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The Aurora Australis finally arrived in the vicinity of Mawson Station this morning, with expeditioners & crew waking to a slight jolt or shudder as the vessel made its way slowly but steadily through the extensive fields of broken pack ice towards a large polynya (an area of open water surrounded by sea ice – very much like an enormous lake), which bordered the coastline around Mawson Station.
It might seem strange that those aboard the vessel spent the first day of February, usually associated back home in Australia with scorching temperatures and long dry periods, amongst large ice floes and unbelievably clear minus 1.5 degree Antarctic waters. But Antarctica hadn't completely forgotten that it was still summer - greeting us with clear blue skies and a bright sun, and making it difficult to walk out onto the upper decks without sunglasses due to the intense reflection from the ice floes which surrounded the vessel.
Those who'd stayed up late into the evening the night before to take in the best views of row upon row of enormous grounded bergs within iceberg alley, might be forgiven for thinking that they'd seen the best of Antarctica's scenery. The Mawson region however, quickly proved them wrong. From our vantage point around 20 nautical miles out from the station, the enormous Antarctic plateau stood before us as an intimidating and brilliant white presence, building gently from the coast to hundreds of metres above sea level, and stretching out in either direction to dominate the skyline to our South and West. The majestic massif of Mount Henderson - its brown flanks still in shadow in the morning light - and several of its sister peaks, were the only features large enough to disrupt the white landscape. Despite their own height and bulk however, the dark peaks and ranges only served to remind those viewing them of the sheer size of the ice plateau, for only the top third of each was visible – their lower sections having been consumed entirely by the enveloping ice cap long ago.
These are 'Nunataks' – mountains swallowed by ice, rarely encountered elsewhere – but more common in Antarctica where the ice is the prevailing feature.
While many expeditioners had joined the Aurora's bridge crew early for this last section of our transit to Mawson Station, unusually for the voyage - very few were speaking, perhaps overwhelmed by the sheer size and beauty of the scene before them. It would take three more hours sailing directly towards the station before it's multi-coloured buildings and tall wind turbine could reveal themselves from behind several small islands and icebergs. Even as we approached, the ice loomed large above us, quickly hiding all but the very top of Mount Henderson from our sight as we neared the base of the plateau.
After confirming arrangements with the Station crew, the Aurora made its final approach to stand off West Arm, a long finger of rock which borders Horseshoe Harbour in front of the station. A small shore party had come out to the end of the arm to greet the vessel, and assist one of our expeditioners ashore from the vessel's IRB. Andrew Plumridge is a senior tradesperson from the Australian Antarctic Division's headquarters in Hobart, and during the resupply operation will be performing essential technical analysis and maintenance upon Mawson's wind turbine, which can generate a significant proportion of the station's power needs throughout the year.
Following Andrew's safe delivery ashore, the vessel departed to return through the polynya to the pack ice, which we'll be making our way through slowly overnight before returning to support further station-based activities tomorrow. As twilight fell over the ship and the surrounding coastline, a few of the smaller but no-less significant features of this unique environment came into view - groups of Adelie and Emperor penguins. The Emperors dwarf their comical little cousins, but they nonetheless seem to enjoy one-another's company as they preen themselves and take the chance to rest on the larger ice floes we pass. It's impossible to tell whether they're curious about the ship and the even taller, 'brightly coloured penguins' standing on the upper decks taking photos – but one things is certain, they're completely oblivious to the fact that they live in what must be the most spectacular place on Earth.
Cheers
Mark & Fred
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.