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The last 24 hours has mostly been spent pushing our way steadily through pack ice of varying densities. For the newcomers the vista is breathtaking. No photograph can do any justice when as far as the eye can see and in all directions are stark white floes against the dark background of the water. At times there is more ice than ocean. In half an hour spent on the upper decks you can be sure of seeing seals basking on the ice, petrels of various kinds and the occasional penguin. For the most part we have been able to maintain a steady speed. Yesterday afternoon we hit open ocean again for a while which raised our average speed further. Most people were woken this morning by a series of vibrations as we hit a section of more concentrated ice. We are through that now and the captain is often on the bridge picking the way around the bigger bergs and more concentrated sections. When we force our way through bigger floes the sensation is similar to being on a train that passes over a level crossing with the shuddering felt throughout the ship. This morning there was a berg on the horizon estimated to be around twenty five kilometres long. The reality seems to match the satellite pictures of the ice so we still expect to arrive at Davis on around the 20th. Last night we held the Aurora film festival where we watched six short ‘home’ movies created on the ship. The laughter and applause shook the ship as much as the ice and a compilation DVD will be a sought after souvenir of the voyage.
Map
A map showing Australia and Antarctica. The map shows the journey of one voyage that has occured in the season, with each route highlighted in a distinct colour.