They've abandoned us

Hmm... yes, well it seems I'm getting worse at keeping this thing updated.  It's not as if I'm short of time down here, so there's really no excuse.  So what's happened since my last blog?  Well a fair bit really, I wont try and bore you with all of the details, but the most significant thing to occur is V4 (the last voyage of the season) arriving and then leaving again a few days later.  This was significant because it would be the last ship we'd see for an entire 8 months and also when it finally left, it reduced station numbers from 90 odd down to 25.  So our winter experience had finally begun.

Seeing the ship power off over the horizon was a really strange feeling.  I didn't react how I thought I would.  I had been anticipating a feeling of dread or panic as my last contact with the world outside sailed away for 8 months, but instead I was hit by excitement and a realisation that something very few people get to do had just started.  It was a very cool moment.  The dread set in much later.

So what have I been doing since then?  Well I spent the best part of a day opening all of my post and care packages that arrived on V4.  Unfortunately the coffee machine that I bought didn't travel too well and appears to have experienced the espresso form of sea sickness (i.e. getting smashed by something big and heavy in the cargo hold of the AA).  Of course I was a little upset to find something that is worth more than my car, reduced to scrap metal.  At least the 8 kg of freshly roasted coffee beans made it safely.  Thanks to mum and dad and Island Espresso for that one.

As we are actually experiencing nights now, we are also treated to the Aurora Australis on most clear nights (the green light thingy, not the ship).  Although we now have to put up with some slightly colder temperatures to view it.  The mercury is now regularly tipping minus 20 degrees.  Whilst we were unpacking one of the outside food freezers today it actually occurred to me that it was warmer inside the freezer than it was outside.  Shut the door, you're letting all the hot air out!

Jollies, SAR training and medivacs

It is surprising how much actually happens when you look back over a few weeks in your life.  At first I really didn't think there was a great deal to talk about, but there turns out to be one or two interesting things that have popped up over the last month.  A little drama that we had down in this part of the world recently was the medical evacuation of a Chinese expeditioner from the Chinese base Zhong Shan.  The expeditioner didn't come off so well after his abdomen met with an excavator bucket.  This resulted in some major surgery, a helicopter flight to the Davis region, a plane ride in a CASA to the Wilkins runway at Casey and finally a flight on the Airbus from Wilkins to Hobart.  Thankfully, after further emergency surgery in Hobart, the patient is making a steady recovery.  As I am one of the lay surgical assistance here at Davis, I was flown up to the skiway to lend a hand if necessary, in the patients transport from helicopter to plane.  There turned out to be more than enough help however.

Australia Day was also a rather eventful day, with lots of semi-naked swimming, barbecues and beach cricket.  The weather wasn't exactly conducive to swimming though, as the water temperature hovered around -1.8 deg C, with similar air temperatures.  So needless to say, I didn't last that long clad only in my mankini.  The nightmares and counselling will though, for those that were unlucky enough to see me.

And more recently the SAR (Search and Rescue) team had their first full day of training.  This involved doing cool stuff like flying in helicopters, hanging from ropes and doing some basic mountaineering techniques.  It was probably one of the more interesting days I've had since being here and is why I wanted to come down here in the first place.  The day was spent in one of the more spectacular parts of the Vestfolds and was accompanied by some beautiful weather, which consequently, has started to become cooler and more Antarctic-like in the past couple of weeks.  We now have darkness at night and we all find ourselves looking forward to a clear evening sky so that the Aurora Australis can finally be viewed.

Christmas and New Year shenanigans

Yes, it's been a while since last updating this.  So just a brief rundown of the Christmas and New Year season (I'll let the photos tell most of the story).  Both days were quite memorable, but it's a relief to have them out of the way.  I was somehow conned into being one of Santa's "little helpers" for the day and as you can see by the photos I look stunning in that sequinned mini skirt!  This was all for the effort of handing out the Kris Kringle presents that everyone had organised.  Santa (V2) didn't arrive on time for most people.  Our chefs Squeeze and Kim put on an amazing spread complete with crayfish, oysters, ham, turkey, 3000 year old glacial ice etc.  Too much alcohol was consumed, you know how it goes.

It was also Amy's 21st birthday just before New Years so I spent the majority of the morning of the 29th trying to time my pose for when the station web cam takes its 10 minute photo.  The results can be seen below.

New Years Eve was a very similar affair to Christmas Day with an equally disturbing amount of cross-dressing.  The evening had a Hollywood theme, which was complete with red carpet, security, an ice sculptured Oscar and the obligatory smoke machine and dancing lights (we do it tough down here).  Included is a photo of the Met boys.  The guy in the middle, Linc, is my supervisor!  It was then that I realised just how much trouble I am in over the next 12 months.  He did an amazing Flash Dance routine too by the way.  In case you're wondering, I'm supposed to be Caesar, I had to get inventive as a Christmas wreath and a busted weather balloon was all that I could find.  Needless to say there wasn't too much left of the balloon by the end of the night, I guess the temptation to over stretch an incredibly stretchy material was too great for some.  Thankfully the same can't be said for Linc's outfit.

So there you have it, two of the biggest days of the year in one of the remotest locations.  Next on the agenda is our mid-summer swim on Australia Day.  Is the world ready to see me in a mankini yet?