There is a big, red ship currently sitting at the wharf in Hobart. On Tuesday the 5th of December I’m meant to get on this ship and it is going to take me, along with about 100 others, across the Southern Ocean to Antarctica. A voyage which takes about two weeks. I’m not sure why the ship is red, maybe so it goes faster. It could be a three week journey otherwise. I’m not sure how I will go with seasickness. I don’t have a lot of experience on the water. Once when I was rowing down the Yarra in Melbourne it got a bit choppy and I didn’t feel too good. I could be in big trouble. I have been working on a little mantra, which I plan to chant to myself while on board, which goes "Don’t vomit, don’t vomit, don’t vomit". However, a lot of people have told me it is all psychological so I have changed my chant to "Don’t think about vomiting, Don’t think about vomiting". Hopefully, it works. Otherwise, I’m loading up on drugs for the return trip. Seriously, the boat is an impressive sight especially when you know you are about to get on it and travel to the bottom of the world.
Work is sending me to Antarctica to do some survey tasks. Geoscience Australia routinely send down surveyors to undertake different survey duties throughout the Australian Antarctic territory. This year, I’m one of the lucky ones. We have been assigned an abundance of tasks, possibly more than can be done in the time we are there (just the 2006/07 Summer), although I’ll give it a crack. Excuse the next bit where I will list some of the work, this is more for my own personal reference at the end of the trip. I’ll see what did and didn’t get done. Hopefully, more on the ‘did’ side. A brief list includes updating deep field permanent GPS site equipment, setting up new permanent GPS sites in the middle of nowhere, visiting the Japanese Syowa base to do a quick reconnaissance survey of the VLBI antenna, maintenance surveys of the permanent GPS sites at two of the Australian bases (Davis and Mawson), more equipment upgrades, tide gauge levelling, surveying ground control for aerial imagery and other non-surveying scientific tasks. Most of the work we are doing is relatively simple, it is the location which makes it exciting. We will get to visit some of the most remote, pristine and amazing parts of the world. Someone has to do it.
"It's a dangerous business going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to."
This week I stepped out my front door and found myself starting fires, putting out fires, doing doughnuts on a quadbike around one of the Big Brother ex-housemates, drinking Tassie beer, eating spectacular eye fillet steak in Salamanca and looking out over all of Hobart. This was all part of the pre-departure training held at the Australian Antarctic Division. The main aspect of the training was safety and all that kinda stuff but it really just provided a chance to meet a lot of the people who will be on the voyage down south. Lots of people doing interesting and exciting things in Antarctica. Geologists, biologists, chemists, pilots, chefs, tradesmen, weather forecasters, TV crews, etc. Personally, I got a bit tired of being friendly with people and telling them what I was up to on the ice. Unfortunately, that was only three days of three months I will be spending with these people. This could be a long trip. Hobart is a nice place. Right on the water, looking up to Mount Wellington, lots of parkland and old buildings, great places to eat and drink, and a lot of friendly good looking people. It’s hard to believe they are all brothers and sisters.
I have been told umpteen stories and odd facts about Antarctica, but I’ll save them for when I’ve experienced them. I have said my goodbyes to family and friends and trees. The parting words from my parents were the same as when I went up to work in the Northern Territory. "Don’t do anything stupid."
