Ever wondered how Australian Antarctic expeditioners do Australia Day on the icy continent? Wonder no more! This year at Davis we spent Australia Day how many other Australians spend it, a swim at the beach for the brave, some beach cricket with the one hand one bounce and 6 and out rules in full force, and some good Aussie food cooked up by our awesome chefs and volunteer spit operators. Pies, sausage rolls, lamingtons, prawns, a lamb on the spit and a few quiet beers were enjoyed. The water temperature was slightly colder than what most of us are used to (around −1.4 degrees Celsius) which had us bringing out our inner Wim Hof. The sauna/spa was quite popular following the swim!
We had some curious penguins come and spectate the beach cricket and a few Weddell seals did some sunbaking while keeping an eye on the score.
We had the Monday public holiday off and this week we are preparing for the Aurora Australis to arrive for our end of summer resupply. It’s not long now until the summer expeditioners leave and it is just the 26 of us winterers holding the fort until sometime around mid-November which I’m sure will have its challenges but we are all looking forward to the experience.
Cameron Gray
Station Mechanical Supervisor
