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Today the Aurora Australis successfully supported two key end of season activities for Mawson Station. After a calm evening spent out amongst the pack ice, around mid-morning the vessel made its way towards Welch Island at the entrance to Kista strait, the narrow body of water which separates Mawson station on the Antarctic mainland from several small islands running in a line parallel to the coastline from the South West to the North East. Although the forecast conditions were expected to see wind speeds abating through the morning, by 1100 they were still around 25 – 29 knots, so the vessel remained outside the strait until after lunch.
By 1230 local Mawson time (1830 Hobart time / AEST), we were again underway, entering Kista strait to arrive in position just to the West of Horseshoe Harbour and the station as the wind finally dropped to a comfortable 16 knots. Expeditioners had been briefed on the days' plan that morning, and Aurora's main passenger deck (D-deck) had been a hive of activity as 14 expeditioners packed belongings and cleaned their cabins ready for their departure from the vessel. The Jet Barge (a large, powerful twin-engined watercraft with an expansive flat deck for transporting cargo) was discharged along with an IRB, and after ensuring station personnel would be ready onshore – the two craft began shuttle runs to deliver 11 'winterers' and their baggage to the station.
A group of station personnel welcomed their new colleagues and began carrying their gear along the rocky shore of West Arm back to station. In the background, two small dark spots moved steadily across the nearest slopes of the ice plateau, stopping as they approached its rounded crest. Viewed through binoculars from the vessel's bridge, the two spots turned out to be two further station personnel who'd taken quad bikes up to the top of the plateau to record the Aurora's arrival in the strait. After a long summer season of activity, exploration and with the chefs, tradespersons, meteorologists, field training specialists, scientists and station managers having developed a strong sense of community – the arrival of the familiar and unmistakable orange icebreaker must seem bitter sweet to many at Mawson. The Aurora's presence heralds the end of numerous project activities which had been months or even years in planning, and many more months in execution. It also signals a disruption to the station's 'routine' and lifestyle developed over the summer months, with many new personnel arriving and those outgoing personnel all too aware that the date for departure from their amazing Antarctic home is now fast approaching.
The winds continued to drop throughout the afternoon, so once the transfer of the ingoing personnel to station was complete, the IRB then returned to the vessel to collect three more expeditioners, before proceeding to nearby Bechervaise Island under the escort of the barge. For the small scientific team of two on the island – the ship's arrival has been warmly welcomed, as one of the team suffered a minor injury in recent weeks which prevented them from completing their studies of the Adelie penguin rookery which covers much of the island's Western shore. As luck would have it, one of the senior watercraft team from the vessel is an experienced scientist from the same team back in Hobart, and well familiar with the long-running study. She, and two more eager expeditioners from the vessel, will provide the additional manpower to enable the project to complete its datasets and pack up all of the samples and equipment in preparation for the cargo operations to occur over the next week.
A thin layer of sea ice still fills most of Horseshoe Harbour adjacent to station, which is preventing the vessel from commencing resupply in earnest for the time-being. However, two days of stronger wind conditions will arrive from Sunday morning – hopefully aiding in the deterioration and dispersal of the remaining ice before the vessel returns on Tuesday. The Aurora remained opposite the station for the remainder of the afternoon, until at 1830 the Master instructed crew and watercraft operators to prepare to load the barge and IRB aboard. Shortly afterwards, a rumbling from below decks was both heard and felt as the vessel's engine was run up, and eddies of dark water disturbed by the powerful propeller appeared at the surface in a curlicue of fine bubbles. Once again the vessel departed Mawson for open waters.
Those yet to have had the chance to visit these Southern extremes, might imagine that living or working amongst such impressive scenery all day could eventually dull the effects of the Antarctic's unique and lonely magic. In fact, it's just the opposite, particularly on days as clear and sunny as today. Even with the abundance of sun experienced in the Southern hemisphere from October to March, the light does still change – and the visual impact of these subtle changes can be stunning. By 1700, the winds which had only hours before whipped waves into a white-capped frenzy had disappeared, allowing the now calm, dark waters to reveal the flawless reflections of the dark rocky shoreline, or the graceful angles and carvings of ice shelves and minor glacial tongues. Vast areas of the icy plateau's face which had been flooded by light and seemingly featureless through the middle of the day, now took on equal parts sun and shadow to bring blue-grey definition to the extensive crevasse fields flowing slowly to the sea.
The highest peaks of the nunataks painted long fingers of shadow across the flat expanses of the ice plateau above us, and where there were no mountains – the plateau shimmered silver as the sun lowered.
The vessel cleared the strait and its outlying islands quite quickly, with a few plaintive cries from penguins swimming nearby the only sound to accompany our departure. We're now moving again through closely packed floes of broken pack ice which extend to a darkened horizon, a sign that a change to the fine conditions is now approaching. For the moment though, the Aurora is casting its own long shadow across the ice fields, which have themselves adopted a golden tinge as the sun finally sets.
Gold was also the colour of the pumpkin pie made this evening by one of the Aurora's long-serving Chefs, Lynette, following a Canadian recipe. Many Australians struggle with the concept of a dessert made from a 'vegetable', but those brave enough to give it a go tonight were richly rewarded. The sweet, spicy pie encased in thick pastry included nutmeg, cinnamon and ginger to balance the subtle flavour of the pumpkin, and when served with a scoop of vanilla ice-cream – it's hard to imagine anyone could pass it by. Thanks Lynette !!
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.