"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than the ones you did. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbour. catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover."
--- Mark Twain
SO HERE IT IS. MY TRIP!
This is my ship!!!! And this will be me!!!!
The Antarctic Penninsula is a 1000 ks from the bottom of South America.
======================================================================
62°24.8´S 59°44.7´W
I got dressed nice and early
as I didn’t want to be that last one holding everyone up. Thermal pants and shirt, waterproof over
pants. Parka. Gloves and beanie. Over gloves. Life vest, walking pole. Camera
gear all in the waterproof bag inside the backpack. Waterproof camera in my
pocket, sunglasses. And best of all - Muck Boots. A cross between gumboots and
moon boots. Comfortable - just very hard to get on and off. Seapass to scan
out. It didn’t take as long as I thought – so I had to stand outside before I
burst into flames. (Many people have been wearing their expedition coats around
inside the ship all of the time. They must be made of asbestos. Most of the
Aussies wear light shirts.)
Meanwhile the expedition crew
goes out to explore and set up. The leader and the landing crew go in one
zodiac. They land, check safety, and set up flags showing where we could go and
crossed flags for where we could not go. This might be due to unstable land,
delicate areas, aggressive seals etc. All of the other Zodiacs follow – so that
every driver knows what to expect. Seeing the line on zodiacs disappear into
the fog was very cool.
For EVERY single landing we
do the set up zodiac takes rescue equipment. Big barrels crammed with survival
gear. As well as what you would expect - first aid etc, they take enough gear
to sustain all 100 of us for an overnight! In case something happens and we
cannot get back to the ship.
We walk out and swipe sea
pass cards, along the outside walk way - do up jacket, life vest on, backpack
on, gloves, beany, over gloves ….then down the stairs to the zodiacs. At the
bottom of the stairs, on the marina, is a chemical wash to walk through. The
Zodiacs are on deck 2, which is level with the water. It’s a big platform under
a roof. You walk up to the edge platform. One sailor holds your arm as you
reach out both hands to two more people in the zodiac. With a “sailors
grips" you take the two hands offered, step on the edge of the zodiac,
down onto the box step, then sit down and slide along. I was pleasantly
surprised at how easy it was. Fantastic.
And off we went
for a fun and exciting ride. You sit on the lovely soft seat and hang onto the
rope behind you. Very stable and comfortable.
The Zodiac ran
onto the beach and staff were waiting to assist us. In the reverse order we
slid to the front, turned our backs to the beach ('cause you never turn your
back on the ocean) and swung our legs over the edge. Then with two people
assisting us we plopped down into water about 500mm deep – thus the importance
of proper pants and Muck Boots. Boots are supplied but you need to bring your
own PROPER waterproof pants. I was loaned some excellent muck boots. Lucky as I
had trouble getting them off. Helen had to come and drag them off me - every
single time! If I wore their boots I'd still be wearing them!
We were given our
brief - "Stay inside the flags, ....... "
And there I was.
Walking on Barrientas Island in the South Shetland Islands. Officially in
Antarctica!
At this time of year the snow
has gone…but the penguin poo has not. So it was a muddy poo covered island with
two penguin rookeries. Gentoo and Chin Strap Penguins. Of course many Skua
birds feeding on penguins. And some South American Fur Seals.
We got to wander around (in
the areas) at will and look at what we liked.
Yes it was cold –
"Damned Cold!" Not so much the temperature (or lack there of) but the
wind. And it was sleeting – horizontally. So the big camera was not happy. But
I didn't feel cold - too many efficient clothes on.
The penguins were very sweet.
Feeding young, running around, singing and squawking.
After a few hours I headed
back. You could go back at any time. The process was just as simple. Walk into
the ocean to get lots of the penguin poo off your boots, (using the foot wash
station) then up to the Zodiac. Two staff to hold you while you stepped up on
the step in the water and onto the boat, sit, pivot and slide. Back at the ship
we pulled up along side and tied up. Then in goes the step, pivot, two hands to
hold onto and you are back on the ship. You walked over to the big tubs with
scrubbing brushes on the bottom and sides and scrubbed your boots (and walking
poles). After the scrub tanks you walk back through the chemical tank, up the
stairs, swipe your card and that is it.
