It takes a lot of cargo to feed and shelter an Antarctic Station for a year

Delivery for Davis

In November the 79th ANARE arrived at Davis Station, and along with the fresh-faced expeditioners was 12 months’ worth of supplies and cargo. Close to 490 tonnes of cargo was unloaded to replenish the station.  

The cargo that the team unpacked is for various ongoing projects and general station upkeep and maintenance, with most of the smaller items being stored in the station Green Store. The Green Store is essentially a personalised hardware store for the trades teams to go shopping for their parts.

Within this massive amount of cargo destined for Davis was; 8,280kg of fresh food, 8,860kg of frozen food and 14,880kg of dry food. The chefs on station do a great job keeping the morale on station high and the expeditioners well fed. From previous seasons I’ve seen first hand how they can turn food that’s been on station for 12-18 month into something amazing.

It took a hard working and motivated team to unpack those reefers (temperature controlled containers) of food, it is estimated that in one day they unpacked over 10 tonnes of frozen meat and vegetables (8,860kg of frozen Davis food and over 2 tonnes of frozen food destined for Mawson Station).

So far, the season has started off well, plenty of work is underway and multiple flights have been conducted between Davis-Mawson/Casey-Davis. Those flights from Davis to Mawson have moved over 5,300kgs of cargo. which is a great effort from those involved, to name a few:  The Helicopter Resources team, Communications Officers, Bureau of Meteorology, Air Ground Support Officer’s, Kenn Borek flight crew and the Station Supply Officers.

- Davis Station Supply Officers

Racks of pallets stacked neatly in a warehouse environment
Racks of pallets stacked neatly in a warehouse environment
11 expeditioners wearing high visiblity clothing pose for a photo inside a cramped refrigeration space
A large group of people wearing high visibility winter clothes stand on sea ice in front of colourful station buildings with a large group of penguins standing to one side
A medium sized, red and white plane sits in an open area of sea ice.
A group of three Adelie Penguins standing on snow covered ice
A crane is fixed to a white temperature controlled container sitting in front of a large green building with a bright blue sky behind.

Frosty 5km

This week at Davis we launched our very own Antarctic Running Club with the first-ever ‘Frosty 5km’, our twist on the classic parkrun. It’s planned as a weekly summer event, with perhaps a bit of juggling to work around the weather.

The aim is simple: encourage people to get outside, stretch their legs, and enjoy some very fresh air on a Sunday afternoon. Ten participants joined the inaugural event — some ran, others jogged, and a few chose a relaxed walking pace. No matter the speed, everyone enjoyed the route along Dingle Road, taking in the striking scenery of rocky outcrops in one direction and icebergs in the other.

Nathan, one of our summer electricians, took out line honours. However, some friendly controversy has arisen about whether the course truly measured 5km — and there’s only one way to settle the score. We’ll be lining up again this weekend to see whether Nathan can hold his spot on the podium, or whether Steve the Forecaster can see justice prevail.

An expeditioner dressed in all black with a white baseball cap runs from left to right along a road in a rocky landscape
A group of expeditioners run towards the camera, up a slight incline in a roacky landscape
Two expeditioners run along a dirt road, left to right of screen. The second expeditioner has both arms raised in celebration
Two expeditioners in high visibility tops approach, the one on the left has both arms raised in celebration
Two female expeditioners approach the top of a staircase, the onle on the left is gicing a double thumbs up
A group of ten people in athletic wear stand in a line in front of a green building
A runner gives a thumbs up to the camera whilst running up a path in front of sea ice

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