13/01/2007
Straight after finishing my last entry I was told by the station leader that I had one hour before I was leaving Mawson. I quickly got my stuff together (including my towel), jumped in a Hagglund and headed for the skiway. I then boarded one of two CASA planes and flew to a place called Richardson Lake at the foot of Mt Riiser-Larsen in Enderby Land (about two hours west of Mawson). I helped some fellow surveyors unpack their equipment, admired the view, took some happy snaps and then boarded the other CASA plane and flew to the Syowa station skiway. The pilot crew and I then climbed into a large Japanese helicopter which flew us to Syowa base on East Ongul Island just off the Antarctic mainland. We were rushed off the plane by a crowd of Japanese and escorted to a truck with an open back tray which we were directed to jump into. The rickety old truck then drove us along an extremely bumpy road to the main living quarters where we stopped.
Straight after finishing my last entry I was told by the station leader that I had one hour before I was leaving Mawson. I quickly got my stuff together (including my towel), jumped in a Hagglund and headed for the skiway. I then boarded one of two CASA planes and flew to a place called Richardson Lake at the foot of Mt Riiser-Larsen in Enderby Land (about two hours west of Mawson). I helped some fellow surveyors unpack their equipment, admired the view, took some happy snaps and then boarded the other CASA plane and flew to the Syowa station skiway. The pilot crew and I then climbed into a large Japanese helicopter which flew us to Syowa base on East Ongul Island just off the Antarctic mainland. We were rushed off the plane by a crowd of Japanese and escorted to a truck with an open back tray which we were directed to jump into. The rickety old truck then drove us along an extremely bumpy road to the main living quarters where we stopped.
I had less than one day at Syowa, and in that time I managed to have more fun than I had at Mawson in two weeks. My reason for visiting Syowa was to undertake a reconnaissance survey of a large (11m diameter) antenna they have on station. The antenna is used for Very Long Baseline Inferometry (VLBI) which, as the name suggests measures very long baselines. The VLBI observes pulses of energy from quasars in space. By observing these pulses of energy from two or more sites on the planet they are able to measure the distance between the antenna locations very precisely. That’s all well and good, you have this very precise distance between two points on the globe but where are the two points. That’s where I come in. I will perform a local tie survey at the VLBI antenna to determine the reference point (or the end of the very long baseline) to millimetre level precision, connecting the baseline to the ground. The Japanese have had trouble determining the reference point of the VLBI antenna at Syowa because it is housed in a dome (to protect it from the extreme Antarctic weather). In Australia we have developed a technique for measuring the antenna reference point indirectly and I went to Syowa to see if we could apply this technique there. I think we can and I will look to return to Syowa in the future.
That’s enough work. In my short visit I also managed to have some fun with the locals. They put on an impressive feast for us of Japanese curry, sushi, some sort of pork and lots of rice and soup. It was so nice to eat something different after the same old meals at Mawson. The people were fantastic. Most spoke fluent broken English and we had a great time trying to get our respective points across. Generally, they ran their station in a similar way to the Australians, though there were just a few differences which I’ll point out for your amusement.
Slippers. On entry into the main living quarters you remove your work boots and put on sandals. The Japanese make the sandals to suit their Lilliputian size feet and don’t really accommodate for the Brobdingnag giant that was I the Australian. With my heel hanging over the edge of the sandal and my toes squeezed into a fist I tippy-toed my way down the corridor to the mess (bar and kitchen). Before entering the mess though I had to kick off the sandals and put on a pair of little slippers. So walking through the buildings involved constantly throwing on and off different shoes.
That’s enough work. In my short visit I also managed to have some fun with the locals. They put on an impressive feast for us of Japanese curry, sushi, some sort of pork and lots of rice and soup. It was so nice to eat something different after the same old meals at Mawson. The people were fantastic. Most spoke fluent broken English and we had a great time trying to get our respective points across. Generally, they ran their station in a similar way to the Australians, though there were just a few differences which I’ll point out for your amusement.
Slippers. On entry into the main living quarters you remove your work boots and put on sandals. The Japanese make the sandals to suit their Lilliputian size feet and don’t really accommodate for the Brobdingnag giant that was I the Australian. With my heel hanging over the edge of the sandal and my toes squeezed into a fist I tippy-toed my way down the corridor to the mess (bar and kitchen). Before entering the mess though I had to kick off the sandals and put on a pair of little slippers. So walking through the buildings involved constantly throwing on and off different shoes.
The visit to the bathroom was an adventure in itself. More like an amusement park. I could wander around there for quite a while and be well entertained. The toilet is the main attraction with an armrest covered in buttons which perform a number of functions which you can only discover by trying. There were buttons for firing bursts of water and jest of air straight at the money spot with a level of precision I’d be happy with my work. Quite an exhilarating experience when you’re not ready for it. I had a couple of rides even when I didn’t need to go.
Our hosts opened up the bar for us and let us sample just about every type of Japanese beer and spirit on offer. I stayed up well passed my bed time laughing with my new friends. As the night was slowing down they pulled out a computer game which involves playing the drums to a beat (briefly seen in the movie Lost in Translation). The game is extremely Westernised with all the songs being well and truly familiar. I had a go, but was no match for my short friends who continued on into the night when I retired to my room. My bed could be considered interesting. It was pretty much a board with a sheet for a mattress. I slept extremely well and I’m pretty sure it straightened my back out.
Our hosts opened up the bar for us and let us sample just about every type of Japanese beer and spirit on offer. I stayed up well passed my bed time laughing with my new friends. As the night was slowing down they pulled out a computer game which involves playing the drums to a beat (briefly seen in the movie Lost in Translation). The game is extremely Westernised with all the songs being well and truly familiar. I had a go, but was no match for my short friends who continued on into the night when I retired to my room. My bed could be considered interesting. It was pretty much a board with a sheet for a mattress. I slept extremely well and I’m pretty sure it straightened my back out.
The next morning we were served a large breakfast with very small plates. I’m pretty sure they tried to make us feel at home by serving an English style meal. I enjoyed the novelty of eating bacon and eggs with chopsticks. I got busy working and also had a quick tour of the station before waving goodbye to my new friends as I was shepherded into a helicopter and flown off to the skiway.
We then took a 7 hour CASA flight to Davis station with a brief stop at the Mawson skiway to refuel. After the excitement of Syowa and a fairly late night I had a sleep on the floor of the aircraft (not allowed on commercial planes). We arrived at Davis at about two in the morning and after securing the plane made ourselves comfortable in the skiway accommodation, best described as a caravan. The pilots and I disposed of some of the alcohol our Japanese hosts had given us as departing gifts and drifted off to sleep. We were woken at midday by the sound of the helicopter landing as it came to pick us up and transport us down to Davis station. We quickly got all our stuff together and flew over the Vestfold Hills to Davis. I was greeted by the Davis station leader, and introduced to my new home. I spent the rest of the week settling into Davis, performing a few odd survey tasks on station and getting survey equipment ready for the next adventure into the deep field.
