Just like arriving in any new part of the world, it’s great to have some ‘locals’ show you around. So when the opportunity arose to explore the frozen fjords of the Davis area on quad bikes, I jumped at it. Our guides were Tim, last year’s winter carpenter, and Bob, last year’s winter Climate Processes Change (CPC) engineer. The two ‘tourists’ were Cam, summer carpenter, and myself, summer chef. Our first stop was a pod of Weddell seals with their young. We then made our way up to Bandits Hut, which was to be home for the night. Located on an island with stunning views over the massive bergs frozen in the sea of white that makes up ‘Iceberg Alley’.
Spending the evening sitting outside watching the sun skirt around the horizon of the polar plateau has to be my highlight of the summer so far. Next morning we zig-zagged our way through the icebergs to visit a cairn left by early explorers back in 1939, an Adelie penguin colony and then topped it of with a tour of the fabled jade berg of Davis.
If you are ever in the area I can highly recommend ‘Tim & Bob’s Overnight Adventures’ with a solid five star rating. Because you just can’t beat local knowledge.
Gavin