Environmental Monitoring at Mawsons Huts

One of the tasks for the materials conservator on this years expedition has been to download the data collected by the two datalogging systems which monitor temperature, relative humidity and vibration in the hut and upgrade the system initially installed in 1999. The systems have been measuring and storing the data on these three parameters since the 2006 expedition left, continuing the long term monitoring program which began in 1999. The information collected has been important in the development of the long term preservation strategy for Mawsons Huts. Analysis of this years data will indicate the effect, if any, that last years over cladding of the roof of the main living area has had on the internal environment. Two systems were used, a stand alone series of data loggers which were each removed and downloaded separately and a centralised logging system which transmitted data from several sensors to a central datalogger. This second system has been designed to transmit the data via modem and satellite phone to Australian based researchers so that conditions within the huts can be monitored during the year. The centralised system required a new satillite phone and modem, as well as an upgrade of the sensors. The old sensors having been exposed to such extreme conditions are at the end of their life and their accuracy is expected to be declining. With the help of Tony, our medic, who has secret skills in the field of electronics, the new phone and modem have been installed and the old sensors are currently being checked for accuracy. Once the best of the old sensors have been identified, five new sensors and a sixth old sensor will be selected for installation; two will be installed externally and four internally in the workshop and the main living area. The two original external sensors which were important for establishing the relationship between the outside environment and the interior environment of the hut had been damaged by the weight of accumulated snow so the trick is finding a location on the exterior which won't be submerged by snow drifts but that can be accessed easily enough to both bolt the sensors in position and feed the cabling through an existing aperture in the hut to the datalogger. Given that last years team were confronted with the huts buried to their peaks in snow this might be a shade difficult, however we will give it a go. Michelle Berry, Materials Conservator

We've got the Power

The sustainable energy system has been installed and has started charging the storage batteries, marginally! Just as the final wire was terminated a full 8 oktas of cloud cover and absolutely no wind were recorded. Considering the hole in the ozone above the continent heightens the risk of sunburn exponentially and that Cape Denison is (rumored) to be "The windiest place on earth (at sea level)", the early results have been a little disappointing. Last "night" we were bathed in the luxury of fluorescent lighting in the kitchen to complete galley duties and in the main living area for recreational past times. All without the drone of the petrol generator in the background. For the technical minded the breakdown is thus: 2 x 75 Watt "BP Solar" solar panels connected in parallel and installed on the north wall of "Delaney's Dunny" at an angle of approximately 80 degrees and a "Forgen" vertical axis Savonius rotor wind generator (producing a trickle charge of only a few watts) provide the power. Power storage is with 2 x 12 volt, 22 amp hour "Sonnenschein" gel batteries connected in parallel giving a total storage capacity of 44 amp hours at 12 volts nominal. The battery charging and power distribution is controlled by a "BP Solar" PL20 controller. A 150 Watt "Dick Smith" inverter is used to convert the 12 volt DC to 240 volt AC and is enough to run all the fluorescent lighting in the Sorensen or charge one lap top computer battery. This, however, is a drain on the batteries when there is minimal sunshine on the solar panels (did I mention the cloud cover?!) The data collection abilities of the PL20 will provide information for future improvements of the system and hours of enlightening conversation around the hut over the next couple of weeks. Steve Beaton Electrician

Testing the LadyBug

I was fortunate to be able to loan a Point Grey Research LadyBug v1 360º panoramic video camera system from the iCinema Centre at the University of New South Wales (many thanks to Jeffrey Shaw and Volker Kuchelmeister) - and as today started off very windy it provided the perfect opportunity to sit down and familiarise myself with the system.

My plan is to shoot a few scenes inside Mawson's Hut and, if possible, some outdoor material - but this is contingent upon securing appropriate power sources. We have a generator at the Hut, and I should be able to take that out to the surrounding environment for some landscape shots - I'm talking to Steve our electrical genius about it, but it should be possible. Of course shooting 360º video is an entirely different proposition to conventional video because you, in effect, 'explode the frame' - i.e. there is no 'behind the camera' as everything is in view. This makes for a wonderful sense of immersion and raises interesting possibilities for navigable video for dome-projection systems - but also a whole range of other problematic issues, e.g. does the cameraman become an actor? (or should I hide behind a rock or underneath the camera as it doesn't capture a full sphere downwards...).

