Pre-embarkation leave
Wintering expeditioners are usually granted between five and seven days of pre-embarkation leave. This can prove to be a difficult time for loved ones and families: having said goodbye once, they are now faced with saying the 'final' goodbye.
During this leave, some partners and families choose to stay in Hobart and enjoy the 'final' days together as a holiday. It is also an ideal time for your partner and family to meet other expeditioners, their partners and families, and Divisional staff, and to become more familiar with things Antarctic by visiting the Antarctic Division's headquarters at Kingston. Partners and families who participate in this arrangement are usually left feeling more a part of the adventure, and they feel comfortable contracting the Division as well as other expeditioners' families.
However, due to family and schooling commitments it is not always possible to spend time together in Hobart, so some choose to have this holiday time when the expeditioner returns.
It is entirely up to those to decide the best way to handle this leave time and the arrangements for the day of departure.
