One carpenter's journey from warm Queensland to the icy splendours of Mawson
What a journey it has been from a sunny and sandy island off Queensland to the frozen wonderland of Mawson research station, Antarctica.
I’m a part of the lucky 79th (ANARE expeditioners) that get to enjoy the magnificent environment that Mawson has in store for us. We’re only still getting our ‘Ice legs’ and it's breathtaking everywhere you look. The seals are so enjoyable to watch, just chilling out, sleeping away the arvo on the icy shores around station. The grumbly Adelie penguins are finishing their moulting and getting ready for the sea ice to form. The skuas that appear as you walk along West Arm hoping for an easy meal.
The sunsets that we get with their pinks, purples, oranges and reds are a great way to unwind, when watching after a day’s work. The auroras that appear which dance and dazzle us at night. There’s always one eye on the aurora map and weather just before bed so an alarm can be set.
Getting to do your field/survival training for the first time on the plateau behind Mawson is where the beauty of Antarctica continues. The mountain ranges, frozen lakes, ice cliffs, and the wind-swept plateau with its ever-changing shapes of ice and snow that cover it.
Back to the coastline, the sea ice is slowly forming in Horseshoe Harbour. As the days pass and it properly forms, this will open new environments and locations to witness and explore.
Our season is only just starting, and the amount of ‘WOW’ moments that are already numerous have left such an impression on me, while captivating my friends and family with the mesmerising beauty that Antarctica is.
James Herman, Carpenter.
