This week, the 2017 winter team reflects on six months on Macquarie Island.

6 months on Macquarie Island

This past week officially marked the six month (halfway point) for the 70th ANARE Macquarie Island winter team.

Reflecting on the last six months, the common theme around the station has been ‘where did the last six months go!?’ It has been a busy, fun filled, and highly productive Australian Antarctic Program season thus far for all on station.

Below is a selection of the many great highlights over the last six months:

  1. Farewelling the Aurora Australis and officially commencing our season on 26 March 2017.
  2. Enjoying over 30 fun and unique social events including clown themed birthday parties, Premium Cinema, Morris dancing, Oktoberfest, progressive work place drinks, trivia nights, disco parties, and a fondue night to name but a few! All of which featured amazing cuisine thanks to our fantastic chef Nick.
  3. Strong ongoing support of 13 specialised Macquarie Island based science based projects.
  4. A fantastic midwinters day (21 June 2017) featuring a swim and amazing formal function.
  5. A highly productive season of field operations, with over 50 field trips supporting various science outputs and improving field hut facilities across the island.
  6. The crazy 48-hours spent writing, filming, and editing the epic Macquarie Island short film ‘Some Good, Some Bad, Some Ugly’ for the annual Antarctic Film Festival.
  7. Excellent outcomes for key Macca wildlife projects including the recent successful completion of the northern giant petrel census and commencement of the elephant seal census.
  8. The beauty and (sometimes) brutal Macquarie Island weather featuring fleeting sunshine, epic snowfalls, auroras, and frequent gale force winds.
  9. Numerous successful infrastructure improvements and ongoing maintenance on station and in the field.
  10. Building a fun community of 15 like–minded souls and sharing many memorable moments.

We hope you’ve enjoyed following our journey so far as much as we have living it. We look forward to many more memories in the coming six months.

Kyle (Station Leader) — 70th ANARE Macquarie Island 

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