We were greeted with hot
towels and hot sweet tea. It was a different kind each trip - Pink Lemonade
etc.
Then back to your room to
take off all the gear, hang it up to dry, dry off cameras, charge batteries etc
to be ready for the next trip.
It was all so (relatively)
simple and not nearly as hard as I though it would be. And so great that we got
there early and had an easy day today with only one landing.
Later we had the Captains
Cocktail party where we all dressed up and had drinks and lovely nibbles with
the Captain. He is from the Ukraine, has a very thick accent and is very funny
(I think).
The bathrooms on board are
funny. They look a bit like a nursing home! 2 big grab rails in the shower, 2
big grab rails near the toilet. Great for rough weather.
Sleep time now to prepare for
a big day tomorrow. The ship rocked a lot but gently and very pleasantly.
I love my room to myself
where I get to use all the hooks, all the power points etc.
21st Feb, Enterprise Island, Antarctica. 64°33,9’S 61°59,6´W
We started with a Zodiac
cruise to Enterprise Island. Amazing
icebergs. So wonderful. Huge! Old! And
amazing. The older the ice…the blue the berg. As the ice is compressed over the
years the air is crushed out of it – turning it blue (lots of water looks blue
– like in the ocean). We stopped next to
some bergs and could see and hear the air effervescing as it was crushed out.
We visited a shipwreck of a
whaler Guvernøren, a 3433 ton ship that caught fire in 1915 and was run aground
in order to rescue men and supplies. So much of its infrastructure was still
there. Tie up points. Water boats (barges that were taken on land to collect
water then towed back to the ship). Barrels. Remember timber takes hundreds of
year to break down due to the cold. 101 years and it still looked great.
On the way back to the ship I
saw Minke whales. Yay. And sea lions, and seals, and many birds.
21st Feb, Cuverville Island,
Antarctica.
64°40,3´S
62°37,2´W
After lunch we did another
landing. Curverville Island, home of one of the largest known Gentoo penguin
colonies. There is usually a heavy snow cover, and an intricate network of
“penguin highways". So much fun and
so funny. There were thousands of them. The chicks were adult sized and are in
various stages of molting. The chicks are fatter then the parents due to being
well fed and they are preparing to molt - so super fluffy.
They are still being fed by
the parents who spend a lot of time hunting for fish. They gracefully speed
through the water, leaping out and flying for meters. They speed up to the
rocky shore, stand up, walk forward and ........nearly always fall flat on
their faces.
Gentoo’s teach the babies to
hunt by running away from them with their food. So all over the beach are
parents running away from, usually two, huge fuzzy babies. The chase goes for
hundreds of meters with much ducking and weaving through the crowd and around
rocks. The babies are clumsy and fall, running with their little wings flapping
and yelling the whole time. Sometimes the parents run into the water and the
babies stop dead on the edge, not willing to go in!
The fastest chick - therefore
the strongest, gets the food. The second one does not. Natures way! But it
keeps the Skuas well fed. The chicks collapse everywhere, just like toddlers,
ready for a sleep after their huge effort.
Higher up the slopes on the dirty snow there are more of all of these antics going on. Sometimes the chases are up and down the steep slopes with chicks sliding down and tumbling.
And then...... I got MY
PHOTO. THE PHOTO.
That one that will always be
special! That one that, just by looking at it, will transport me back to
Antarctica.
The back story.
Parent was running away from
the chicks with food. As it ran up the hill this chick fell way behind. The
Skua saw its opportunity and 'came in for the kill'. The chick yelled and tried
to get away. It was doing a good job but the Skua had the upper hand. All of a
sudden the parent turn and charged back, down the hill like a beast, screeching
and chased the Skua away.
