Summer starts at Casey
The C-17 is back, and summer starts at Casey.
The start of summer is one of the big moments in the Antarctic calendar. This year at Casey it arrived from the sky, with an airdrop of critical supplies to get us ready for the season ahead.
The day took weeks of planning. We worked out what cargo was coming and when it would arrive, right down to how much tea and chocolate to bring on the day. My job was the radios and satellite comms, so we could pass weather conditions to the aircrew. We set up multiple different ways to get information out, so that whatever happened, we could still talk to the plane and get our cargo.
Paul (BOM Observer) and I left station the day before. On the drive out to the drop zone we saw one of the best sunsets of the year, and we had to pull over to take it in and get some photos for everyone back on station. At this time of year the sunsets go quicker than they did a few weeks ago, but they still last much longer than back home, so we had plenty of time to enjoy it.
At our little hut we set up, ran all our tests and got a good night’s sleep. We woke to perfect conditions, and they held all day.
Paul did weather observations through the morning while I ran final checks. Around lunchtime a line of vehicles appeared on the horizon. Soon after, most of the station arrived, ready to help bring everything in.
At about 2pm the silence was broken by a sound we hadn’t heard in a long time: jet engines in the distance, getting louder and louder. The C-17 made one pass overhead. On the second pass it sounded different, with the back door open! Hearing that, I knew it was happening. Then I looked up and saw parachutes drifting down through the cloud and landing right on target.
Once we got the all clear, everyone moved in and got to work. From above we must have looked like a line of ants on a huge white sheet of snow and ice. We loaded all 18 parachutes and their bundles of supplies and headed back to station.
Food was sorted first. The fresh fruit went straight to the kitchen and the rumored rock melons never made it. In their place we got mandarins and oranges which went down a treat. Next came the bags and bags of mail we’d all been waiting for. I've never seen so much mail in one place. Everything else could wait until the next day.
A big thank you from everyone at Casey to the team at Kingston who put it all together, and to the RAAF for making it happen and putting the bundles right on the mark - literally.
With fresh supplies in the store, Wilkins preparations well under way, and the first summer arrivals already here - and a lot of people not far off - the station is ready for the season ahead.
Tom Blunt
Comms Technician
