Meditations on springtime down south, exotic ice creams, and the Steves ...

The turning of the seasons

Intermittent sunshine brings warmth and a freshness needed on a stale soul. Beauty is all around us here at Casey. Prehistoric slabs of granite bite into the cold of the Antarctic plateau, and show their might with the weathered peaks, cracked and disfigured. As expeditioners we pass under their weary eyes, as no more than a blink, a speck of sand blown through the blizzard of time. Beauty down here is rugged, harsh and unforgiving. It’s this type of beauty that leaves me with a sense of awe and respect, and an intense desire to immerse myself in it. Getting beyond the confines of our 5-star accommodation to view this wonderland is no mean feat. Not only must we prepare for the worst-case scenario with such things as a full survival kit and communications, but the stars and planets must also align. What I’m saying here is, as much as most of us would like to get out every weekend, nine times out of ten the weather prevents us from doing so.

This is how it is here at the moment. We can smell summer coming, we can taste the long days of warm sunshine, and we can hear the calls of returning wildlife. But it’s just the beginning of spring, and windy, cold and snow-filled days still surround our best intentions. The weather is talked about constantly. Trips planned and cancelled, reasoned by isobars and hectopascals. We try our best, but for the past 6 months, high winds and blowing snow have been the norm. Recently things have taken a turn for the better.

-Justin Chambers

Casey's continuing "Advent calendar of ice cream"

Updating our progress towards 100 days of ice creams:

Cadburys has Marvellous Creations; so too do the folks at Casey station. And these creations are very cold and very marvellous.

Our latest 1 litre tasters have comprised of:

  • Blueberry pancake and maple syrup
  • Vegan peanut butter and chocolate
  • Ginger beer
  • Black bean and Coca-Cola
  • Banoffee pie
  • Caramel popcorn
  • Saffron and cardamom
  • Turkish delight and pistachio
  • Irish cream and coconut
  • Jam doughnut
  • Sambuca and blueberry
  • Spiced sticky date
  • Frangelico affogato

The future looks very interesting for Casey's tastebuds, if these are anything to go by.

A tale of two Steves

Meet Steve, one of our local Casey carpenters.

Steve was born in New Zealand, his first car was a Ford Capri, his favourite colour is red and his favourite band is Midnight Oil.

Also meet STEVE (Strong Thermal Emission Velocity Enhancement), a visitor to Casey Station last week.

Steve is a quiet and colourful character. He lives in Taree and likes to frequent Rarotonga.

The other STEVE lives 100s of km above us near the Kármán Line.

Both Steves (apparently) like to hang out near the polar regions, and have graced us with their presence this winter.

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