Sensational.
How lucky was I. I expected
David Attenborough to pop up beside me and start describing the scene.
21st Feb, Dinner - a BBQ on
the back deck.
It was amazing! I don’t have
enough superlatives.
We sat on the deck…with white
table clothes and full dinner service, eating a great BBQ with steak, ribs,
stacks of salads and veg, drinking mulled wine (well they did), wrapped in
fluffy blankets, in 5 degrees while some of the most spectacular scenery in the
world slipped by.
Giant glaciers, huge
icebergs, massive cliffs of snow and ice. Sea lions, penguins, birds. It was
amazing. Surreal.
I was thinking, “WOW, what
could they charge for a dinner like this”, then I realized the price would be
$10,000 to $20,000!
The trip was worth it for
this dinner alone!
BUT THEN…..
21st Feb, Paradise Harbour,
Antarctica. 64°53,5´S
62°52,9´W
At 8pm, we kitted up and
headed out again in the Zodiacs. This time we went to ANTARCTICA. As in the
CONTINENT of Antarctica. We walked on the continent. My SEVENTH continent.
There was not a huge number of us who had visited ALL SEVEN continents. How
exciting.
We went ashore at Almirante
Brown Station – The Argentine base of Almirante Brown on the Antarctic
Peninsula mainland. It is named for William Brown, an Irish immigrant who
became a national hero in Argentina and is known as the father of the Argentine
Navy – and we played and walked and looked. Made snow angels and sang "The
Hills are Alive". There were some pretty impressive views…but that didn’t
matter. We were walking on Antarctica.
We headed back at 10pm.
What a day!
I did say that if they
decided we had to go home now, I would go happy. I have seen so much and done
so much already. AND I HAVE BEEN TO ANTARCTICA!
21st Feb, Port Lockroy, Antarctica.
64°49,6´S
63°30,1´W
We were woken up each day
with a PA announcement. Today it was at 7.30. The expedition leader that does
it has a really, really nice voice and is so sweet and gentle with it. “Good
morning, Good Morning, time to wake up. Todays .......”. The last two mornings
I have answered him…”Morning, I’ll get up now”, then realized I was talking to
the PA. Funny. We shall see if he gets me again tomorrow.
First trip was to Port Lockroy. During 'Operation
Tabarin' in 1941, the British set up two bases on the Peninsula area to keep an
eye on enemy shipping and to destroy old fuel dumps. They chose Port Lockroy as
an important anchorage and imaginatively named it base “A”. Since its restoration in 1996 by the
Antarctic Heritage Trust (AHT), Base A on Goudier Island at Port Lockroy has
become one of the most visited sites in Antarctica.
The sun was out and there was
no wind. It was amazing. I put a t-shirt on under my jacket, as I knew it would
be too hot. And it was. The original hut is set up as it was with amazing gear
in it……including the paintings of women film stars in the bedroom and a very
risqué paintings of women in very sheer lingerie in the head! The pantries were
stocked and the book shelves full.
Their 'thermal underwear' was
knitted and was about as thick as a chunky jumper. Must have been awfully
itchy! They had a great view from the bedrooms! Not to sure about the heating /
insulation though.
Of course there were Gentoo
Penguins everywhere. The base is known as the “Penguin Post Office”. I watched
a documentary on it last week! As well as selling souvenir’s and running the
museum,, staff had to scrub penguin poo every morning.
I really didn't need any more
photos of Gentoo Penguins….but who could resist. The chicks were so damn cute.
Before they molt, their feathers get particularly fluffy. They look like obese
balls of cuteness. It really takes all of your will power not to pick one up
and snuggle it and rub it all over your face. They are truly adorable. I now
understand the obsession the whole world has with penguins.
21st Feb, Jougla
Point, Antarctica. 64°49,6´S
63°30,1´W
Back into the
Zodiacs and around the corner to a beautiful cove ...Jougla Point.. By this
stage the weather had changed and it was very cold. Such an amazing weather
change in 10 minutes. But I didn't feel the cold in all my clothing.
