Jeff of the South: Post the Thirty-Seventh

Bloody wind.

That accursed cyclone which parked its backside on us at Davis has found us again, and decided to park its backside on us again.

It made the Aurora go away, and put a clunkin' great pause in the resupply of Mawson. Therefore, what I have to offer you today is: bugger all.

I have no narrative for you today. Instead what I have is an agglomeration of unrelated photos. So you may view this blog post as a kind of 'Aunty Ethel and Uncle Stan's Slide Night'.

So sit back, prepare to fidget and continually check your watch, and let's get on with it!

First up - a little tour of the living area in the Red Shed.

The living area is directly above the kitchen and mess area - so if you go up the stairs in the entrance foyer instead of turning right, you are greeted by Sir Doug. Again.

At the top of the stairs.

Turning left we enter the lounge. A lounge, I might add, with one of the best views in the world. And a pool table. A pool table with one of the best views in the world!

Views? Best in the world, mate.

In a separate area adjacent to the lounge is a little quiet-room-cum-music-room. With one of the best views in the world.

Did I mention the view?

If you were to stand in the doorway of the quiet room and turn around, you would see this slightly different perspective of the lounge area.

Wow. Would you just look out of that window!

And to the right is this little reading area. Using this reading area is Gerry O, First Officer of the Aurora Australis.

Gerry O. A-reading-o. Hey nonny nonny.

Hang on a tic. Didn't I say that Aurora was gone because of the high winds? Why, yes I did. So why then is the First Officer in the Mawson lounge instead of driving the ship?

Unfortunately for Gerry (or, more accurately, unfortunately for the other officers aboard the Aurora) Gerry had been ashore when the winds picked up earlier than anticipated. He was trapped. I bet he just cursed his luck as he settled in to read his book in the lounge.

A lounge, I might add, which is reputed to have one of the best views in the world.

At the back of the lounge area is the bar. This is the bar.

The bar.

Here is a photo.

A photo.

The photo is of one of the two wind turbines, taken from the main entrance to the Ops Building (which is where my bed is). I did mention that this would be a series of largely unrelated images, didn't I?

Here is another photo.

Another photo.

In this photo you can see 'Copter Wrangler par Excellence, Dave Pullinger, wielding a broom. Why? Well, whenever the weather is bad enough to prevent heli ops, Dave is always there offering to help us slushy types out. He'll wipe down tables, sweep, mop, dry up, slice veg, whatever.

I really appreciate that. Thank you Dave. Your consideration has been most welcome, and most gratefully accepted.

Here is yet another photo.

Yet another photo!

This one is a photo of (believe it or not) the Aurora. This is in the morning of the second day of wind, and the ship has returned in the hopes that it can moor in the harbour. No such luck at this stage, alas, and she is sheltering from the wind behind that stretch of land known as West Arm. You can just see the top of her superstructure.

Now for the most astonishing thing.

Long term readers of this blog will recall how I struggled in vain at Davis for so long to capture a Weddell seal on film (digitally speaking). Eventually I struck it lucky and one (1) Weddell Seal (!) did appear near the station, enabling me to get some photos of it.

Mawson, it would seem, exists to make a mockery of my Weddell seeking efforts. Check this out.