In a change of tack this season all the winter crew except our Doctor (poor Malcolm) arrived by plane, instead of on the Aurora Australis (the big orange ship). This was a potentially uncertain decision as in Antarctica, the best laid plans can quickly come undone due to the harsh and unpredictable nature of the environment. We could have been stuck at either Casey or Davis for weeks waiting for a weather window. However, with a great deal of planning, many crossed fingers and some significant sacrifices to the weather gods, the planets aligned and the journey was completed surprisingly quickly within five days.
The first leg of this epic journey was a four and half hour flight from Hobart to Wilkins (the ice runway located about three hours’ drive from Casey station) on an Airbus A319. It started out like any other early morning international flight with bleary eyed passengers queuing for check in, hunting for coffee and moving through customs. Upon boarding, it quickly became apparent that this was not your regular flight. There were no assigned seats, people were chatting excitedly and almost everyone was holding at least one camera. Then, prior to landing, we had to change into our survival gear ready to disembark in Antarctica.
On the ground at Wilkins we became baggage handlers helping to unload cargo, before waving goodbye to expeditioners headed home to Australia on the return flight. We got to spend some time in the Wilkins international terminal, a shipping container decked out with a heater, some chairs and tea and coffee. It is actually pretty flash when you consider just how far from internal plumbing you really are.
Those of us heading on to Davis boarded a United States C130 Hercules for the second leg of the trip from Wilkins Aerodrome to Woop Woop, the ski landing area on the plateau near Davis. For anyone who hasn’t travelled on a C130, ‘web’ seats are arranged along the sides of the aircraft facing in and cargo is stored along the centre of the plane. They are loud, really loud, and ear plugs come as standard issue. However, they are relatively quick with a flying time of about two and a half hours for 1400 km.
After emerging from the Hercules at Woop Woop there was another flight to Davis station. This one was on a squirrel helicopter and provided some spectacular views of Davis station and the surrounding Vestfold hills. Due to weather, we had a short delay at Davis, but no one was complaining about the chance to spending a few days looking around and helping out at Davis.
The final leg of this multi aircraft crossing was completed in a Canadian Twin Otter. The size of this plane meant that we needed two trips to ferry the eleven of us plus our gear to Mawson. Luckily, the first of these flights was on the Monday afternoon and the second was able to leave the following morning. All I can say about this flight is, “Wow!” The weather was perfect and the low flying height of this aircraft allowed for some magnificent views over the spectacular Amery ice shelf, and along the stunning Lars Christensen Coast to Mawson.