And …you guessed
it, more Gentoo Penguins. And some stunning views. There was a small yacht
anchored in the bay. Maybe 20 meters. It did have a heavy hull, three masks and
(apparently) twice the normal number of guy ropes to the masts. They must be
seasoned yachties not tourists. I think the Drake Passage would kill a normal
person in that tiny thing.
Helen and I tried to make
Snow Angles. But the snow was too hard. We did have fun though – especially
trying to get up in the icy snow that let you sink up to your knees. I kept
getting almost up, them my feet would sink and down I would go. It really was
quiet hysterical. Graceful and hysterical. Then a walk over the hill. Yes it
was muddy and pooie but I have no idea how I got penguin poo up to my knees at
the back. Into the ocean with a
scrubbing brush for me.
21st Feb, Useful Island, Antarctica. 64°43,5´S 62°58,1´W
And yep, more Gentoo
Penguins. There are only 300,000 Gentoos. They are the least common. They just
happen to live at the places we have been!
After wandering around and
enjoying the stunning weather I sat on a rock for about 30 minutes and just
looked. The sky was so blue and everything was sparkling. Apart from the old
rotting snow…covered in four months of penguin poo and molted feathers.
Zodiac cruising around the
bay was next. We saw heaps of seals – mainly Crab Eater (who don’t eat crabs –
but have teeth that have a hook on them that look like a crab claw) and Weddell
Seals. Weddell’s are the seals that live on the ice floes attached to land and
keep air holes open with their teeth. They are the southern most breeding
mammals. We also saw Elephant seals. So the only one missing from the list is a
Leopard seal.
We went into some very
shallow water and looked for 'Copepod'. Like krill. About 2cm long – tiny
crustaceans that many of the creatures eat. I stuck the underwater camera to
try to get some photos. I will definitely NOT be falling in. It was so very
cold.
We then went cruising and looked at icebergs. Stunning. Some had archways. One looked like a huge modern art lotus flower – like the big one in Singapore. When we went into the shallow bay, our driver ‘Flipper’ said it looked like a theme park for Penguins. And then we saw some small icebergs (bergy-bits, under 5 meters) that looked like roundabout horses.
Another stunning day!
After a lovely dinner I
decided that I would go up to the bridge to see if there would be a good
sunset.
There were no colours but I
picked up binoculars and started to help Annette, the whale expert, look for
whales.
We found at least 6 different
humpbacks all scattered around over a large area. I saw one do a small breach! Very exciting. They were too far away to
bother announcing it to the ship. We just kept watching and hopping they would
get closer. We chatted about the chances of seeing Orcas. “It’s all about luck.
They could be swimming past us right now on the other side!” At about 9.30 we
saw a new group of whales. Blowing differently.
AHhhhhhhhhh. They were Orcas. They came towards us and got
closer and closer. NOW it was time to tell the whole ship! Then they came
closer. It was a pod of at least 10 animals.
After a while Jonathon, the Expedition leader, made another announcement and said something like “this is amazing…If you are not outside on deck watching this, you are on the wrong cruise in the wrong place”
The ‘followed’ us at least 20 minutes. The light was too low for any decent photos. I WATCHED A POD OF 10 ORCAS FOR 20 MINUTES!!!!
Annnette was so happy. Biggest pod she has ever seen.
WOW. What a way to finish a great day!
What shall tomorrow bring?????? At least we are not getting a wake up call until 8am. YAY sleeping!
23rd Feb, Cierva Cove, Antarctica. -
64°05,1´S 60°55,9´W
Woke up to falling snow. Yay,
it was snowing. Big fat flakes falling all around. Not blowing around but
floating gentle onto us. And real 'snow flake' shaped flakes. So amazing. You
could see the six pointed star that is the base of all snow flakes.
Snow was another of my 5 Wish
List for the trip.
We went for a zodiac cruise and it was wonderful.
