This afternoon (Saturday) all the summering
team from Davis station moved aboard the Aurora Australis, so it’s now a little
bit crowded with an extra 60 – 70 people including two extra people sharing my
cabin. Resupply activities are almost over now. We still have to bring some
more RTA (Return to Australia) on board as well as clear the heli deck of two
Hagglunds and other Mawson equipment to make room for the two squirrel helicopters
we are bringing on board. These will have their rotor blades folded so they can
be stored in the hanger. Hopefully while at Mawson I will get to make use of
these helicopters to fly heavy batteries up to mountain top radio repeater
sites saving me from having to manually carry them.
We are hoping to depart Davis station
Sunday afternoon and arrive at Mawson on Tuesday. During the voyage we will
trawl for krill to fill the research tanks back at Kingston. Kingston is where the
Australian Antarctic Division’s head quarters are located in Hobart. I have volunteered
to help the krill scientist, so I guess I won’t be getting much sleep on the
voyage between Davis and Mawson as they trawl for krill late at night. Resupply
at Mawson station is much smaller than Davis station with only 100 tons of
supplies and equipment to be offloaded and 250,000 liters of diesel. Hopefully
once at Mawson I will move ashore right away so I can complete a proper and
thorough handover with the outgoing winter crew.
Water
temp -0.3 degree
Air
temp -1.45 degree
Wind
W @ 5 knots
Lon 77.93E & Lat 68.57S
Lon 77.93E & Lat 68.57S
Distances from Australia
Stations and Territories in Antarctica
Mawson Buildings and Structures
Mawson Station Station Limits
Mawson Station Recreation Limits
Kellas Islands
Good to see all is fine Craig blog is great. We are in Vic now near the SA border.
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