Anyway, this should all be fun to experiment with and produce some remarkable footage - I'll try and do some timelapse capture with the system if I can - in the meantime here's a test shot from inside the Sorenson Hut at Jubilee Base during our lunch break today - you might notice some odd artefacts in the image if you look closely - objects too close to the camera get "chopped off" due to parallax issues with the lenses - so everything needs to be further than ~1.5m away in order for images to 'stitch' properly. Nevertheless, in this image you get a fair idea of the inside of our hut - the main (and only) living quarters where we hang out during blizzards! (we were expecting one on Saturday, but everything seems completely fine now!)

Peter Morse

Christmas Day at Commonwealth Bay

The sea swell was in full form last night, and has cleared most of the sea ice from Boat Harbour, as well as sections of the coast near Sorensen's Hut. It's amazing to witness the power of nature, tossing ice bits the size of cars onto the shoreline. After a nice sleep in we awoke to a perfect day, blue skies, calm air, a change from the Christmas Eve. Soon we started preparing the Christmas feast. A pork roast was thawed out, trifles and puddings were prepared, even a shitake mushroom tempeh was made (a vegetarian tradition??). Christmas gifts were swapped and there were some surprise gifts from the Foundation for everyone. With the new lab and bedroom floor down, we had a magnificent deck to use as our function area. A large tarp was strung up to shade us from the searing sun rays, a ply table was fashioned and by 4 pm the feast began. Along with the roast pork and veggie mains we also had chilli garlic prawns entr饮 Yes, we where doing it tough in Antarctica! Tony

Christmas Cricket.

In the few hours break between dinner and dessert the cricket set made an appearance, the wicket was a bit slow with the slushy snow, so full tosses proved the most effective delivery. The Adelie penguins were appreciative onlookers and a few even joined in as fielders.

After dessert the southerly wind kicked in, shooing us all inside to the warmth of the Sorensen. The quintessential lethargic Christmas night time kicked in, the mountain of dishes has been dealt with, and one by one party members sign out for the evening.

A memorable Christmas in the Antarctic.

Tony

Merry Xmas, Frölichen Weinachten from Cape Deni son, Antarctica!

Merry Xmas & Frölichen Weinachten from the Mawson's Huts Team, Cape Denison, Antarctica!

It looks like it'll be a White Christmas here with bright blue skies and sunshine.

Wishing you all the best for 2008!

And a little more on the delivery of the building panels from Hobart to Cape Denison...

Summer Solstice Party & Name-Our-Rap-Group Competition!!!

To celebrate the summer solstice - that is, the longest day and shortest night (not that it makes any difference here as the sun never sets) - we all got dressed up in our best summer casuals and had a feast! The exotic Cape Denison Burgers whipped up by our Gordon Blue Conseurvatrix Mad Queen Mab went down a treat, as did cold beer and mulled wine (courtesy of Annie da Wash). In the photo you see our whole Rap group - from left to right: M.C. Cabe (Pete McCabe), Da Beat (Steve Beaton), Mad Queen Mab (Michelle Berry), Annie da Wash (Ann McConnell), D.J. B.J. (Brett Jarrett), Pemo (Yours Truly), Tone Def (Tony Stewart) and Bad Mothertucker (Jon Tucker). We are planning to release a new album for the Mawson's Huts foundation - featuring our new hit rap single "Don't Muck Wid Da Hut" featuring David Jensen on Turntables, audio production by M.C. Greg Holland, Rob Easther on synthesizers and the rest of us rapping. But what do we call ourselves? The Hut Shop Boys? The Penguin Knobs? Hutallica?

So now we announce our Name-Our-Rap-Group Competition! We'll be taking suggestions all this week until next Friday 28 December, 5pm and will announce the winner on Monday 31st December - the last day of 2007! The prize will be the honour of naming our group and getting a credit on the cover of our first album! You can make a suggestion by posting a comment on the blog and they'll be forwarded to us.