We saw lots of seals, mainly
Crab Eaters lying on ice floes and bergs. They are HUGE. At least 2 meters long
and a few hundred kg. Crab Eaters are the only seals who smile. They are very
sweet. Not very active, but sweet.
We saw Primavera, an Argentinean base. Didn't look like a lovely place to live. 
The whole area was full of
Brash Ice. Big chunks of smashed up ice. The zodiac can run over the smaller
stuff and it made great noises on the bottom. Bigger ones bounced off. And
there were icebergs from small to shopping center sized.
There were some amazing
bergs. The blue colour of them is quiet stunning. So many had caves and arches.
On the smaller ones the “Swan neck” is quiet common. So many ponies and ducks
floating around out there!
We stopped and picked up a
chunk of very old ice. Totally clear – so it has been crushed for many years,
maybe 1000’s in a glacier. It was about 500 x 400 x 300, but very sculptured so
not a solid block. It weighted at least 40kg. I decided it looked like a pony
and everyone agreed. I named him Snowy! Snowy sat on the floor of the Zodiac
for another 2 hours – and didn’t melt a drop. It was then carved and sat up on
the bar. Bits were in our drinks for many nights.
Then we saw a Leopard Seal.
Squeal with excitement. Named for their spotted coat, over 500kg and 3 meters
long.
And so sweet looking. Sweet and
massive. They have a small head and no neck tapering. Just this long slinky
head that turns into a body. Their month is huge and goes back at least half of
their head. It didn’t open it’s mouth but you could see how big it was. The
thing that struck me most was how serpentine looking they are. All I could
think of was Nagini - the giant snake from Harry Potter.
When it was sick of us it
moved away - like a snake. Seals do not have a pelvis, so they are the ones
that bounce and blubber along when they move. It arched it’s back and humped
it’s way across the ice and in it went. How special. I got to see a Leopard. (I
also know where Leopard Slugs got their names). Another of the things on my 5
point wish list - check.
The temperature had really
dropped but it was still beautiful. We did have to be careful as the brash ice
freezes together making huge ice floes. This makes getting back to the ship
hard.
Then back onto the ship and up to the spa. A spa! In the snow! With icebergs floating by! CHECK. Cannot tell you how wonderful this was.
The snow continued to fall
and the animals were happy. This was the only activity I almost felt the cold
on. Almost, but not quite. But that was while sitting still for three hours.
Then back onto the ship and up to the spa. A spa! In the snow! With icebergs
floating by! CHECK. Cannot tell you how wonderful this was.
And now I have checked off
the five things I really wanted -
* My feet on the continent of
Antarctica.
* Fat, flaky Snow on the
ship.
* Leopard Seal.
* Spa with icebergs floating
by and
* Orcas.
23rd Feb, Hydrurga Rocks,
Antarctica. 64°08,7´S 61°36,5´W
The afternoon visit was to
Hydranga Rocks – a long flat, little island. Plenty of penguins – but this time
Chinstraps. And heaps of Southern Sea Lions. They DO have pelvises so they are
the ones who can gallop around on the ground. Much jousting of big pals and
play jousting of younger ones.
The snow was amazing. Quiet
heavy and so beautiful. And warm. Far to many clothes on! And taking photos in
heavy snow was a new skill to me and fairly tricky. Poor camera didn’t know
what to focus on – usually the snow. So many terrible photos. But fun.
And the Sea Lions were great.
So huge and funny. Their giant whiskers were catching the snow and glinting.
Their whiskers are up to
500mm long. Another fun day.
24th Feb, At Sea.
62°57,7´S 58°07,8´W
Our planned shore landings
today had to be cancelled due to rough seas and strong winds. Weather was
pretty bad everywhere so we headed off to the next spot. Then that was also
cancelled so we have headed off towards the Shetland Islands again.
Then that was cancelled. We
are now onto ‘Plan F’.
We had some great lectures on
Ice and on Penguins. And saw heaps of great Tabular Icebergs. Shopping centre
sized.
