AirNZ Blog #6 - Darryn

Monday was a balmy -10°C with light winds which allowed some of the more adventurous staff a chance to go kite skiing on the sea ice in front of Scott Base after dinner.

Around six staff headed out through the pressure ridges to where the sea ice is relatively flat. It was quite amazing watching them blasting across the ice and snow, very similar to the kite-surfing I see down at Papamoa but without the waves.

Earlier in the day I made trips out to Pegasus and Williams Airfields to drop off passengers heading home or elsewhere on the ice.

Tuesday was a brilliant day weather-wise, but the temperature dropped to -22°C with a wind-chill of -34°C. I started the day at 7.30am out at Williams Airfield loading a Bassler (a modified DC3) with fuel drums and equipment. This equipment is being moved by the Antarctica Heritage Trust up to Cape Adare to start restoration on the earliest hut built on the Antarctic continent. The hut was built by a Norwegian explorer by the name of Borchgrevink.

This was followed by two hours out on the pressure ridges in -26°C wind-chill temperatures working with a field trainer to find some new safe routes through the ice. Walking amongst these large chunks of ice is an amazing sensation. It is very peaceful, but when you think of the immense powers and forces happening under your feet to create these huge ice sculptures, it is quite incredible The afternoon involved heading back across to McMurdo to collect the cargo and distribute it to various scientists and areas within Scott Base.

Wednesday was another glorious day. I started the day with the air and wind-chill temperature exactly the same, a warm -14°C. Today we celebrated Armistice Day and Remembrance Day with the Americans. A small ceremony was held outside with Defence Force personnel from both New Zealand and the United States participating in a flag ceremony. The remaining activities and speeches were conducted inside due to a drop in the temperature.

Thursday afternoon was another warm day and brought the opportunity to walk amongst the Pressure Ridges and hang out with a couple of Weddell seals. It was slightly overcast, so the shadows and colours of the ice were not the best.

That evening we went Ice Cave exploring. Leaving base around 6.30pm, after a 75 minute drive we arrived at the edge of the Erebus Glacier Tongue. Provided you don't mind crawling through a tight space, we worked our way through a small hole quarter of the way up the glacier. Once inside it opened up to a cavern big enough to hold about eight people, with smaller chambers stemming from it. The views of the ice formations were breath-taking – especially when you realise you are standing inside a cave surrounded by ice that’s thousands of years old. The ice crystals, ice stalactites and blue colours were astounding. Crawling into a black cave of ice and allowing our eyes to adjust to the darkness allowed us to see some amazing natural ice sculptures. To view such things is a once-in-a-lifetime event.

Following this we had the chance to climb up a snow drift and stand on top of the glacier itself and take in the views across the Ross Sea ice towards the Transantarctic Mountains. It is hard to describe the feeling of standing at the edge of a glacier and looking across a vast sea of ice. We also had a chance to have a bit of fun sliding down some large snow drifts. It was funny to watch a group of adults become kids again and play in the snow. 

We finally returned to base just on 10.50pm with everyone buzzing over what we had just experienced. It was time to go the lunchroom for a quick drink – where we found a quarter of the base having toast. This year we created The Toast Appreciation Club, which means on any given night between 10.30pm and 11.30pm you will find staff members popping into the kitchen and cooking toast – reason unknown. It has turned into quite the social gathering around the toaster. Could it be something to do with 24 hour daylight? We’ll never know.

I guess no visit to Scott Base can go without a visit to the local pub, The Tatty Flag. It is a place to go and relax after a long day’s work. The Tatty Flag is where most social events start or finish, when any day of the week you can walk in there and find a fellow staff member being bartender for the night. We all take turns assisting behind the bar. It is a great place to sit and talk with people about their day. TV is available but only between 6.00pm– 7.00pm to catch the news from New Zealand, otherwise it is somewhere to go and relax.

It is here we have our fortnightly quiz night with the Americans coming across to challenge the brains trust of Scott Base. Most quiz nights however are won by the scientists who are on base at the time. We also have weekly talks from scientists here so we can learn what they have discovered out on the ice and how important our support work for them is.

I do have the honour of being The Scott Base Summer Pool Champ, I’m not sure how it happened (probably luck of the draw and an uneven pool table assisted my shots) plus winner of the Melbourne Cup contest. All winnings of course were returned to The Tatty Flag.

This weekend we are heading out to spend the night at Cape Evans next to Scott and Shackleton's huts. It will be an amazing experience – keep an eye out for more about that in next week's blog.