- Pemo

The arrival of the panels

Our 11 packages of freezer panels arrived on 20th December on the MV Orion, so we all trundled down to Boat Harbour where the crew were bringing the packages ashore on Zodiacs. Landing onto the sea ice in the harbour was our best option, hauling by hand off the inflatables. From there they were loaded two at a time onto the 'Spirit of Denison' (our trusty dual sled, inherited from a previous expedition team) for relocation to the Sorensen's Hut site in the next valley. This required all three quads, two pulling and one acting as a brake on the downhill run into Sorensen's (as seen in the photo).

The panels are now being installed onto the sub-floor, to create a conservation laboratory, and new sleeping quarters for expeditioners. The weather was kind to us on the Solstice, and the builders were able to get more than half the floor into place, more than adequately secured for the windiest place on earth.

Many thanks to Don and Margie (aka Ted and Ted) and the crew of the Orion for getting these essential supplies to us in perfect time.

Tony Stewart

Jubilee Base Extensions!

Our intrepid builder-architects, Pete McCabe and Jon Tucker, have wrestled with the Beast (the Cobra Rock Drill) and, with amazing rapidity, built the infrastructure for the new Base base - or the Base base extension. The verandah and access to Delaney's Dunny disappeared for a while, but was resumed by the end of the day - with promises of a wonderful new verandah with sweeping views North over the MacKellar islets. This early morning photo (from yesterday - Tues 18th December) shows our tool-wielding professionals in a moment of angle-grinder and saw jubilation on yet another fine and sunny day at Cape Denison, Home of the Balmy Day.

Extension will double the size of the existing base - which includes (from left to right) - the Dunny, the Kitchen (window 1), Entrance & Comms/Medical Area (door), living area and some sleeping (window 2, right). The new extension will be the same size as the old base, including a laboratory and more sleeping facilities. It won't then be necessary to live in the Apple or tents any more - a bit sad, as the tents are great fun! (well, not in a blizzard).

- Peter Morse

"Spirit of Enderby" visits Mawson's Huts

Today we had a delightful visit from the Spirit of Enderby - a ship chartered by the New Zealand company Heritage Expeditions, carrying some 60 passengers and crew, who met 8 keen-for-a-shower Mawson's Huts teamers. Needless to say, we had a great time - showing our guests around the Huts and environs - and then being spirited away by IRB to the true wonder of hot showers and flushing toilets - and a great lunch - aboard their very nice ship. Everyone was wonderful and friendly - I was very impressed with everybody's kindness and interest. A highlight was meeting Emlyn Thomas - Mawson's grandson - who posed with us in this group portrait in front of the Huts whilst wearing an original balaclava worn by Mawson - he also brought Mawson's compass with him - delightful family heirlooms and beautiful, fascinating objects in themselves. We would especially like to thank Aaron, Shirley, Callan, Natalia and Mariska for their warmth and generosity - great to meet you all!

As a bonus - if you put on some red-green anaglyphic glasses (those ones you get with 3D comics from the newsagents) - you'll be able to see this picture in stereoscopic 3D! After our sudden influx of visitors the silence returns - but it was a welcome break amidst perfect weather.

- Peter Morse

The Penguin Incident

Almost hijacked! I had to get some bits from the Granholm Hut which is basically a storage shed over near the Mawson's Huts with a small kitchen, food and bedding that can be used as a refuge in case you are caught out in bad weather and can't make the 700 metre trek back to the Sorensen. Naturally I rode a quad over (none of this man hauling sleds for me - this is the 21st century!) parked it near the hut and went in to get the tools I was after. When I came out I realised what a bad neighbourhood I was in. A group of about 10 penguins had surrounded my bike and looked like real trouble makers. I think if I had been any longer the bike would be on blocks and the wheels gone. I approached tentatively but displaying nonchalance so they wouldn't think me intimidated. I think a couple moved around behind me. "Hi, fellas", I said in a friendly but assertive manner. "I don't want any trouble just gonna get on my bike and leave". I tied the tool bag onto the rack and headed off (...um, carefully avoiding the protected wildlife, of course). As I looked back, they were staring at the rocks on the ground wishing they had hands so they could throw them at me.

