G’day from Mawson station, Antarctica. I go by ‘Stretch’ and I’m currently one of three plumbers living and working down here on the edge of nowhere. I hail from Mittiebah station on the Barkly Tableland in the Northern Territory. I have spent the last 35 years living and working all over regional NT as a ringer when I was younger and later as a plumber and gas fitter. I have lived my whole adult life in the harsh rural setting of the Australian outback and though I love the bush I decided to take the adventure of a lifetime and apply for a plumbing position in Antarctica. That was an easy sell after experiencing my umpteenth 50 degree Christmas day laying on a cool concrete floor under the ceiling fans.
I started this journey in Kingston, near Hobart, and was based down there for 13 weeks. This is where you get to meet your fellow expeditioners (that’s what they call us) and get put through the paces to train you up for the adventure down to the great south. This was my first time on a ship as we had a six-week journey on the icebreaker, stopping at both Casey and Davis on the way to our new home away from home, Mawson, and it was definitely a change from the norm.,
Now I have been here at Mawson station on the great eastern Antarctic plateau for over 130 days and things are all going well. Even though we are surrounded by ice as far as you can see, thing are always changing. We arrived to find 24 hr daylight and now today will be our last sunrise for some time. There was water in the bay, only to be replaced with half a metre thick of sea ice which will stay until we leave in March next year. They keep reiterating that it’s a challenge to live in such a small community of only 21 people, but for me its quite crowded as I am used to living with a community of only eight people.
I find the biggest challenge down here is the planning. You can’t go anywhere here without half a house strapped to your back and a thousand layers of clothing on so you don’t become a human popsicle. So opposite to life at home where if you are hot you can just jump in the creek, if there is still any water, or a quick splash in the cool waters of a turkey's nest to reign in the summer heat.
The work itself here is a steady routine and is the bread and butter for why we are here but, seeing the vast and unyielding greatness of the endless ice and snow, in contrast to the grassy plains of home, has been a great experience. Even though there is 10 times the infrastructure here compared to Mittiebah station, it still has a family home feel to it. Life is good and I’m still amazed at the view from my bedroom window of this white wonderland. I'm am looking forward to seeing my first colony of emperor penguins soon.
If you are feeling like a change then I urge you to give this a crack.
by Stretch, Plumber - Mawson
