A six day blizzard leaves the station covered in snow. There are photos from the field, plus Saturday night with expeditioners in their very worst attire.

Nick’s cartoon of the week

Nick gets a feeling he isn’t alone in hydroponics…

Davis after a six day blizzard

Last week expeditioners at Davis were exposed to six consecutive days of winds reaching up to 80 knots, which made getting around station both exciting and challenging. With the strong winds, heavy snowfall and low visibility it didn’t take long for blizz tails to form and the normally flat easy path we follow to work quickly changed.

When the wind and snowfall finally dropped back to normal levels we were able to see how much of the roads and buildings were covered under snow.

Social times

Saturday nights theme party was titled ‘Bad Taste’ and expeditioners were encouraged to wear their very worst attire. Whilst there were no prizes for ‘best dressed’ we’d like to congratulation and make a special mention of the following expeditioners for looking the part: Sarah, Alyce, Nick, Stu, Josh, Judy, Adam, Paul, Mark, Layla, Rob, Dom, Narelle, Dave, Craig, Lesley, Corey, PJ, Ali and Val.

Well done team for looking so comfortable, relaxed and normal.

Who’s who on station

Paul Stringer — Building Services Supervisor

What did you do before this?

I was a Quality Auditor/ Project Manager for the construction Industry, I am carpenter/builder by trade on the Gold Coast. I have been in construction since I left school quite a while ago.

Why Antarctica?

I was first attracted to Antarctic when I was at school, I thought I would like to work there but it never eventuated. When the opportunity came up to apply I thought why not! I applied and the rest is history.

Previous Antarctic experience?

Nil, this is my first trip. We will be here for around 12 months.

How will you spend your time down here?

Working, assisting in science projects, watching movies, playing darts: hopefully getting away to the outstations, exploring and taking advantage of one of the most fascinating places on Earth.

What will you miss?

I miss my family, trees, grass and the smell of the bush however, we have good communication here so it’s not too bad. I miss the beach and swimming but it won’t be long and we will be back into normal life again.

Best thing about being here

Having the opportunity to live in an environment that only a limited number of people have lived in. Experience all the Antarctic has to offer, the hostile weather, spectacular sunrises and sunsets, 24 hour daylight in summer and 24 hour darkness in winter, wildlife that appears not to be concerned that we are here. Working and living with such a diverse group of people, tradies, scientists, doctors, chef, engineers .

It is a great opportunity for me in construction, there are so many different types of buildings here on permafrost and construction methods, this all builds experience.

In the field

Following on from last weeks story written by Scientists Sarah and Alyce we’ve decided to post more sensational photos from the trip out to Ace and Organic Lakes.

on