Well been a busy week with the wharf job now moving quickly, which i covered last blog, along with the boating season in full swing. This definitely has been one of the biggest highlights to my season so far and we have been in the water every opportunity we could get. Wednesday, Thursday and twice on Friday as well as working on Thursday and Friday tuckered this little one out. So here is a little video of whats happened so far.....................
Video Michael Goldstein
Here are some of the pics from that video as well..........
Some Adelie Penguins on a little burgy bit just chillin............
Pic Ben Honor
Here is some pics from the science trip we did in the boats to Kazak Island and below you can see the boats on Kazak with the Sorsdal Glassier in the background.
Pic Michael Goldstein
Couple of the guys went for a walk up the hill to admire the view...............
Pic Michael Goldstein
Bob wearing his Mustang Survival Suit which we use while boating. As you can imagine the water is rather cold and wearing a suit like this one reduces the chances of exposure however if you not out of the water quick enough the damage is going to be already done!!
Pic Michael Goldstein
A couple of Skua.........they will have a go at basically anything from penguin eggs to penguins themselves to seal poo. Real scavengers....................
Pic Michael Goldstein
A couple of the guys putting up the gear on the other side of the island. Don't really know much about what they did but from what i do understand there is a camera taking time laps pics, solar powered and it also takes weather data to correlate to the pics..................
Pic Michael Goldstein
Cute one but then again you've seen a few in past blogs so I'm not even going to tell you what type it is!!!
Pic Michael Goldstein
A Leopard Seal lounging about with lunch all around him. The Adelie Penguins oblivious to the cunning might of this fierce predator but at the moment happy catching some rays from the sun.
Pic Michael Goldstein
Some time ago i was told about a National Geographic photographer encountered one and the story is incredible click HERE to see the pics and video.
Pic Michael GoldsteinBelow is a Ross seals are named for James Clark Ross, the commander of the H.M.S. Erebus, an British exploration ship that entered the Ross sea during a period of Antarctic exploration from 1839 to 1843. Ross seals may reach lengths of 2.5 m, and may weigh as much as 200 kg. Females are typically larger than males.
Ross seals look different than other seals. They have a smaller, wider head, and a short snout area. They also have a small mouth, and the shortest hair of any seal. Instead of being spotted like other seal species, Ross seals have a streaked pattern on the sides of the neck and down the throat. Sometimes the streaking pattern resembles a mask.
Ross seals are thought to number the fewest among Antarctic seal species. No long-term studies have been done on their populations, but scientists do not consider them to be threatened or endangered.
Info found http://www.buschgardens.org/wild-world/zoo-research/antarctic-study-trip/ross.htm
More pic of Ross Seals click HERE
HERE is a web site explaining the four types of seals and so far I've shown you 3 thus far and the only one remaining is the Crabeater Seal, hopefully ill get one of them before I get home for you.
Pic Michael Goldstein
Burg in the sunset.............
Pic Michael Goldstein
A holy one................pun intended!!
Pic Michael Goldstein
One of the other boats in our group. To go out on an Ice Burg cruise there has to be a minimum of two boats in the group. Mainly as the other is the boat that will be helping you. Depending on where your going at times you might have to have all three, like the trip to Kazak where we needed three.
Pic Michael Goldstein
More amazing sunsets...........................
Pic Michael Goldstein
Pic Michael Goldstein
If your interested in some of the science that the Australian Antarctic Division is doing in Antarctica including Davis Station CLICK HERE.More reading with the Australian Antarctic Magazine CLICK HERE.
Interesting story in The Age about Mawson CLICK HERE.
So life continues and the darkness is now growing closer as each day passes. Until recently we haven't seen much else other than the sun but now as each day passes we are loosing on average 15 minutes of sunlight a day. The next exciting thing is going to be the Southern Lights or Arora Australis and attempt to photograph them.
Time is now running out quickly and as much as i am looking forward to leaving i am already not looking forward to leave.
Anyway hope everyone is well and holding to their new years resolutions!!
Bye for now,
Goldie
P.S................... "Strength does not come from winning. Your struggles develop your strength.
When you go through hardship and decide not to surrender, that is strength."
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