Apprent-ICE Blog #10

A rare treat at Scott Base is heading outdoors for a sausage and steak from the grill - all on base gathered to celebrate the completion of the hanger renovation undertaken mainly by the boys from the defence force and a couple of base staff. Not your normal kiwi barbie, because here, the beers start to freeze and the meat goes cold at the end of your fork, a unique, enjoyable and fitting experience for all involved!

Tuesday evening was perfect, not a breath of wind and not a cloud in the sky. A pre arrange 'FamTrip' was organised for the next good night after work and Tuesday was it. We rushed our dinner, jumped in the Hagglund and drove for an hour and a half over what felt like very rugged terrain to 'Room with a view'….spoiler alert, no room, but one hell of a view! We left as the sun was setting so by the time we arrived there were some incredible colours in the sky and a faultless 360 degree view. The pictures almost do justice of what it was like.

Work in the HFC is cranking along now with a boost from the defence force guys. We've split up so a separate crew is now tackling the upstairs work and after just a week we've put a huge dent in the work load for when the team carries on and is further reduced in numbers once again with the April 18th flight.

This week has seen us framing with steel, studs, putting up sheets of gib and the most exciting part, five upstairs triple glazed windows in a PVC frame.

Speaking of April the 18th, Blake and I will not be passengers on that flight as we were originally scheduled to be. The team at Antarctica NZ have offered us a further six-week contract to remain on base to work on the project, which is pretty exciting stuff for us! It would have been a shame to leave in April as the time goes so fast here and feels like we only just arrived! It'll be an awesome opportunity to see more of the harsh winter we've really only just scratched the surface of. The days are getting shorter and final sunset is in four weeks. I'm still waiting to see an Aurora, so hopefully before June 6th we get to see some without having to get out of bed at 3am.