But more importantly we saw
Fin Whales. The second largest of the whales. Very huge. Only a few meters
shorter then the Blue Whale. And so cool to see another species. Very exciting.
And very cold out there watching them. Lucky I had a good coat - and thermals,
and gloves, and hat, and......
Bellingshausen/ Fildes
Station, King George Island. 62°12,2´S 58°55,9´W
After all our missed landing
Jonathan made a few phone calls and did some swift dealing and we were granted
permission to visit both the Chilean and the Russian bases at King George
Island.
The Chileans have a Naval
base there. It is a rescue center with a long history of sea rescues in
Antarctic waters and in fact are the guys who rescued Shakleton. They welcomed
us with open arms and were so happy to show us around their base.
So off we went. When the
staff went ashore to set things up - they took a few extras.
Normally you need to apply a
week in advance for a visit, but the Chileans welcomed us. So in the advanced
party they took cases of beer, and the afternoon tea that we were now not
having as we were ashore. Pastries, cakes and fresh loaves of bread.
In our brief they told us
that it would be nice if we bought from their shop - so we did.
The Chileans invited us in
and took us on a tour of the base. We went into their lounge room, kitchen,
storerooms, rec room, gym (where they do their mandatory 60 min running and 60
min weight training a day. Makes sense since they are a rescue squad!) This
base is the one that does the majority of rescues in the Antarctic.
Like a cruise ship the very
worst thing that can happen at a base is a fire. For that reason, all bases
have a back up. Another separate building with rescue equipment ie tents and
food. When all bases are supplied in October-ish, they are supplied with double
the years supplies. Half of which are stored in a separate building some
distance away.
The boat room is set up like
a fire station with everything ready for a quick exit. Zodiacs on steroids – in
a shed with large tracks down into the water for quick egress. And huge dry
suit / safety suits. A one piece thermal and floatation suit with built in
boots and gloves.
The Russians didn’t invite us
in. Except for into their Russian Orthodox church up on the hill with domes and
all. Southern most church in the world. Their base was huge with many
buildings.
We then did a zodiac cruise
past the Chinese base. It’s know as "The Great Wall" as the Chinese
build everything huge, and went to Ardley Island to see more penguins.
It's a rookery for Gentoo and
Adelie penguin. Only one Adelie was still there. The others had already left.
Due to climate change effecting the
Antarctic Peninsular the Adelie's are really suffering as they are a very
southern species. They may not last much longer for that reason.
This is where my phone kicked
in. Vodafone bounced off the Chinese
network at their base. How funny they
have mobile phone network in Antarctica. Of course I made some calls and woke
people up!
As a sad reminder, there were
6 remaining ginormous old tanks for whale oil. Massive - like you see at Botany
Bay at the refineries. So sad to see how many whales were killed.
We saw a document last night
about Whaling. Apparently the Russians almost wiped whales out in modern times.
After the treaty was made they were given a quota of around 2,500 kill a year.
The KGB was involved in falsifying records and instructed the whalers to get
every whale they could. Any species, any size, any sex. A whistle blower went
public and released accurate record that showed they killed over 250,000 in
some years.
So seeing the giant tanks was
particularly sad.
25th Feb, Elephant Island,
Point Wild. 61°05,7´S
54°52,2´W
Woke up to different weather
again today. Freezing and savage. Absolutely feral.
The deck had lots of snow on
it. And it was still falling. I did make a snowman! It was very icy but it was
a snowman - kind of.
The wind was savage and the
snow was made of tiny icy balls that drove into you at 45 degrees. Like
Australian snow on a nasty day. Visibility was down to under 100 metres.
The weather was fitting as
today we visited Elephant Island, the place where Shackleton and his men
survived for four months. It is a lump of rock sticking up out of the ocean.
Absolutely savage with very little flat ground. This was following a winter of
being trapped in the pack ice and watching their ship get crushed and sink.