Filed by expedition electrician, Steve Beaton

Tourist Visit Cape Denison

The day begins at 4.30 am. For the past 24hours tourist vessel "The Spirit of Enderby" has sat off the coast of Cape Denison, buffeted by strong winds driving down from the adjacent icy slopes. But strangely for this hour of the morning the breeze is calm. The ship has come from New Zealand, a time zone that they still adopt. So 4.30 for us is 6.30 for them. Laying in my tent, the chatter on my VHF radio beside my ear begins, they are making preparations to come ashore. Eager to meet our first visitors, our camp is roused, blurry eyed we don our layers of clothing and trek over to Mawson's Hut.

In the pursuing hours a steady stream of punters file from ship to shore. In groups of three everyone was carefully guided through the hut, emerging afterwards positively brimming with delight. To walk into Mawson's Hut for the first time is an incredible experience, like walking through a time capsule, reading the initials of each party member painted on his respective bunk, gazing upon book still resting on the shelf. The experience exemplified by the crystals of ice delicately lining each timber rafter overhead, refracting the twinkling sunlight beaming down through the skylights. The new visitors have travelled a long way and the location has not disappointed.

One member of the group grabbed our attention in particular, Emlyn Thomas has just come ashore, one of Sir Douglas Mawson's grandsons. The journey to commonwealth bay has been a long time coming for Emlyn, and everyone is keen to bend his ear about his childhood days when he lived with his grandfather. He also surprised us with some very special memorabilia, he has one of Mawson's original balaclavas, proudly, he posed in it for photographs with our team, before safely stowing it away. I noted that an hour later he had it back on, claiming that it was far warmer than the beanie had brought for general use. The balaclava bore the badge of Jaeger; a clothing firm that still sponsors the Mawson's Huts Foundation today. I could not resist getting Emlyn to sign my copy of Mawson's book Home of the Blizzard, which I have been pouring over since I arrived trying to learn as much about this place as I can.

We were invited to The Spirit of Enderby for lunch; arriving on the last boat load I walked into the dining room to see my freshly showered team mates, enjoying a catered meal. I was politely handed a cake of soap and towel and prompted towards the shower block. Surely I wasn't that smelly, it's only been a week! Now I'm looking clean faced after running the razor through its paces on two weeks of stubble, after the royal tour of the ship we retuned to our humble abode, showing obvious signs of the early start. With a last burst of energy we knock together some home made pizzas, the tent and pillow is calling, slumber will come quickly tonight.

Pete McCabe Field Leader

Entering Mawsons Huts

After spending yesterday clearing the doorway to the hut of ice and snow, today we finally entered Mawsons Huts, holding our breath against the possibility of more snow having found its way inside after all the work done on over cladding both the work shop roof and the main hut roof in previous years. Thankfully fresh snow ingress was limited to areas that were previously known to have sealing problems and there seemed very limited areas of new snow. Yesterday as part of the work to prepare the huts we uncovered the skylights in the roof and they light the interior with a soft light. We slowely walked through the building trying to take in the detail of the objects that Mawson and his team had left behind and the ways that these men had made this their home. Each of the bunks is labelled with its owner's name and above geologist Frank Stillwell's bunk is a row of rocks while below Archie McLeans, an abandoned umbrella. This is truly a special place.

Michelle Berry

Inside Mawson's Huts

With my heart in my throat, I stepped inside Mawson's Hut today - the odour of damp wood and time in one's breath, a strange expansion of space as the interior seemed so large compared with the outside of the structure, subdued light, and the stillness of the place, a sense of history and lives lived, adventures and tragedies, the romance of the heroic era.

