24/01/2009
Two weeks were spent at Davis. Sitting around was a common pass time as well as bla-di bla bla bla ... Lets fast forward to the good bit ... We loaded up two helicopters and flew south-west from Davis along the coast of ice and glaciers cracking off into the ocean. The helicopters dropped two of us at Law-Racovita Base for a week of surveying in the Larsemann Hills. Law-Racovita consists of a hut, as well as two apple and two melon sleeping huts. The base was originally setup by the Aussies in the mid 80s. However, in 2006 the huts were presented to Romania to serve as their station when on Antarctica. The Romanians were not using the base this season so it was available as our work station for the week. The base is located towards the south of east Broknes Peninsula which also hosts the Chinese station Zhong Shan and the Russian station Progess II. Over one full week we ran a GPS campaign and undertook a precise height survey from Law base to Zhong Shan. The work kept us busy, but the real fun came in meeting new people from different countries and observing how they live in Antarctica.
As if working out of huts positioned alongside Russia and China was not enough we were also visited several times by the Indian Antarctic expeditioners who flew in on helicopters, piloted by a Kiwi and a Scot. A few tens of kilometres further to the west, India is preparing to build another station in the Larsemanns and were working in the area from their ship the Emerald Sea. The Indians also brought down on their ship an older scientist from Estonia who had arranged with the Romanians to stay at Law-Racovita. The Estonian scientist shared the base with us and we had a short ceremony when we raised our respective National flags. He spoke English well and was most welcome as he brought many Antarctic stories, and boxes of fresh food and alcohol brought down on the ship from South Africa. Just to add to the international flavour of the Larsemann Hills, the Russian and Chinese bases were also visited by His Serene Highness, Prince Albert II of Monaco who was doing a whirlwind tour of Antarctic research stations. We didn’t meet the Prince but we waved as he flew over head while we were working. Fitting.
During the week we were definitely in the thick of international Antarctic activity. Our work took us through and around Progress II and Zhong Shan. Working along the ridge overlooking the stations we couldn’t help but sneak a peak and watch the stations in action. The Russians were busy building new living quarters as their previous main living building was burnt down at the start of the summer. The Chinese work extremely hard and it was interesting to see how quickly building operations progressed while we were there. OH&S restrictions are not prevalent amongst the Chinese and they don’t muck around when it comes to getting a job done. Teams of builders walking the tightrope of steel frame beams, tens of metres high, was not uncommon. Both the Russians and Chinese were generous and friendly. We were taken on tours of both stations and shared cups of tea with the more confident English speakers. At Law base we had a few Russian visitors who we invited in for tea or beer, depending on the time of day. One evening we drank tea with two Ruskis who brought a guitar and played Russian folk songs. Tea was definitely the link that brought us all together. The offer of a simple cup of tea is universal and led to many interesting moments. I look forward to drinking more tea and seeing where the interactions take me in the future.
We finished our work, no worries, even though the Australian pilots came to collect us a day early because they were worried the weather would turn. It didn’t. After establishing ourselves as part of the community it was with some sadness that we were lifted out of the hills and flown back to Davis. That was the last of my big field trips for the season and I now face the challenge of being couped up on station for the next five weeks. Bugger!
I had been to the Larsemanns two years prior and had a great time then. It seems to be one of the places where I come away with fun stories. One evening I managed to sneak in a new contender for my top memorable/stupid moments. It just happened to be exactly one year ago to the day that I launched myself off Kawarau Bridge near Queenstown, New Zealand. That day I paid the exorbitant fee and swung on the bungy after briefly splashing through the cool running water of the cyan coloured river below. Well I think I topped it this time by going swimming with the Ruskis in the ice cold water of Antarctica as the snow was falling and the sun set for the first time for the season. Afterwards we were all up for a warm cup of tea.