They killed Mrs Chippy, the cat, and fed her to the dogs. They escaped with
their gear and the two lifeboats that they dragged across the ice. Eventually
they killed the sled dogs as well.
They set sail and ended up at
Elephant Island. Brilliant navigation by Tom Crean saved them all.
These 22 men survived under
their upturned life boats. For months. Lucky there were plenty of seals and
penguins.
Shackelton then realized that
they were too far from normal shipping lanes and would never be found. He
sailed in the 'James Caird' with five other men to South Georgia, again with
brilliant navigations skills. Here they met the Chileans who came and rescued
the others. All 22 men survived.
Shackelton was a fairly
brilliant leader. Apart from a few disasters and not achieving his goals!
Elephant Island = horrid
place. Amazing that they survived!
We had workshops in the
afternoon. I went to one on Crevasse Rescue. Cause you never know when someone
might fall into a crevasse. And you might have the 40 kg of equipment needed to
save them. This session was run by Lois – one of the expedition team. A true
Patagonian who is into ice climbing – and all things adventurous. Very
interesting but I have decided that I will NOT take up ice climbing as a hobby.
Tonight we watcher the first
half of the Shakelton movie. It’s three
hours long so over two nights. It’s a great movie. They have popcorn! We got it
in little bowls but the expedition staff all turn up with sick bags to get it
in!
So now we are heading away
from the Antarctic Peninsular and are off to the Sub Antarctic islands of South
Georgia. Home of 95% of the worlds Sea Lions during the summer as well as
Albatross breeding grounds and King Penguin rookeries.
No whales today as the
weather was too foul to see anything. And lovley big seas! Sadly the snow has stopped.
As we sailed northeast we began to leave the
icebergs behind. But we were sailing into the area of the sea birds.
One of the talks today was on adaptation of
species to cold
Many animals down here are a fat ball shape -
as a sphere loses the least heat of all the shapes due to the smaller amount of
surface area per kg.
Why do young animals looks so cute? Short
forehead, big eyes and small noses? Cute is an adaptation as is sets off a
protection instinct within a species. How cool is that!
We had to do a biosecurity thing again today.
Washing boots, outer clothing, vacuuming pockets and Velcro etc then sign the
form.
One poor man got confused…or as many said
“stupid is as stupid does”. We have been washing our boots every time we went
ashore by walking thorough the trough of chemicals. And on the way back through
the scrub station then back through the chemical wash. So we should have some
idea of how to do it.
During mandatory cleaning today, the afore
mentioned man went to the outside wash station and filled his boots up with the
wash and scrubbed them. NOT THE OUTSIDE, the inside.
He will have chilly feet in South Georgia –
or will be spending a lot of time with the hair dryer for the rest of today!
I went to a seminar on whale identification.
It was good – but half way through there were whales so we all had to run out
and look! Humpbacks.
Then we got to see a movie
made by Jonathon – the French Expedition Leader – the boss. Called
"Journal d'un hivernant" - it was awesome. It was about a year he
spent as a research engineer at the French research base, Dumont
d'Urville, south of Australia. The movie
was fantastic. And so wonderful that we know him! Only sad thing was that it
had an American voice over – Not Jonathon and his sexy sexy French “Good
Morning, Good morning. Today’s the weather is……” voice. So sad. When I asked
him about it he said "The market demanded that accent".
Afternoon tea was a big Crepe
station set up in “The Club” with Crepe Suzette made to order. Very flash.
After dinner we watched the
other half of the Shackleton movie. Really great movie!
We are getting closer to
South Georgia…time to do another Pirate Drill - just like sailing around the
Horn of Africa . But this time not for Pirates. It’s for the waters near South
Georgia and it’s massive bird population. We need to keep our curtains drawn at
night (and outside lights off) to avoid “Bird Strike” where the birds are drawn
to lights and may get injured or lost. Much nicer than Pirates!
So that was today. Busy…but
at sea. Barely had time to squeeze in a nap!
Now click on the Sth Georgia Tab.
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