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Yesterday we kept the helicopters working all afternoon taking advantage of the good weather. When we finished at around five thirty we had flown off the vast majority of the Davis cargo, leaving us only a little to do when we return to Davis in a few days time. The day exceeded our expectations thanks to the good weather and the fact that the ship was able to get very close to the station. The helicopter pilots and the cargo teams on the ship and at the station did a superb job to maintain the momentum. We took onboard one person from Davis and two people from Mawson who flew in on the return leg of the CASA 212s. Overnight, in a ship that seemed a little empty, we sailed to a position fifteen miles north of Zhongshan. We passed the Russian research icebreaker Akademik Federov during the night with its big Russian helicopter hovering over it. The plan was for two of our helicopters to fly down the coast from Davis to meet us but in the morning the visibility is poor and we are waiting for better weather. Our nineteen Chinese colleagues are ready to go and as soon as we can we will fly them and their cargo in to Zhongshan station. We receive regular radio weather updates from the Chinese operators currently at Zhongshan. We are totally surrounded by white ice, with no dark water visible. The surface is only punctuated by the occasional berg and a few cracks across the surface. With the low cloud and reduced visibility the view all around is serene and somewhat eerie. The occasional penguin wanders past giving us scant regard. As I type the cloud is starting to lift and we can see two spectacular glaciers coming off the ice cap to our East into Amanda Bay. Hopefully the conditions will continue to improve and we will commence flying soon.
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.