Queenstown and Wanaka

Greetings, faithful reader. Today I drove from Te Anau to Queenstown, a tony lakeside town that reminds me of Jackson Hole. It is very tourist oriented with numbers of high end restaurants and stores. The lodging was high end too, so I decided to drive a bit further to Wanaka. There is a lake here also, and a smaller, less trendy, town. I got a cheap motel that reminds me of the Peaks of Otter Lodge in Virginia: no phone, TV or internet in the room. I am making this posting from the lobby where they have wireless internet for a fee.

I will hang here tomorrow and spend the night again before deciding whether to return to Christchurch Wednesday or go further up the west coast of NZ to Greymouth before returning to Christchurch on Friday or Saturday. It's nice to be free to choose.

Speaking of freedom, although I haven't gotten the absolute final word, it is looking more and more like I will not have to return to the Ice for winter. The South Pole station is fulled staffed and the last provider for McMurdo is scheduled to arrive today into Christchurch. Assuming all goes well and that provider makes it to McMurdo without a hitch, I will probably be taken off call on Wednesday.

I left my camera's charger in Christchurch (oops!) so my photos from here on will probably be very limited. My camera does not take replaceable batteries, opting instead for a built-in battery that needs periodic recharging. I've currently got a half-charge on it. Speaking of that, I want to assure you that Troublemaker, a rollerskate of a car, is still performing well after its repair in Dunedin.

That's it for today. I'll keep you posted on what I see and do tomorrow in Wanaka.

After getting a couple of good night's rest in Christchurch, it was time to begin exploring New Zealand's south island. An internet search revealed a real bargain – about $22 day. 

I got a Mazda Dimeo, a small four-seater with a hamster-powered engine. He picked me up, just like Enterprise, and whisked me to his office. To call it a hole in the wall is to exaggerate it's good points. With the car signed, sealed and delivered, it was putt-putting my way to the USAP NZ offices. There I checked in with Leeann and got the latest update on the two providers, one for South Pole, the other for McMurdo, and checked my USAP email.

Back on the road I pointed south toward Dunedin. After a quick stop at a small town along the way for lunch and to pick up a disposable mobile phone, I continued on what ended up to be about a six hour journey. Once in Dunedin, I went to the Otago Albatross Center, a recommendation from Steve and Carol Jones. As usual, they were spot on. It was very interesting to learn about a fascinating bird that heretofore had only been known to me as something worn about one's neck.

After a nice fish dinner, it was off to sleep at a cheap motel. In the morning I awoke to find a puddle of antifreeze below the car. After a series of back and forth phone calls (thank goodness I got that cellphone), the car was off to the repair shop and I was on foot. Fortunately, Dunedin was having a huge street festival in the center of town, about a fifteen minute walk. There were musical performers, arts, crafts, clothing, games, and food. I also walked down to the Farmer's Market where local growers sold fresh foods. I bought lamb-on-a-stick. Wow, was it ever delicious. 

By five o'clock p.m. the Troublemaker was fixed and I was back on the road headed to Te Anau, a small tourist town at the gateway to the Fiordlands. After a night's rest at yet another cheap motel, I took off in the morning for Milford Sound. This is a very special, almost magical, place. Tall mountains jut abruptly up from fiords. Fresh water lakes wind along to reach the ocean between New Zealand and Australia. There are waterfalls and clouds that cloak the mountain tops in a misty lace. A nature boat cruise up and down the fiord gave an appreciation of that special place.

There were fur seals sunning themselves on rocks.

Back into Troublemaker and back to Te Anau for a quick dinner and a pricey internet connection I went.

Tomorrow I am off for my next destination, Queenstown.

Night

The C-17 lifted off from Pegasus White Ice Runway yesterday with about seventy passengers headed north for Christchurch. When we arrived 5 1/2 hours later it was night and raining. We have not seen darkness in five months. We have not seen rain since before we deployed to Antarctica.  It's hard to describe to those who have not experienced it the sense of wonder at revisiting these familiar but distant events. I have written here before of the curious nature of walking out of a building in Antarctica at midnight and being blasted between the eyes by bright sunlight. I've also talked about the lack of any humidity. To get on a jet and travel a mere five hours and be thrust suddenly into these most normal events of night and rain after having not experienced either for months is quite jarring.

