Weather summary:
Another glorious sunny day in 'Terre Adelie'. Minimal cloud, and the slightest hint of a southerly breeze.
Today's activities
We are at Dumont D'Urville! After an eventful evening on L'Astrolabe celebrating the end of the marine science voyage, there were a few blurry eyes to rub as we gazed upon the shores of the station. At 10am we caught the water taxi from the ship to the walk way up to the main living quarters. We all likened it to a penguin zoo, as we tramped along the elevated platform meandering above thousands of penguins, traversing our way through a picturesque rocky valley. Finally we came to the main complex, and introduced ourselves to the station leader. The tour guides had definitely become the tourists, as we poked around the base with our very own guide, visiting the buildings and the petrel and penguin colonies. We even spotted a few emperor penguins in our travels. The warm hospitality of the French saw us dining on base for lunch and this afternoon preparations were underway for a big BBQ on board L'Astrolabe. As I type this the party is still raging, after an intense voyage with a heavy work program, its great to see the French staff and also the Ukrainian crew letting their hair down and enjoying a party.
The fun continues tomorrow as this small band of Australian ambassadors continue to strengthen the bond with our Antarctic neighbours, I have been lined up for a bit of a slide show of pictures of our Cape Denison adventures. Depending on cargo operations we will be out of port late tomorrow evening or on Tuesday.
Warm wishes from the MHF team.
Peter McCabe Field Leader
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