The Shirley Island Penguins… returning soon :)

Antarctica, Photography, Wildlife

It’s been a long 5 months waiting for the return of the Adelie Penguins to East Antarctica, and in particular to Shirley Island.

Why Shirley Island you might ask? Well, that’s the penguin rookery closest to Casey Station (my current home) and the location where I’m most able to visit on a regular basis.

It’s been so quiet without them, actually without any living beings other than myself and the 25 other expeditions here for the winter… but soon they’ll return bringing life back to our ice covered existence. Stealing stones to make nests for their mates, meeting up with their partner after months of swimming in the southern ocean’s cold waters fattening up on krill to get them through the long months sitting on their eggs, getting muddy and impatient with hanging around their rookery when they could be out swimming with their mates, and generally being most entertaining.

It can’t be long now… a month or so then they’ll return to us.

Then before long, it will be us leaving them. Our turn to travel north and return to warmer climes. I wonder if they’ll miss us like we miss them.

The magnificent Aurora Australis

Antarctica, Photography

What is is about the Aurora that makes us so awestruck? It’s not really that magnificent a site without the aid of a good camera and a little editing… more a hazy pale green waft that could be cloud or could be fog, or could it be that we’re lucky enough to be in the presence of the dancing waves of solar activity, mixed with ions in the atmosphere and the earths magnetic field that creates the mystical Aurora. The Southern Lights!

This week we were lucky enough to have clear skies and a beautiful Aurora which danced above us here at Casey Station. A quick bolt in a Hagglunds away from the bright lights of station and we were blessed with the best show we’ve seen yet. (Usually we get a bright green Aurora off in the distance on the horizon; but on Thursday night it danced directly above us, mixing it up with the Milky Way and a few satellites and shooting stars.)

What a show.

Aurora surrounds the Milky Way
Troy with Aurora above

How to make an igloo

Antarctica

Today I received a parcel addressed to the Casey Station Leader… It is an “Igloo construction toolkit”. Yup, that’s really what’s on the box. No kidding.

So now I’m confused; I thought just a shovel, some ice, and maybe a chainsaw was all that was needed to make an igloo. Maybe it’s just something I’m yet to be properly trained for.

Only in Antarctica!Igloo

 

Antarctic Expeditioner

Antarctica

Training is underway for Antarctic Expeditioners for 2017/18. Time in Hobart for the training will range from approximately 10 weeks for me, down to only a week or so for those coming in just for Summer.

I shall be travelling to Casey Research Station as the Station Leader. It has taken me nearly 18 years to get here, from falling in love with the place on a resupply voyage in 1999… I’m finally going back to fulfil what started so long ago. (I hope it lives up to the dream!)

As we came together, the team for Casey, I’m continually amazed by the disparate group of people with such different backgrounds that will be working together for the year. But I can also see what we’re going to be a great team, they’re a great group of guys and I feel vey lucky to be leading them through this fabulous experience. I know there will be difficult times but also know that we’ll get through them and come out the other side having had a life changing adventure.