles and how we can understand each other a little better in the hope of living harmoniously.  It is through this session that a nickname of ‘Killer’ emerged for one of the team – was a little uncomfortable at first but now a genuine term of endearment. 

We designed the behaviours we are committed to for the year ahead and put them into an acronym to help us remember. BEAUTI Brave, Encouragement, Awareness, Unity, Teamwork, Integrity.   We also thought ‘Don’t be a dick at Davis’ summed it up perfectly and its already getting regular use.

It was great to have a week of leave to get last minute things done.  I jammed in a bunch of things I won’t get to do for a year including hair cut and colour (a professional one at least!) massage, facial, nails, sitting in a park, eating in restaurants and enjoying some me time.  Hobart was inconveniently locked down for 3 days at the end of the week but came out of it just in time for the team to get together a couple more times before pre-departure quarantine.

It’s so hard to describe but the energy of the team was almost electric in these last days.  The excitement just radiated from some people and I could feel it standing next to them. I can truly say I’ve never felt anything like it.

The chat on what to pack continues including how much is reasonable to wear on the flight (with some taking it to the extreme) as everyone tries to maximise our allowance of 55kgs which includes an issued 10kg survival bag. 

I might regret this but I have decided to predominantly use the station issued toiletries until my supplies arrive by ship in February.  My hairdryer, pillow and ugg boots are coming with me – they were not negotiable. And mascara is small so that made the cut too.  

And yes I have bought a good camera but haven’t used it yet so for now am reliant upon some iphone pics and the constant stream of shared pics on our group whatsapp chat. Stay tuned the next update will be from Antarctica!!!

I won’t bore you with the details as I’ve pretty much told everyone I know how I got here but suffice to say that it took about 18 months and some pretty gruelling selection processes to get to this point where I am heading to Antarctica as the Station Leader of Davis for the 2021/22 season – seriously I am struggling to believe it myself!!!  

My time with the Australian Antarctic Division officially started with 2 weeks of isolation in Hobart thanks to Covid sneaking into the ACT a week or so before I was due to leave.  Luckily I went straight into 3 weeks of station leader school where I learnt all about the AAD and the many parts that make this fascinating operation down south a reality.

I must admit the thing that struck me at first (outside how lovely everyone was) was the sheer number of tradies that just keep the stations running and that’s before any science can take place.!  The first 11 days of isolation flew by but by day 12 I was definitely ready to get off the laptop, get outside and meet some real people so much so that I was excited to get a cab for a COVID test – almost a highlight of the week.  

After 21 years in the same organisation starting with a new one was a whole mix of emotions for me.   Luckily it wasn’t just me starting in a new place and there has been an overwhelming sense of positivity, enthusiasm and excitement in the air with a healthy amount of underlying fear from all the newbies including me.  I’ve been thinking how am I going to lead this team of incredible people! ? But I keep reminding myself if there is one thing I have learnt about leadership its relax and get to know your people and the rest will come. 

What to pack is a huge topic and my previous philosophy of needing my passport and credit card to travel has gone out the window.  If I don’t bring it now then I have to live without it for 12 months. I find myself wondering what if my hairdryer breaks down….and then I realise I will be living with some electricians who can probably fix it for me – I have bought a new one just because I deserve it though.  Purchasing a years supply of toiletries is an interesting challenge as I have never really thought about things like how long shampoo lasts or how often will I really be wearing mascara.

I have received some kick ass gear that will definitely keep me warm, some of my very own work wear (think hi-vis) and finally justified some expensive purchases from adventure stores.  Newbies always pack too much and I definitely won’t be the exception. Buying a camera is my next daunting task….but I am told the best camera is the one you have with you.  

I’ve met most of the team and all I can say is I feel exceptionally lucky to be spending a year with such lovely, interesting and fun people  I already have a bunch of recommended books, movies, places to travel and some people to learn spanish with in the coming year.  

I am loving sharing this journey so far with all my family and friends and I thank you for your love and support.  A few pics of the selection centre and no my raft absolutely did NOT float!!! My skills are in other areas 🙂

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