My First Two Weeks Off the Ice

A duckling in the Christchurch Botanical Gardens
I'm not sure if my first two weeks off the Ice were a wash or a roaring success. My original idea was to run off to a Pacific Island for a little R&R before training for ultimate got started. I wanted to rest up from a long season on the Ice and add a little spunk to my travels because I was mostly going to be in New Zealand and Australia where I've already visited. There were lots of cheap options, like Tonga, but I thought something that was really expensive from the states but cheaper from New Zealand, like Fiji or Tahiti, might be the way to go. On more of a whim than anything else, I was settling on Tahiti. I think I was sucked in by too many pictures of sea kayakers returning to their overwater bungalow (photo on the above).


Hydrangea in the Christchurch Botanical Gardens


Giant trees in the Christchurch Botanical Gardens
After I had agonizingly chose Tahiti, I started talking to others for ideas and looking to book flights. Cara informed me that Tahiti was one of the two places in the world that you could fly to Easter Island from. The other is Santiago, Chile. A Pacific Island seemed cool, but Easter Island was EXACTLY the type of adventure I was looking for. The cost was a lot, but the payoff seemed huge!!! Going on big travels is why we go to the Ice isn't it? It would be be tough to get back in time for when my ultimate team expected me, but it was doable. Ten hours of flights there. Ten back. Doable, if not agonizing. I tried to book flights.


A purple dahlia in the Christchurch Botanical Gardens


A fancy dahlia in the Christchurch Botanical Gardens
Unfortunately, booking flights from Antarctica was not that easy. I was supposed to leave Antarctica on a Friday and wanted to fly to Tahiti on Monday. If there were any delays on the Ice, I might miss my flights. I finally decided to risk it. However, the Internet had other ideas. After five tries, I couldn't book my flights. I have no idea why and was too tired to fight it. I just figured it was some kind of satellite lag and I'd book it from New Zealand.


A yellow dahlia in the Christchurch Botanical Gardens


A pink dahlia in the Christchurch Botanical Gardens
When I arrived in New Zealand, I felt confident that I'd be able to get my flights so I set to work on finding lodging. Unfortunately, my get up and go, got up and went somewhere between Antarctica and New Zealand. After two days of looking, I realized that I had lost all motivation to deal with logistical challenges. I was just too tired to deal with any of it. The reason I was heading to a Pacific Island was to spice up my travels and for some R&R. After a lot of back and forth, I decided I could save a ton of money and just take my R&R in Christchurch at the flat I had already rented. Yeah, I'd be missing out on an adventure of a lifetime, but I also realize that I'm not done traveling. I can visit Easter Island and Tahiti later and it will be a lot cheaper with a little more planning.


Another fancy dahlia (who knew there were so many types?) in the Christchurch Botanical Gardens


A yellow rose in the Christchurch Botanical Gardens
So after ten days of research, I was suddenly settling into two weeks of no plans in Christchurch. I just milled about. I wasn't even online much. I really did do pretty much nothing. I definitely wasn't productive. My first two weeks were pretty much wake up, eat breakfast, read, train for ultimate, eat, bike into the Botanical Gardens or Mona Vale after lunch, run an errand like getting my cellphone, meet an Ice friend, chat it up until dinner, go to ultimate practice and then head home. It was a pretty stellar two weeks, which is surprising. Normally, I want to explore as much as possible, but I didn't even make it to the Port Hills or the beach. The second week, I started to get antsy, but managed to make it work.


An orange rose and bee in the Christchurch Botanical Gardens


A pink rose in the Christchurch Botanical Gardens
On my third week, I finally got off my bum. I got back on email, started writing the blog again, trained harder, and even left town. It was amazing, but in a different way. I think I underestimated how much the Ice took out of me this season. I really needed most of that two weeks to get myself right again. I also needed most of that two weeks for my body to stop hurting from ultimate. While I had been training on the Ice, I hadn't been playing hard ultimate. I did in Christchurch and my body had a lot to say about it. I don't think I've had muscle ache like that since the start of training for high school soccer after a summer of nothing. After two weeks though, it was gone. I was able to play a tournament (we took second by a point) and come away without any new major pains!!


