Rothera, Antarctica

Niv (one of our field assistants) very kindly took me out on a traverse of Reptile ridge today. It was a really beautiful day, sunny, calm and clear in all directions. Thanks to Niv for a great day and for the photo.

Lagoon Island, Antarctica

Lagoon Island, Antarctica

Lagoon Island, Antarctica

I don't want to alarm anyone, but I think there might be a ostrich nesting on Lagoon Island.

Lagoon Island, Antarctica

Lagoon Island, Antarctica

Lagoon Island, Antarctica

Before they all left, the remaining girls decided we should have a girlie night, so the six of us went over to Lagoon Island for the night. On arrival we were greeted by a herd of elephant seals piled up against the hut.

Rothera, Antarctica

Rothera, Antarctica

Rothera, Antarctica

With the planes all fledged, base has suddenly become a lot quieter. We are now down to about 40, 18 of whom will be staying through the winter. The remaining people are waiting for the Ernest Shackleton to take them north at the beginning of April. Suddenly this wintering lark seems a lot more real. This is four of us, from left to right, Tom (electronics engineer), Mairi (marine assistant), Tim (sparky) and Adam (comms manager), enjoying a Sunday afternoon boat ride.

Rothera, Antarctica

With all the field work completed, the air unit was able to pack up and fly home. One by one the Twin Otters left Rothera to begin their long journey north. On 1st March the Dash 7 was the last to leave. As we waved it good bye we began rolling away the runway, ready for the winter. As it turns out it was needed much sooner than we thought. There was one more Basler still trying to get home. It was stuck at Halley with its back wheel ripped out of the undercarriage, a result of one too many rough landings. After a lot of will-they-won't-they, the plane was finally fixed and ready to fly north, via us. This is the Basler, our actual real last plane of the summer leaving Rothera. Runway status? No known traffic!

Rothera, Antarctica

Nighttime at Rothera is a bit of a novalty at the moment. It crept in slowly at first, but now arrives with conviction and stays for several hours. I laughed when I first saw Orion and saw that he was upside down- his sword has become a bunch of flowers. It reminded me of a night at Selside, Felicity Perry, Tor Smith and Verity Payne!