Farewell My Penguin Mates.

Sadly after a long winter, the sea ice has officially closed for recreational travel. We always hoped that conditions would be good enough allow us to get to Auster and Macey Island a few more times after the official closing date of November 25, but in the end it wasn't to be, and due to clear sunny days burning into the ice the closing date was in fact brought forward by four days.

The chicks have grown a lot!

By now you will be aware that the biggest attraction at Mawson is the emperor penguins at Auster. For most expeditioners who come to Mawson, highest on the priority list is visiting these beautiful birds. It was with this in mind that our entire winter crew was keen to see that our new summer "immigrants" did get the opportunity to experience what we have all enjoyed so much of over winter.

I had been trying to find the time to get back to Macey Island to finish a gas job on one of the huts, and I had virtually lost hope that it was going to happen when our Station Leader (SL) approached me and asked if I would lead a trip to the rookery for a day. Previously this year the role of trip leader to Macey and Auster has been reserved for returning expeditioners (with previous seasons experience) and the SL (a first timer, with no experience) due to the perceived added risk of sea ice travel. This has been a bit of a sore point with one or two people on station, so I felt privileged to be offered the responsibility. I should point out that I, along with nearly everyone else qualified early on in our season as a trip leader for travel on the plateau, and I consider that a place of higher danger due to crevasses and much less stable weather (you can see why some were "confused" by the SL's stance on trip leaders for Auster/Macey... however, those were the rules).

The plan was to go on Thursday, but weather conspired against us with high winds and cloud, so the decision was made to try again on Friday. Friday morning arrived with a much better outlook and at 8am we were on our way. My crew consisted of Tony, our new comms tech and fellow Kiwi; Kevin our new sparky, and James our young summer plumber. We made good time to Macey after detouring around a large patch of open water that previously was part of our marked GPS route. In two hours we were at the hut with tools in hand, James and I replacing the gas regulator and pipe work on the "Apple", Kevin replacing a some electrical componentry in the main hut, and Tony just having a good look around, in the process discovering that the party that had overnighted on Thursday had left behind their sat phone. Well spotted Tony!

James, getting up close and personal with my friends.

An hour later with the work complete, we were "back on the road" and bound for the penguins. Along the way while travelling through a "bergy" part of the route James made the comment "this is probably the coolest thing I have ever done", which took me back to my first trip out that way. When you visit an area frequently and have repeatedly experienced something you'd previously never done, it is easy to become a little blasé about it after a while. It reminded me just how special this year has been and how lucky I have been to be able to visit this incredible part of the world. Not only that but it reminded me just how generous the AAD is as an employer. Not only are we encouraged to spend time out in the field (often during work hours), they also allow us to use government equipment worth hundreds of thousands of dollars in doing so.

So trusting, within touching distance.

We arrived at the "car park" in no time and were greeted by Big Pete who'd walked back to their Hagg to sched in with VLV Mawson. The colony had moved a couple of kilometres since I was last there and Pete pointed us in the right direction. Soon we found the emperors and my crew were surrounded by them in no time. The day was calm and warm, conditions that seem to encourage the birds to come out and be sociable. We couldn't have asked for more given that for two of my crew this will likely have been a once in a lifetime experience (Tony is here for a summer-winter-summer contract so will have more opportunities next winter). From my perspective I was overjoyed that my last visit was probably my most enjoyable.

Unfortunately our time was up all too soon, and we began the long walk back to the Haggs, and then started the long journey home. We planned to stop at Paterson Island to visit the Weddel seal pups so had to allow time for that. I found myself taking long looks at the icy scenery and the penguins as I walked away. As my year here progresses and draws to an end I find myself questioning whether I will return. If I do apply to come back the likelihood of returning to Mawson is unlikely, so I very much doubt if I will ever see these beautiful birds in the wild again like I have this year. Other stations have emperors pass through now and then but nothing like we have here.

Most of the chicks are keen to interact now.

On the return journey we stopped at Macklyn Island near some suspicious grey ice and drilled down to see how thick it was. Sea ice at it's peak is normally 1.6-2m thick. Our first drill right beside our track measured just .5m, then a few paces away a scary .15m! The minimum required before Hagg travel is allowed at the beginning of winter is .8m..... Pete's exact words after drilling a third time was "lets get the **** away from here!" It surprised me just how obvious the thinner ice was, not at all the blue we are used to but a sickly, rotten looking grey.

Two of those puppy dog eyes.....

Fortunately from this point on back to station the ice all looked healthy and our stop at Paterson was our only interruption. The seal pups had grown an unbelievable amount in the four weeks since I last saw them, and they are all swimming and losing the furry coats they were born in. They still have their beautiful puppy dog eyes though, and are not at all bothered by a group of humans with cameras. We wasted no time here, as some ominous looking cloud was quickly closing in on us from the east. Within an hour of arriving back on station surface definition had reduced greatly, and shortly after this it started snowing.