It is silvered with hoar-frost, a miraculous crystalline beauty of flowering water ice, weird argent forms growing in the sixfold symmetry of snowflakes, over every surface, a patterned chaos and so delicately, finely beautiful. Yet what is striking about the place are the artifacts - the cheap paperback novellas, the tins of chemicals, discarded filthy clothing, finnesko, an umbrella, frozen black potatoes, graph paper, things unbelievably printed with the year "1911" - stuff that you see in museums or antique shops, scattered in disarray, frozen in time - some perhaps where they were left; an index of who put them there - a trace - just as every nail was hammered at some time by some person, so many years ago - the building is redolent of the lives of its inhabitants, despite the interventions of time and visitors.

I stood there alone in silence and it seemed to breathe. We see a counterbalance of two forces - the torrent of wind and snow and ice, weathering and dissolving the structure; the material energy of human construction resistant to this in its manufactured forms inside - a battle already lost, as the wind flows through aeons; the artifacts struggle for a century. You see Ninnis' initials painted on his bunk, a tragic death recorded and read at the time by other now-dead men; Hurley's darkroom bearing the pencilled line upon the pine boards - "near enough is not good enough" - a litter of chemical bottles and cardboard boxes for glass plates, autochrome and Paget plates; a tiny den of industry recording the life here where it first occurred - you could feel it amidst the ruin.

The mystery of Mawson's room, like the intractable historic figure - glittering with crystals like a fairytale - the chair haloed with light, and the dark damp bed, with the pillow covered in mattress ticking, a massive efflorescence of iceflowers on the shelves, a still life of a bowl, scattered pictures, the Rococo voyeuristic erotica of the Fragonard print of "Girl on a Swing" still stuck on the wall beside the bed, enshrouded in ice - another next to it I recognise but cannot place - Rembrant? Holman Hunt? Pre-Raphaelite?

Things in darkness under the bed, frosted and translucent ice - a mound upon the floor. It felt eventful, waiting, almost as if someone was to return after a hundred years and resume occupancy - a strange sense of having been deserted or left behind, as the empty chair awaits sitting-in or indicates the absent form of the body. It was strange and impressive, that all this was done so long ago, so far away from anywhere, in a genuine terra incognita of its time - and the place remains hardly known and barely trod, and so it should remain. A paradox.

Peter Morse

Day 2 Thoughts & Opening the Hut (almost)

There's so much to describe here - it is the most amazingly beautiful place. A few kilometers of bare mid-grey gneissic rock jutting out to sea, rising to a few low hills of shattered stone, swathed in snow and bands of blue ice, some frozen lakes of pure fresh water that we drink from and cook with (and sometimes wash from - once it's been warmed up on the stove!) The sun traces an arc across the sky and never really sets - last night as I got to bed about 1am I saw a few pink cirrus clouds on the horizon above the pale blue ice of the polar plateau that rises behind us, obscuring the orb and affording the few hours of twilight that we get until it rises again. So it is never dark - this is very weird to adjust to and the only way to sleep is with eye-patches and, of course, my time tested technique of a pillow over the head! This is also effective in keeping the head warm whilst camping in the snow - and, naturally, it is always sub-zero in my tent! This brings with it certain practices - like always wearing thermals, snuggling under bear rugs, wearing warm socks or a beanie - but it is amazing how comfortable it is - I feel entirely happy and at home in my tent in the home of the blizzard! It will be interesting when there is an actual blizzard - you read about it, but I suspect nothing can really prepare you for it. Mawson wrote:

"A plunge into the writhing storm-whirl stamps upon the senses an indelible and awful impression seldom equalled in the whole gamut of natural experience...We stumble and struggle through the Stygian gloom; the merciless blast - an incubus of vengeance - stabs, buffets and freezes; the stinging drift blinds and chokes."

