Broadcasting live from Radio VNJ - Casey Station, it’s the Communications Operator trio: Bel, Peta and Tom. GOOOOOOOOOD MORNINGGGGGG FROM CASEY STATIONNNNN! ‘VNJ Casey’ is here to regale you the tales from the past 7 days. Leading headlines this week include: Massive Grey bird touches down, Chopper Ops are a-go, elite Antarctic weather hits town, and the Silver Chalet: The hottest ticket in town.

From blizzard to bliss

Broadcasting live from Radio VNJ - Casey Station, it’s the Communications Operator trio: Bel, Peta and Tom.

GOOOOOOOOOD MORNINGGGGGG FROM CASEY STATIONNNNN!
‘VNJ Casey’ is here to regale you with tales from the past seven days.
Leading headlines this week include: 'Massive grey bird touches down', 'Chopper ops are a-go', 'Elite antarctic weather hits town', and 'Silver chalet: The hottest ticket in town'.

Let's kick off with the first story of the week:

Massive grey bird touches down
This week brought excitement from above, with the arrival of the third C-17 flight. Watching that massive bird touch down is always a spectacle, and a reminder that even the most remote places on earth are still connected to the rest of the world. With this flight we welcomed a few new faces to the Casey fam-bam and two aviation toys. This brings us to our second news story of the week.

Chopper ops are a-go.
Not to be outdone, but our second story is pretty epic. Our relatively new helicopters made their speccy entrance, landing on the pads with precision as if straight out of an Antarctic action film.
Unfortunately (for us) these two toys will only be in town for a short time. They are scheduled to head out to the Denman Terrestrial Camp (DTC) located at Bunger Hills, about 450 kilometres from Casey research station, before returning to Casey again in the new year. More info on the project here: https://www.antarctica.gov.au/science/climate-processes-and-change/antarctic-palaeoclimate/denman-terrestrial-campaign/.

Now let's throw to the weather. After a week of wild blizzards that kept everyone tucked up inside, the skies have finally cleared, and we soaked up a weekend of elite Antarctic weather. Some might say its been an absolute  pearler! Blue skies, minimal wind, and sunshine make everything feel just a little more magical down here.


HOT OFF THE PRESS: Wilkins Runway Closed. These balmy temps over the past week have led to the seasonal closure of the Wilkins runway - meaning we are now trapped (until late January). 

And what goes well with great weather? Outdoor activities!
Now to our Entertainment news for this week.

The Silver Chalet: The hottest ticket in town.
For those craving adventure, the Silver Chalet has been the winning ticket. Overnight campers have braved the frosty backyard for an unforgettable camping experience.
With the almost 24/7 sun blazing overhead and the icy silence all around, they got a true taste of Antarctica’s rugged beauty.

Weather news dictates life news down here and our recent blizzard has again totally changed sea ice conditions around station, most notably on the Shirley Island Passage – a short ice crossing to the nearby Shirley Island which is always teeming with cute penguin friends. While doing sea ice drilling on this passage, we were greeted by multiple rafts of penguins jumping out of the ice, very close to where the walking route was. Unfortunately, the impacts of the blizzard have led to the closure of access to Shirley Island, but we can still get close to the ice to view the wildlife that congregates there.


We have some incredible photos this week—penguins launching from the sea, helicopters on the pad, the Silver Chalet glowing in the soft Antarctic ‘evening’, and of course, that iconic C-17 arrival.

And finally, for your fun fact of the week. Yes, I know what you were thinking: “What the heck is ‘VNJ Casey’?”
VNJ Casey is the call sign name for Casey Station. Call signs are a unique series of letters and numbers used to identify a station, as designated by the Australian Communications and Media Authority (ACMA).

From snowstorms to sunshine, it’s been another week of unforgettable moments on station.
Here’s to soaking up every moment of this beautiful weather while it lasts!

*Cue credit music*

Image of Yellow Building with sign 'Radio VNJ' - This is the Operations Building at Casey Station.
Image of RAAF C17 aircraft on ice runway with a Green Hagglund adjacent. Background shows grey sky. Foreground is snow.
Image of white BK117 Helicopter centres the image. White snow in the foreground, bright blue sky as the backdrop.
Image of 6 people standing next to the Casey station signpost.
Image of Silver Chalet: a metal shipping container converted to a hut. Foreground has snow and grey rocks. The mid-ground has a deep blue body of water with icer bergs clustered together. The background is distant snow with rocks.
Close-up image of a South Pole Skua mid-flight.
Image of four Adelie penguins on the edge of the snowy peninsular. Ocean water fills the background.
Close-up image of an Adelie penguin running on the snow.
Image of four Adelie Penguins leaping out of the ocean onto the snow. The foreground displays snow with a hiking pack resting on the ground. The mid ground features the penguins as the focal point of the image. The background hosts the ocean with ice cliffs.
Image of an AAD expeditioner standing to the right side of the image in yellow survival clothing staring out to the water. The background of the image is the ocean dotted with icebergs in the distance.
Image of a seal sleeping in the sun on the snow.
Image of an Adelie penguin walking away from the camera toward a green building (Green Store). The image features the Casey Station Signpost and flagpole with the Australian flag.
Image of a RAAF C17 aircraft coming in for landing. The background of the image features small colourful buildings with drifting snow creating haze.
Image of three people on fat-tyre bikes and one person running on the Ski Loop. The people are framed by rocks and snow in the fore and background.
Image of a white BK117 Helicopter to the left side of the image. Blue sky and water fill the background with beaming white snow contrasting in the foreground.
A close-up image of the BK117 Helicopter.
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