That is the end of the emperors for me. I didn't feel the sadness that I thought I would when leaving them for the last time. Having visited six times I think I've had my fill of them for a while. If by some chance I do return to Mawson one day, I know I will look forward to the experience again, but having had the opportunities that most people only see in a documentary, I can feel nothing but privileged.

Thank you beautiful Emperor penguins. I will always remember your gentleness with each other, and incredible curiosity and eagerness to share our company. I will miss all of you.

Despite living in such close proximity to each other, I've only ever seen displays of tolerance and affection from these beautiful, gentle creatures.

The End Of Isolation.

After enduring a cold and isolated winter, finally it came time to set up the ski landing area (SLA) in readiness for the first of our summer flights. As we are governed by the Australian version of the CAA the runway has to comply with their standards, and as such the process must be managed by qualified people. Two of our team had received training on the ins and outs of ski landing establishment earlier in the year so we were soon set to go.

The first glimpse as they fly over before landing.

Mid morning on Wednesday November 11 four of us set off for the SLA site in Kista Strait just to the west of station. I had volunteered for the role of SLA fireman, and as such I was included in the set up operation. Our part of it was a fairly simple job. All we had to do was mark a safe strip with flags at each end, set up the wind sock and ensure there were no wandering penguins on the landing area when the aeroplane arrived.

The way the system works is that we are required by law to be on the SLA an hour before the flight is due. Flight time from Davis Station is roughly two hours twenty minutes, and once they are past the Amery Ice Shelf they are at the point of no return (PNR). When they are roughly thirty miles out the pilot makes contact with our comm's on VHF, who in turn calls us at the SLA and notifies us of the imminent arrival. Soon enough the Twin Otter was above us as it approached. Right at the last minute I spotted an Adelie penguin scuttling down the runway so a call was relayed to the pilot to pull out of his approach and circle while we went out to divert the little feller from harms way.

Kilo Charlie Sierra taxiing in to greet us.

Penguin disaster narrowly avoided, the pilot made his approach again and within minutes stepped out of his machine with his co-pilot to greet us. Surprisingly the experience of seeing a strange face after nine months of isolation was not at all what I was expecting. I'm not really sure how I was expecting to feel, but for some reason I thought it would be a bit strange meeting someone new after such a long period of isolation. As it was, meeting Russ and Curtis was just like meeting new friends. As well as the two pilots, we were greeted by Jon, an AAD AGSO (aircraft ground support officer). Jon's job was to stay with us for  the week or so and set up the SLA properly with the correct orientation and flagging, and basically manage to ground op's for us.


Refuelling. Spot Fireman Fred.

With the plane secured on the ice we all drove back to station and hosted the pilots for an hour or so to enable them to have  look around and have a bite to eat. The two pilots are both Canadian, and fly the Twin Otter all the way from Canada to spend the southern summer working for the AAD in Antarctica. I spoke to them about their fascinating journey. They leave Calgary, Canada, fly down over the USA, then Central and South America, stopping several times along the way. Their next stop after leaving Chile is Rothera, which is a British station on the Antarctic Peninsula. Here they swap their wheel/ski combination for skis only. They then continue on to the American station at the South Pole, where they stayed for a couple of days before continuing on to Davis Station which is one of ours. This journey takes them approximately two weeks. Understandably the highlight of their trip was flying over the Andes. They depart Antarctica some time in February and head back home via the same route. I would just love to be able to go with them. It would be an incredible adventure.

The ground crew and pilots.

Soon enough it was time for the plane to leave and prepare for Thursdays two scheduled flights to deliver our new summer expeditioners. In exchange we were sending out our dieso' Rob "Angry" Cullen who was only with us for the winter. Angry has had a hard time here this year because lack of effort by his colleague so he was eager to leave. Once again the plane arrived, this time bringing six extra new faces, and we soon had their gear unloaded, the plane refuelled, and Angry on the plane with his gear and in the air. After fulfilling our obligation of remaining on the SLA until the plane had reached PNR we headed back to station for a break and a meal, and soon enough it was time to repeat the process and receive our final flight for the day carrying the final five of our summer crew. Unloaded and refuelled the pilots set off again.

Unloading cargo. Somewhere in there is fresh fruit and our mail!

Five more flights came and went over the next five days until all our summer cargo had been delivered. Each flight can carry approximately one tonne, and we had just under five tonnes to receive. The highlight of the whole event for me was the delivery of our mail! What a thrill it is to receive parcels and postcards from friends and family after so long. In addition to personal mail we also received boxes of fresh navel oranges and pears along with other food items. YUM!! You have no idea how good a navel orange tastes after such a long period without them.

A week after it all began the process was over and we sadly said farewell to Jon. He'd very quickly become a part of the Mawson family. The SLA was packed up and closed for 2015 and we all stood down. It has been good to have some new blood on station. They each bring their own influence, and I have enjoyed showing a few of the ins and outs of station life. Some of them even brought copies of movies released since we left Australia!!