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Yesterday afternoon we skirted a huge tabular iceberg, about 80 kilometres long and came through the most concentrated section of ice on our satellite pictures. We steamed all night through the open water and by six this morning Australia’s most southerly Antarctic station was in plain view. It was a spectacular setting, a perfect still morning with the sun low over the dark Vestfold hills and the grey smudge of the Antarctic plateau ice cap visible on the horizon above. A minke whale swam out to meet us and it was fantastic to finally be at Davis after twelve days at sea. We pushed our way gently in to the weak band of fast ice adjacent to the station and before long the station leader had flown out to say hello. By nine thirty we were hard at work with the three helicopters buzzing back and forth with loads of people and their cargo. Those going to Mawson were flown directly to the Plough Island skiway three kilometres from the station where a CASA-212 aircraft was waiting to take them on to Mawson. We were able to watch from the ship the CASA’s climbing off to the west loaded with the people who had only recently been aboard with us. As I type now we have stopped for lunch having flown off 39 expeditioners. This includes the round trip projects and the incoming wintering party. This afternoon we aim to fly off as much of the Davis cargo as we can before setting course for Zhongshan.
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.