The Revival

Friends! Readers!

Hi!

It's been a while.

Here's some of what's happened since we last spoke:
I was in Antarctica.
I got on a ship to leave Antarctica.
We crashed the ship...

Oops

... I was back in Antarctica.
Party on station and show off to new friends for a week.

Crowded now

Helicopter ride out to a Japanese ice-breaker.
Party on ice-breaker for a week.

Hackey sack = party

Helicopter ride to Casey station.
Party on Casey station for a night.

See? Hackey sack = party!

Then ride in RAAF cargo jet (C-17) with three helicopters sharing my space back to Hobart.

Too awesome to caption.

Yep, that was a full-on time. If you're very lucky I might one day do a full write up.

So so so! There's a whole lot of intervening adventures between then and now for sure. Hurt myself in North America, Europe, and Australia. Camped, couch surfed, live in hotels, made all sorts of amazing friends (you know who you are). And through it all, you know what I missed?

Being bastard cold and miserably wet. 

Well... not really. But I did miss the adventure that working for the Australian Antarctic Division facilitates.  

Solution? Apply for a job in January 2017, sign a contract on 31 July 2017, board a ship on 9th March 2018, hello new home on the 12th!

And what a home it is.

Sure, she's cold (normally 0-8°C) and damp (some form of precipitation every day!).
Sure, the accommodation is riddled with asbestos.

Sure, it's a tiny speck in the middle of the Southern Ocean, prone to inundation and earthquakes, four days sail from the nearest help, with a tenuous internet connection and 13 other social misfits sharing my space for the next 12 months.

But it's beautiful. And it's wild. And for the next year.... it's mine. 

Here's a taste of what's to come.

LARCs loaded on the Aurora Australis for a amphibious resupply.

First sighting of my new home!

My view to see the ship off home.

And some of the locals who've visited me.

Some of them sleep a lot.

Others like to parade.

And pose.

The local big boys are surprisingly stealthy. 

Fur seals are a bit more active, local dogs. 

And this is home!

And station from the other direction.