That was in winter, when it never gets light - so I would expect far milder conditions - indeed we seem to have stepped ashore in weather perfectly akin to Mawson's experience - calm, bright blue days with gentle winds or utter stillness - creating a paradisiacal sense of antarctic beauty, the frozen sea-spume like foams of blue-tinged pavlova atop the McKellar islets just offshore, vivid surreal shapes in the fresh and limpid air, the eye drawn to the horizon across the deep blue ocean towards massive icebergs, again tinged with blue, drifting slowly across the curvature of the earth. Scribbles of cirrus in the sky, a sparkling ring around the sun of ice particles refracting light, the puzzled squawks and enquiries of curious teams of Adelie penguins, running towards you, intent to examine these bipedal, brightly coloured aliens newly wandering their landscape; the miraculous, many forms of ice, transparent, blue, ice-sculpted, rippled; snow, firn, soft and hard - a myriad of arrangements enwrapping the startling variety of rocks - that appear to me to be a geologist's dream. And last, but not least, tiny patches and streaks of bright green or yellow lichen, scattered unexpectedly upon rocks or entirely consuming the bones of a penguin skeleton, frozen amidst stones - life and death mere metres from each other in the guano- covered colonies.

Amazing.

And finally we opened the door on Mawson's Hut. It was an emotional moment for me and very kindly Anne and Michelle asked Pete and I to do it - they'd excavated the ice with Jon and Brett and Pete (enough to build an igloo!) and finally freed the door under a metre and a half of solid snow - cut with chainsaws. And so we opened it and I stepped inside and smelt old damp wood and found more snow inside and another door and an amazing overwhelming sense of history, that these people really were here 90 odd years ago (1911-14) and they really did do this stuff. You're reminded constantly by the lugubrious cross to Ninnis and Merz just how lethal this place can be. But opening that door - we immediately found another interior door that is closed (a new one put there by the last Mawson's Huts Foundation Team) - so have yet to step inside- we must be patient as it is a very fragile environment. We removed the skylight covers so you could get glimpses of the interior. Everyone is very excited - there is a great sense of anticipation. I am startled by how much I know this place already by having visited it in my imagination for so long, by having created it virtually upon a computer - and I haven't been too far off - except in one major thing - the detail here, the sense of presence, of its reality, of its startling being.

- Peter Morse

Arrival at Cape Denison

A short note to test the email and to let you know we've arrived! Perfect weather for the transfer from the ship. All's gone as well as possible. Quads are running, tea is brewing.

I feel we're the most fortunate people on earth!

Tony the Doc

First Encounter with Mawson's Hut

Last night, after a rigorous and tiring day of transferring enormous amounts of equipment, food, building supplies and personnel from L'Astrolabe, we all decided to go for a walk to Mawson's Hut before falling asleep - mind you, that was very hard to contemplate amidst the excitement of arrival! I'll detail more later - because I know everyone will be bursting to see how the hut looks - here it is! Stunning.

- Peter Morse

66 degrees 40 minutes South, Commonwealth Bay

It's a beautiful Tuesday morning, 20 NM off the coast of Cape Denison at Commonwealth Bay. During the 'night' (when the sun didn't set at all, but merely transected the horizon for an hour, just after midnight), we steamed past magnificent icebergs in the pack ice. Adelie Penguins abound, living on the ice floes, scurrying for the safety of the water with the ship's approach, then skimming along the surface and diving under floes. I stayed up, soaking it all in until the sun started it's upwards path from the horizon, about 1 am.

Commonwealth Bay itself is clear of ice, apart from some bergs in the distance, broken off from Mertz Glacier to the East. The Antarctic coast is magnificent, awesome, and very, very white. Jon says the coast is a lot whiter than his last trip!

All our cabins are packed and we're waiting for the helicopter to take us the next leg of the journey. It will take many round trips in all to get us and all the gear to shore.

Tony Stewart

Rough Seas in the Furious Fifties

Here's a panorama I shot from the deck above the helipad, the evening before last. The seas were rising and picked up to a 5-6 metre swell - meaning a very uncomfortable night not sleeping as I was tossed around in my bunk. This shot gives an idea - it's impossible to shoot a pano like this over time (it's about 4 shots) as the ship is rolling and pitching on the waves - but it creates the interesting effect of capturing the ship as the still point around which the chaos of the ocean is raging. As a dramatic addition to this, the photographer has to contend with a form of gymnastics necessary to stand up whilst taking this sort of shot - it's not dangerous, but you do have to grab firmly onto things! Contrarily, today has been an ocean of calm as we approached 60º South - we're finally in Antarctic waters! So, naturally, our kind hosts threw a little party on the helideck with a very nice punch. Tres tres jolie! - Peter Morse

60 Degrees South

We entered Antarctic Treaty waters at ~2:30pm Eastern Australia Summer Time today. We should reach the pack ice tomorrow, and our first port of call - the French base at Dumont D'Urville - on Tuesday. From there, we expect to travel around the coast to Commonwealth Bay, where we will be offloaded with all the gear for our work at Cape Denison.