A red rose in the Christchurch Botanical Gardens
I saw a lot of Ice folks go dashing out of Christchurch to explore New Zealand in those first two weeks. I did the same thing after my first season and loved it, but not this time. I let myself relax and was able to thoroughly enjoy it. I might be letting myself start to slow down, but don't worry, I'm still me. I still get antsy without a purpose or direction to go. I still have Easter Island on the list.


A duckling family visits Jude, who recommends custard donuts, in the Christchurch Botanical Gardens

First Day off Antarctica

Back on green goodness!
My first day off of Antarctica was brilliant. I was in Christchurch, NZ at the peak of the their summer. I stuffed myself with free breakfast at the Windsor and was loving it. It wasn't that different from what I was getting at McMurdo, but perhaps it was like going out to a new restaurant. It was just something different. Nature's finest candy, the fruit, was already chopped up to throw in my granola. I think that was the only major change. Actually, the food wasn't the best part of breakfast at all. It was Winnie. Winnie is the Windsor's dachshund hound coming over to beg for a little food. I'm a dog lover and hadn't seen one in months! I was loving it. Winnie wasn't loving it because she was begging for food and I wasn't offering any up. She has lost weight since I saw her last, but it wouldn't take much to make her big enough to lay down by just lifting her legs.


The Avon River horseshoes its way around the Botanical Gardens


Roses in the Christchurch Botanical Gardens.
After a quiet breakfast, I headed over to sample nature's best eye candy, the trees and flowers at the Christchurch Botanical Gardens. I'm not sure how much time I spent there. It was a lot. The smells were intoxicating. The ducks were endearing. The sounds were still overwhelming. I just laid there and soaked it all in. It was a gorgeous 65 degree day. I couldn't have ordered up a better day. It even drizzled a little bit to remind me how great it was to have water falling on my face again.


Roses in the Christchurch Botanical Gardens.


Roses in the Christchurch Botanical Gardens.
I feel like in the every day bustle of life we ignore so many of our senses. Unless something is so in our face we can't ignore it, we just rely on what we see as we bustle through life. However, my first days off the Ice aren't like that. They were all about shedding my A-type personality and doing nothing so I can soak up the little things. It didn't hurt that I was unbelievably exhausted from so many goodbyes on the Ice. Whether napping or just laying there, I was super happy to do nothing in the gardens. I watched kids plays, dogs romp, ducks beg, leaves blow, heard insect wings rubbing, kids scream, and smelled everything.


Roses in the Christchurch Botanical Gardens.


A dahlia in the Christchurch Botanical Gardens.
This year, I made plans to hang out with Ice folks on my first couple days back. That was a mistake. I'm not sure if it was because I was so tired or if I just need time to myself, but I just wasn't able to enjoy it as much as I could have if I had had a day or two to myself first. On the other hand, that was the last chance to see a few of those people before they left New Zealand. Someone told me that it is always someone's last night or birthday and that attitude would bite me in the bum. It didn't this time though. I was able to spend the next week or two balancing out spending time with others and getting myself rested up.


A yellow dahlia in the Christchurch Botanical Gardens.


A red dahlias in the Christchurch Botanical Gardens.

Our Flight to New Zealand

Antarctica.


More Antarctic goodness.
One of my favorite parts of working for the United States Antarctic Program is traveling to and from the Ice. We get to see parts of the continent that we don't have a chance of ever seeing otherwise, unless we hire a private charter. It is such a special time, the photos always get their own post. I'm not sure how high we were flying, but since we were so high I can only imagine how big some of the features would be to stand next to.


Even more Antarctic goodness below the engine of a C-17.