The next morning brought other reminders: city noise, green plants, and familiar scents. What a surprise to the senses. I rode a bus.  I ate at two different establishments. Lunch was at Subway where I had a delicious roasted lamb sub. Dinner was at an Italian restaurant (Valentinos) where I enjoyed a delightful Canterbury Lamb dinner. The exchange rate is favorable now. One US dollar buys about two New Zealand dollars. When I deployed one US dollar only bought about $1.25NZD. Occasionally I would bump into Ice People (as ones returning from Antarctica are known). A stop by Bailie's after dinner for a Guinness topped off a relaxing first day.

Tomorrow I will rent a car and begin a brief driving trip south of Christchurch. First destination: Dunedin, a city recommended  by many who have been here before me. I need to stay in contact with McMurdo, though, because there is a scant possibility that I may be needed back on the ice for the winter.  The station is attempting to fill the remaining medical provider vacancy and if they are successful I will not be needed. However, if there is any glitch in getting that provider, then I can be recalled. You, faithful reader will be kept posted on the events, experiences and photos as I begin exploring New Zealand's spectacular south island.

Cartoon of the Week

Matt Davidson, our resident cartoonist, reminds us in this week's installment that the ice over the Ross Sea is breaking up and penguins are arriving.

Reflections on Ice - Season End

The summer season at McMurdo is quickly winding up. Our annual resupply vessel, the American Tern, will be here in three days. After a whirlwind of activity off-loading the vessel, then reloading it with items to be returned to the U.S., the station will begin quickly sending home those people who are not staying for the winter season. The term used for working a winter is "winter over", as in "Are you wintering over?" or "Did you winter over last year?".

I am scheduled to redeploy on 11 February. I will fly back to Christchurch, NZ on a C-17 jet just like the one on which I arrived. There are some significant travel plans and I will continue to update the blog as I visit New Zealand, Australia, and Southeast Asia. 

My experience in Antarctica has been transformative. The continent, this environment, is majestic yet harsh. It is alluring though challenging. I am continually impressed by the people I meet here. Everyone has a story, a life journey that includes working and living in Antarctica. I have been privileged to become very good friends with a small group of diverse individuals. They include managers of significant departments, an electrician, and a firefighter. The Wednesday evening Bridge group, which played its last game two days ago, started as students. I taught them how to play the game over six weeks. We have been playing weekly ever since. It warmed my heart that "Reefer Bob" (the refrigeration technician) told me he already located a group with whom to play Bridge when he gets home next week. It is my hope that Pedro the Food Monkey, Greg the Electrician, and Marci the Sous Chef continue playing too.

Room With A View

Yesterday I was treated to a morale trip up the side of Mt. Erebus. You might remember from earlier posts that Mt. Erebus is an active volcano that is on the Ross Island, near Scott Base and McMurdo Station. It constantly emits a large plume of steam and smoke. Occasionally it will belch rocks. You can watch a live video from inside the Mt. Erebus crater at the MEVO website.

The trip started with a briefing on the outing at the Field Safety Training Program offices. Then we selected helmets to fit us. We then took a Hagglunds tracked transport from McMurdo to the Scott Base sea ice transition. The Hagglunds is a Swedish dual-cab, medium class, over snow vehicle. Six persons sat in the rear cab and four sat in the front cab. A minimum thickness of 50 cm of hard ice is required before a Hagglunds can be driven across sea ice. They are powered by turbo diesel engines driving four rubber tracks through an automatic transmission and transfer case.

Once there, we were briefed on the proper operation of the snow mobiles (Bombardier Ski Doos). Interestingly enough, at McMurdo these are called "snow machines" not snow mobiles. I don't know the history or reason behind this change.

We rode tandem on the snow machines. There were many bumps and hills that occasionally caused the snow machine to become airborne. We took a route from the sea ice transition up the side of Mt. Erebus until we reached a large dome-like clearing. There was a Scott tent set up and inside it there with a football and soccer ball to play with. The wind was ferocious, probably at about 35 - 50 kts. The view was the most impressive part.
There was a giant panorama in 360 degrees that showed Mts. Erebus, Terra Nova and Terror;
the glacier that runs down to meet the sea ice;

the back side of Castle Rock; across the Ross Sea to Black Island and White Island;

the Royal Society Mountains;

and finally out to the liquid open water of the Ross Sea.

I could see the path the ice breaker Odin cut and the fuel tanker just behind it bring us 5.5 million gallons of fuel – enough to last the station for the next 12 months. These last photos are of the fuel tanker waiting just outside our ice pier and the pier itself.


It was a delightful afternoon outing that really gave one the sense of enormity and grandeur that is Antarctica.

Another great cartoon from our friend, Matt Davidson.