I get paid for this?

Well the last couple of days have seen me tick the boxes on our obligatory 24-hour survival training course.  This training is compulsory if we wish to move outside of the station limits, for which I’ve been itching to do ever since unpacking my mountain bike.  We managed to strike it lucky with the weather and consequently had a couple of great days quad biking on the sea ice in the fjords and hiking in amongst the hills and lakes.

The main training component was to familiarize us with the quad bikes, navigation and sleeping in emergency bivvy bags, which I’ve discovered (even in sub-zero temperatures) is a great way to camp.  Our camp for the night was on a gravel beach on the shores of Deep Lake (52 metres below sea level), which I believe is the lowest open body of water in Antarctica.  So, now I've done the training thing, it's time to hit the mountain bike.  After that, I might even decide to ride it.