I love how the glacier almost looks like a river flowing downstream
This flight wasn't much different than my one down to Antarctica. Sitting with friends, chatting, napping, eating, getting antsy, and running to the window to get as many views as possible pretty much sum up the trip. The plane was full so I wasn't able to stretch out in the middle and sleep like I did after my winter. Some others felt the pain of this and came up with more creative ways to get comfortable.


There are all types of ways to get comfortable on the plane.
When we touched down in Christchurch, we waited for our bags and milled our way through customs. When we finally left the airport, it wasn't as shocking as when I came off at the end of winter. It was a cool night and the sounds were what overwhelmed me the most. At the end of the winter, the smells got me. I'm not sure why the smells weren't as overwhelming. My heightened sense of smell was definitely letting me smells things that I can't smell now. Smell is one of the strongest senses. Maybe I was ready for it this time and don't remember the sounds as much from last time because the smells were so overwhelming.


Yeah, more mountains.
When I got to my favorite hotel, the Windsor, I dropped my bags and headed out for a good roll in the grass. It was a little since it was drizzling and that was wonderful too. After soaking in not nearly enough green goodness, I set off about town to meet up with friends. It turned out to be a wild goose chase but it was really nice because it was drizzling on and off and that was the first time I'd felt water hitting my face outside of a shower in almost six months. I love the joy of rediscovery when we come back from Antarctica. I'm still going through some of that over a month later.


The continental edge.


Me on the flight home.

Last night and day on Ice

Mt. Discovery on my final night.
My last night on the Ice this year was exactly what I was looking for. The friends were right. The lighting for my walk home was right. It was time to go and I was able to be present. I was able to concentrate on the good and not worry about the bad and the uncontrollable. It was a rare moment for me when there was stuff to swirl about. I just might be learning a few new things.

For the start of my last evening, I went to bag drag. Bag drag is when you weigh in yourself and all of your gear for the next day's flight. You also drop off all your checked baggage. The trick about this is that if the plane gets delayed a day, or a week, or even a month like it did for some poor WAIS Divide people in the beginning of the season, you don't get your checked bags back. You are stuck with whatever you have in your one carry on and with what you can scrounge up from Skua Central. I was a little disappointed at my bag drag. I had managed to come down with one bag, but was now going back with two. I have no idea what I accumulated.

After bag drag, I got on to doing what I do best - chatting with friends and drinking chai. I spent a lot of my last night in the Coffeehouse soaking up the goodness of friends. After things wound down there, I visited some other friends and their home theater system. Yes, they have their own home theater system set up in Antarctica. It is better than most systems I've seen in the states. I am constantly amazed at the way we pamper ourselves on the Ice. When I went down for the first time, I thought it actually was a harsh continent instead of just a cliche.


My flight off the Ice lands at the Pegasus airfield.
The day of my flight on the Ice was a bit of a let down. I wanted to visit more with friends, but those friends were working. I had a long breakfast, last hike up Ob Hill in the snow with no visibility, ate lunch, got a sandwich to go for an in-flight meal, and then I was off. On the way out to the runway, we saw a few emperor penguins on the road. Once we got to the runway, we had to stand outside for an hour and wait for the plane. When I left at the end of winter, I think we had a place inside to wait and we didn't wait long. It was a lot more efficient, but that might have been because we left on a mostly empty plane too. This plane was full. Anyway, standing around wasn't fun. However, after a little bit we got distracted, found a few friends coming in for winter, and threw the frisbee around and those were fun. After an hour of waiting, we hopped on the plane to wait for another hour and then we were off to New Zealand.

Weddell Seals at Hut Point

A Weddell seal at Hut Point.

The Weddell seal keeps an eye on me walking the ridge above him.
For some reason the department I worked in this year gives us two days off instead of one before we fly. That, combined with the fact I have so little stuff, meant that I was done packing well before I had to fly. On my next to last day, I took care of a few odds and ends, but mostly I was left for a lot of time for goodbyes to old friends and old places and just plain mucking around.


