In no particular order; I've spent some time at Fossil Bluff field station, I've been in the local paper, I've played another gig in the Rothera House Band, I've seen orcas and I've been up close to humpback whales!
First... orcas, or killer whales, as they are better known.Whales in Ryder Bay are spotted either by the beakers in the Bonner Lab or by the duty crew in the Ops tower. When whales are spotted a call goes out on the radios to all stations, then anyone who's interested legs-it down to the wharf.
By the time I got to the wharf there were already several people looking out excitedly across the bay, and for good reason.
One of our science boats was surrounded by orcas!! The orcas
were curious about the boat. When they had finished
investigating they swam towards the wharf, much to everyone's delight! It was a great photo opportunity, and everyone was pleased with their photos.It really brightened up the day.
That evening I was told that I would be flying to Fossil Bluff first thing in the morning.I was being sent down there to investigate and resolve a problem with the generator that supplies power to the cabin.
I thought I would only be there for one or two days; I ended up staying for eleven!! It was to be eleven days of peace, tranquility, solitude... and work!
Fossil Bluff is 225 miles south of Rothera, half way down the George IV Sound, and is used by BAS as an aircraft refuelling station and intermediate weather station. It is manned by just two or three personnel who are rotated throughout the summer. Back in the sixties, when it was first opened up, men used to spend 18 months at a time down there! The cabin itself is almost unchanged from the day it was first built, in 1961. It's a piece of living history.
Fossil Bluff got it's name because of all the fossils that are in abundance around the area
I flew down with pilot Dave Hardie. Yes, I flew the plane again. Well... most of the way, at least! I could get used to all this pilot stuff. It's great fun.I was dropped off at the snow runway (our Twin Otter planes are fitted with special skis) and drove on a skidoo, calmly and sedately, to the cabin whilst the plane was being refuelled. I was met by the three Bluff residents; Ian the field assistant, Dr Matt (thoroughly nice bloke), and Magda, the Polish mapping specialist. Dave took off to continue his mission, taking Ian with him as
co-pilot, and left me with the other two to deal with the task at hand.
I sorted out the genny fairly quickly and called back to base on the HF radio, Fossil Bluff's only link with the rest of the world. I was told that there wouldn't be any more flights to the Bluff for a couple of days, for weather and logistical reasons. Yaaayyyy!!! I'd been given a chance to experience Antarctica as they did back in the pioneering days of the sixties. I was delighted!My duties, along with the others there, were to send hourly weather reports back to Rothera to assist the pilots, refuelling the planes when they landed and assisting any scientists who may be carrying out the world class, ground breaking science that BAS is globally recognised for.
"Time off" was rota'd between us and in between weather "obs", cooking and assisting Magda I managed to do plenty of exploring.The scenery is quite spectacular, and I ended up walking along Belemnite Valley and climbing right up to the face of the glacier.
Some days were pretty cold, but the 24-hour daylight meant that I could wait for a break in the weather before venturing outside.I had a brilliant time at the Bluff, living as they did in the early years of Antarctic research. I didn't want to leave; I would gladly have stayed out there for a few months or more, but all too soon, they were calling for me to return to base.
I landed back at Rothera at about 2.15am. I immediately headed for the shower; I hadn't had one in almost two weeks, and I was minging!!! Yuk!!!
Then it was back to work, as usual....
I also had to fit in some rehearsals for the upcoming Gould Night gig.
Gould night is an annual event, when the American research ship the Laurence M Gould calls at Rothera. The ship's crew and scientists get a chance to stretch their legs on dry land for a while, and we offer them good ol' Rothera hospitality in the form of the annual soccer match challenge (which we won 2-0) and a right old knees-up of a party.
The mechanic's workshop was once again magically transformed into Ye Olde Twigg And Giggleberries (est. 2008), and has evolved into the best nightclub and drinking establishment in the whole of Antarctica!!Yes... everyone had a great time, and, yes... I felt a little bit fragile the following morning!!
On Sunday evening the radios went again... "Attention all stations...whale feeding off the wharf!!"
Everyone grabbed coats, hats and cameras and made their way down to the wharf.
When we got there we found a lone young humpback whale lazily feeding on the krill which is abundant in the waters around here. I took my camera from my pocket and turned it on.
AAAARRRGGGHHHH!!!!.... the battery was dead!!! I cursed my luck and could only stand and watch as the giant animal ate his dinner!!!
We watched, mesmerised, for about an hour, as the young whale gradually ate his way towards the southern horizon and disappeared from view. It was a real treat to see a humpback whale so close.
Monday evening, same announcement on the VHF radios..."Attention all stations...whales feeding off the wharf!!". Sightings on consecutive nights!
Again, the whale lovers headed for the wharf. This time I made sure that my battery was fully charged.
There were two whales this time, feeding quite close to the shore. I made sure I got plenty of photos this time.
Then I was fortunate enough to get a chance to get into one of our boats and head out across the bay to see them even closer. The whales knew we were there but they didn't seem to care. What a privilege it was to see these magnificent animals up close.Finally, by popular request, more penguin stuff.
I saw this one when I went for a walk around the point. It must have been Ruby's cousin, so I named her Megan.
I saw Megan again a few days later. She had found Ruby and they were playing together, making a lot of noise... just like two little girls I know...
