What’s the question most often asked upon returning home to Australia from Antarctica?

What’s it like in Antarctica?

To answer this question I sometimes resort to a simple clique such as awesome or amazing, as to truly articulate a sentence that sums up a year spent living on an Antarctic station is no small task. There are many facets to this place.

To walk outside to greet a new day and have your lungs filled with the cleanest, coldest air your ever likely to experience. The stark silence, or the crystal clear view to the vast horizon and sunsets that stop you in your tracks to stand and enjoy them. Wildlife that can only be seen by those fortunate enough to come here. The night sky, so filled with stars they seem to overwhelm the darkness. Auroras that delight my sense of wonder unlike anything else I have ever seen. Antarctica is breathtakingly beautiful.

Then there is domestic side of life. I feel privileged to have spent this time with my fellow expeditioners in this unique place we call home: people of such varied talents and backgrounds. There is no sense of status or rank amongst us. There is no currency here other than the skills you bring and your willingness to contribute to the community as a whole. The stories, mateship and camaraderie is something to be treasured. I learn so much here, it fulfils a yearning for adventure, it makes me appreciate the icy ground beneath my feet.

So to answer that often posed question…

Antarctica is truly a wonderful place.

Tom

Kiss goodbye to MS

At Casey this week we have banded together in support of ‘kiss Goodbye to MS': a fundraising and awareness initiative to find a cure for multiple sclerosis.

To show our support we donned red attire and our talented chef even made a red themed morning tea to suit.

Other news

Other news around town includes Murray’s ongoing work on an igloo over on the Bailey Peninsula, steady progress on the CUB building with the electricians joining the fray, as well as a doppelganger party on the weekend in which the crew dressed up as a nominated lookalike. It was a big hit.

on