The sea and weather have been very kind to us so far, making for a relaxing journey. There's still some possibility of 'interesting' weather ahead.

The email side of things is working well. It involves some specialised software on one of the laptops and using an Iridium Satellite phone as a modem. The photo shows Peter McCabe and Tony Stewart doing one of the email schedules, on the heli deck of L'Astrolabe.

Expedition departure

At 10 pm December 5th, the French Antarctic re-supply ship L'strolabe set sail from Hobart for Cape Denison with the 2007 Mawson's Huts team aboard. L-R Peter Morse (computer visualisation specialist), Jon Tucker (carpenter), Pete McCabe (Field Leader/carpenter), Tony Stewart (medico), Rob Easther (Expedition Manager-based in Hobart!), Steve Beaton (electrician), Michelle Berry (materials conservator), Anne McConnell (archaeologist).

49 degrees South

We awoke today, Friday 7th December, to a mist-filled ocean, quite a contrast to the sunny day yesterday yet still quite calm. Another good day for relaxing and reading, interspersed by meals. We passed through 49 degrees South (and 145 degrees 46 minutes East) around 6am today. In open ocean we are traveling at 12 knots, so we can expect to move about 4.5 degrees further south each day until we reach the sea ice. Commonwealth Bay is 67 degrees south, near the Antarctic Circle, so we still have several days travel ahead.

On the satellite photos Commonwealth Bay appears to be clear of ice, in contrast to the French base at Dumont D'Urville, where the ice extends tens of kilometres from shore. There's a great sense of anticipation.

First Day on the High Seas

The day has been bright blue and warm in the sun, as L'Astrolabe passed 47º21S 146º21E (according to my new GPS unit), but starting to get chilly as the evening sets in. I spent much of today lying in my bunk recovering from a dose of avomil - anti-seasickness medication that turns you into a zombie, capable only of eating, reading and sleeping and the occasional foray outside - but thankfully those effects are wearing off now and the amazing reality of it all is setting in. We're heading to Mawson's Huts over nearly 2600km of Southern Ocean on a rather small French research vessel on its way to the French station Dumont d'Urville in Terre Adelie. The French crew and expeditioners all seem young and friendly and I have had the opportunity to practice my bad French on them over dinner - always the cause of much amusement - tres jolie. My co-expeditioners (the Mawson team - Pete, Steve, Tony, Jon, Ann, Michelle and Brett) all seem to have coped with the swirling, corkscrewing motion of the ship pretty well (some better than others as you'd expect) - we are sailing over two swells that cross each other diagonally, so the ship rolls and pitches and yaws in an "interesting" fashion. I wonder if these relatively calm seas will give ways to wilder ones (I expect so) and that a little more of that emetic frisson can be anticipated. Hopefully by then I'll have my sea-legs.

The ship inside is steamy and hot - cramped and sauna-like in the cabins - especially in my top bunk - if only it was possible to open a porthole and let in some fresh air! But who's complaining really? I have no doubt the warmth will be very much appreciated in a few days time, when outside temperatures really begin to drop.

The sun vanished in an apricot swirl of clouds at about 8.55pm, and the days will get getting longer and longer until - by the 21st Dec. the sun will not set at all, as Cape Denison is within the Antarctic Circle. Anyway, enough in this first real test-post - I'll try sending a photo tomorrow and a few more coherent thoughts.

Introducing the Team: Peter Morse

Dr Peter Morse is a computer visualisation specialist who will be recording high-definition stereoscopic digital still and video images of Mawson's Huts and the Cape Denison area.

Welcome to the Mawsons Huts 2007-8 Expedition Blog

The day is soon approaching - final preparations being made for departure on Wed Dec 5th! More soon.