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?

I'll have a number 27 with fried rice thanks

Well the most significant event to occur since writing my last blog (with the exception of Christmas I guess), has been a visit from the Chinese Antarctic research vessel, Xuelong.  There also happened to be some Chinese on board so over the course of the day we were inundated with over 90 Chinese tourists crawling over the station.  The thing they found most impressive apparently was the green store.  God knows why.

Later in the evening however, a small group of Davisonians were invited aboard (me included) for a meal and a tour of the ship.  This turned out to be a lot of fun, particularly the helicopter ride across the bay to the ship.  The ship itself was impressive and a lot larger and far more salubrious than the aging Aurora.   The Chinese were incredibly hospitable and friendly as well and we were all made to feel very welcome.  The evening drew to a close with many photographs being taken with the ships inhabitants and some rather odd stuffed toys!

 

 

I also managed to set off my first hydrogen alarm the other morning too.  Here at Davis, Team Met release two weather balloons a day, one at 4:15am and the other at 4:15pm.  So unfortunately the other morning, I had a "premature balloon launch".  After the balloon had broken free of my "never fail knots" inside the shed, several hydrogen sensors sprung into life and proceeded, at 4:30am, to alert everyone on station of the deed with a high pitch squealing noise.  Happy campers all round.  They all eventually made their way back to bed though and I was grateful that that alarm didn't sound every other time something premature happened!

Back on the bike

During the last week I have at long last got out on the mountain bike and am now enjoying the freedom and sometime solitude that comes with it.  It is surprising how the feel of the landscape is transformed once you are beyond audible range and out of sight of the station hum.  I'll have to be honest and say here that Davis Station isn't exactly an architectural triumph and instead resembles something more like the pieces of plastic that I used to play with as a kid.  It hasn't earned the name "Lego Land" for nothing I guess, but like Lego, Davis is functional, it serves a purpose and thankfully can't get stuck in your windpipe!

I'd have to say that getting out on the sea ice for a ride has been the highlight so far and was quite possibly the most fun I've ever had on a bike.  We ended up riding only 15 km or so, but it felt much further by the end of the evening.  The patches of snow on the ice made it feel more like a hill climb at times, I don't think I've ever had to get out of the saddle and crunch the granny gear when riding along a flat surface (maybe I haven't been riding enough).  The majority of the riding however was slick and fast and surprisingly stable (except when attempting wheelies).  I suspect only the Huskies could've given the bike a run for its money in terms of experiencing the landscape, a far cry from the current noisy weapon of choice, the quad bike.  I wouldn't like to carry an extra 100 kg of equipment on the back of a mountain bike though (although I reckon I could fashion a sled towing system somehow... ).

 There seems to be a trend down here that any one who is having too much fun must be doing the wrong thing, which is justifiably the case sometimes, so we were a little worried when the Station Leader sat us down afterwards for a talking to.  Okay, so everyone fell through a tide crack and went over the handlebars at least once, but there were no broken bones (this time).  No need to worry there though, instead of taking the bikes away he wanted to give us more.  Apparently they're not as dangerous as quad bikes, unless I'm riding them that is.