Weddell seals being cute.

Weddell seals at Hut Point with Mt. Discovery in the distance.
Some of that mucking about sent me down the Hut Point with Jade. It was both of our next to last days on the Ice and our final hike down to Hut Point. Unfortunately, it happened so long ago, I don't know what to write anymore. We had to take the roundabout way because the road was closed, but it was worth it because we were the only ones around. It is such a treat to able to experience those places we share with others so much as a small group, especially at McMurdo in the summer where we are always surrounded by so many people.


A curious Weddell seal?
This particular visit yielded a couple Weddell seals playing, resting, and swimming. I don't think I have ever seen them spend so much time near the point that way before. It was a pleasure to see them on one might end up being my last full day at McMurdo. I've applied to return, but am going to make a final decision later. It is a beautiful place that I'll always carry with me.


Taking a drink?

Cape Royds helo flight

This post (and my last post) go out to my brothers, Tait and David. They bought me a video camera for Christmas because they were sick of my attempts at time lapses. They even put footage of my dog, Sabah, on the camera for when it reached me in Antarctica which was elating. While I'm not sure the results are any less shaky, there is definitely a lot more in here. Thanks, guys.


Video of the entire flight from Cape Royds to McMurdo along the channel.

• 0:00 Taking off from Cape Royd
• 0:30 Mt. Erebus
  
• 1:10 Mt. Erebus again
  
• 1:38 Seals on the Ice
• 1:51 Barne Glacier
• 2:44 Barne Glacier close up
• 4:45 Cape Evans, Scott's Hut is just above the green Kiwi building
• 6:05 Iceberg
• 6:16 Inaccessible Island
• 6:40 Royal Society Mountains
• 6:45 Penguins, scared of the helicopter, run for the water
• 6:55 Tent Island
• 8:00 The ice edge and my first minke whale sighting somewhere around there
• 9:05 More scared penguins
• 9:12 A LOT of penguins, the black stuff in the water should be more penguins
  
• 11:03 The mouth of the channel the ice breaker made
• 13:00 Running penguins
• 16:30 Observation Hill looming over McMurdo station
• 17:45 The Odin icebreaker
• 19:10 Hut Point
• 19:20 McMurdo Station
• 19:40 Hut Point again
• 2o:20 McMurdo Station heliport
  

Big Razorback Island


The Barne Glacier and the Dellbridge Islands.


The Barne Glacier.


Inaccessible Island and an iceberg.


The ice channel and future ice runway.


The Odin icebreaker creating a channel.

Cape Royds penguin video

Here is some footage taken from when we carried away some of the scientists gear and afterward when we were permitted to roam around. The water footage is from just north of the colony and is my favorite. The snow/ice footage is from just south of the colony. If you think you see a fishing net in the scientist's hand in the first minute, you do. They use it to safely catch the chicks so they can band them for tracking purposes.

The true brilliance of the Adelie penguins shines when you actually see them moving. Everyone says they move like they are "late, late, late for a very important date," but until you seem them moving, I'm not sure you'll understand. There is one, in the final minute, that epitomizes this.

Cape Royds

Cape Royds penguin rookery and Shackleton's Hut.
Two weeks before I left the Ice, I received the icing on the cake of an amazing season. I went to the Cape Royds, which is is the home of Shackleton's Hut and an Adelie penguin rookery. To travel there, we took a Bell 212 helicopter to the cape which is on Ross Island about 20-30 miles north. I've said it before and I'll say it again, my best days on the Ice have started with a helicopter ride.


Deke in front of the garbage dump for Shackleton't Hut.


Dog houses at Shackleton's Hut.


Properly labeled cargo will ensure a speedy delivery.
Deke and I were at Cape Royds to download data from their automated penguin camera. The scientists were there to break down some field equipment to take back to base. When we finished our work, we helped them haul their gear up the long hill to the helicopter landing site. Fortunately, we finished all the work about an hour before we were scheduled to be picked up which gave us a little time to explore the area. Unfortunately, we didn't have the key to Shackleton's Hut so we couldn't get into it, but we might have had time to loot the whiskey from under the hut if we had thought of it (Sorry, Fraggle). I used my extra time running around with my telephoto lens taking pictures and admiring the wildlife, specifically watching the penguins swim and jump in and out of the water just outside of the rookery.


Adelie penguins.


An Adelie penguin carries a pebble to its nest that it is building. The penguin with the biggest pile WINS.
Each year, the single male Adelie penguin builds a nest out of pebbles to try and court a female. The mated pairs from previous years usually return to each other and rebuild their old nest site. On a continent made mostly of ice, there are not many pebbles to choose from so the Adelies have been stealing the same pebbles from each other for centuries to build their nests. Each year, they try to defend their territory, but other penguins are always able to steal a few pebbles. Watching this behavior as they chase each other around was really entertaining. I think they are done breeding for this season so I'm not sure why they were stealing pebbles when I arrived. Maybe they were practicing their Capture the Pebbles skills for next season.


A curious parent and chick.


A less curious cute chick and parent.


Adelie penguin.


Adelie chick.
Mated pairs will typically lay two eggs in late November that will hatch in late December. The parents take turns incubating the eggs. Once the eggs hatch, the parents will continue to take turns with their offspring to defend against any predators (i.e. skuas) while the other gets food for themselves and to regurgitate for the chick. I was amazed at the ferocity of the displays of the Adelies when a skua approached. The parents will continue taking turns until late January when the chicks' appetite require that they both go out to collect food. During that time, the chicks will gather around each other in crèches for protection.


Adelie penguin.


Adelie penguin tries to fly?


Adelie penguin chick.
Apparently, the Cape Royds rookery has some of the fattest chicks around. There just isn't the same competition for food as there is at other rookeries so the parents can easily get enough food for themselves and their offspring. Cape Royds has around 2,000 mating pairs. Cape Crozier another colony on Ross Island, has 150,000 breeding pairs of Adelies. I'm not sure if the adults end up bigger as well. I'd assume so. Adelie adults are between 18"-30" tall.


A banded Adelie penguin.


King of the Hill.


Adelie penguins.


Adelie penguins on an ice chunk.


Adelie penguins.


An Adelie penguin tries a plane style take off to fly.


Adelie penguins.


Adelie penguin diving board.
My favorite parts of visiting the penguin rookery were watching the penguins swim and exit the water. I'll put some video up of it soon because stills don't do it justice. They look like they just leap out of the water. If you blink, you might suddenly see two or three standing on the ice where there were just none. It was magical to watch those clumsy landlubbers become streaking torpedoes when they enter the water. They are completely different creatures. I realize that they need to surface to breath, but it looked like they were playing in the water more than they were feeding. I was captivated and wish I had more time to spend with them.


Adelie penguin.


Adelie penguin.


Adelie penguins.


Adelie penguins.


Adelie penguin roar.


Adelie penguin.


Adelie penguin covered in penguin guano from sliding on its belly.


Adelie penguins.


Adelie penguins.


An Adelie penguin builds up its nest with a new rock.


Not every penguin makes it.


Adelie penguin.


Swimming Adelie penguins.


Swimming and resting Adelie penguins.


Adelie penguins and ice sheets breaking away.


Shh, be very, very quiet. He is sleeping.


Notice the red on the underside of the wings. It is redder because of the extra blood flow in the area when they are swimming.
One of the neater things that I was able to see was the different colors of the penguins feet and wings. When they are warm and dry, their feet and inner wings are white. After they swim, the feet and inner wings are pink from all of the extra blood in that part of the body to keep them warm. Very, very cool.


A crabeater seal at the southernmost point of its range.


Just south of the Cape Royds penguin rookery.


Two skuas eat the remains of a penguin chick.


The Kiwi's EC-130 lands with Mt. Erebus in the background.