Uploads from tiabunna, tagged antarctica

Leaving Mawson #2

nobody@flickr.com (tiabunna) — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 05:04:55 -0700

tiabunna posted a photo:

From an old slide. As the "Nella Dan" left the harbour heading North, there still were jobs to be done on the ship, such as checking the Fairchild Hiller FH1100 helicopters. The small orange boat is the "Macpherson Robertson", used by ANARE as a general work boat. Named after the owner of an Australian confectionery company who had been a major sponsor of Antarctic exploration, it was usually referred to as The Lollypop.

Up and away

nobody@flickr.com (tiabunna) — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 05:23:00 -0700

tiabunna posted a photo:

From an old slide. I was fortunate to take a trip in one of the Fairchild Hiller FH1100 helicopters that the Nella Dan was carrying. This is the coast to the east of Mawson, with the second helicopter alongside.

Leaving Mawson

nobody@flickr.com (tiabunna) — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 05:04:55 -0700

tiabunna posted a photo:

From an old slide. As we sailed out of the harbour at Mawson, a number of us stood on the bridge deck, watching as our home of the past year receded into the distance. Little was said, but the expressions tended to be pensive.

Black-browed Albatross

nobody@flickr.com (tiabunna) — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 05:04:57 -0700

tiabunna posted a photo:

From an old slide. On our return we were constantly accompanied by seabirds - usually albatrosses. This is a Black-browed Albatross. At that point I would dearly love to have had a lens longer than 135mm and faster slide film than 25 ISO!

Sunset and a parting iceberg

nobody@flickr.com (tiabunna) — Thu, 01 Nov 2012 05:04:56 -0700

tiabunna posted a photo:

From an old slide. As we sailed home across the Southern Ocean, this was one of the last icebergs sighted. Unlike our trip southward, we had mainly good weather on our return.

Looking south over the plateau

nobody@flickr.com (tiabunna) — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 05:23:00 -0700

tiabunna posted a photo:

From an old slide. From the helicopter the contours of the plateau ice become more visible, as do the flow lines and the areas of crevassing. The coastal ice cliffs are about 30 metres/100 ft high. Our journey inland on the Spring Trip took us approximately in the direction of this photo (though away from the foreground crevassing).

Aerial Mawson

nobody@flickr.com (tiabunna) — Mon, 29 Oct 2012 05:23:00 -0700

tiabunna posted a photo:

From an old slide. I was fortunate to have a trip over Mawson in one of the helicopters carried by the Nella Dan. This is taken roughly toward north, with the station area in the lower right on the shores of Horseshoe Harbour. The dotted lines on the snow at lower left are the doglines.

A year's supply

nobody@flickr.com (tiabunna) — Sat, 27 Oct 2012 03:55:57 -0700

tiabunna posted a photo:

From an old slide. The old meteorological office had been converted to the Met store room: here with the year's supply of stores yet to be packed away. The sign says "No standing any time, Taxis excepted".

New generator

nobody@flickr.com (tiabunna) — Sat, 27 Oct 2012 03:55:58 -0700

tiabunna posted a photo:

From an old slide. A new generator for arrives for the power station. Large heavy items were rafted ashore on two rubber pontoons fitted with bridging timbers.

The "Nella Dan" returns.

nobody@flickr.com (tiabunna) — Sat, 27 Oct 2012 03:55:57 -0700

tiabunna posted a photo:

From an old slide. A year to the day since she had departed, the "Nella Dan" returned to deliver the new party and all their stores: most importantly, to take us home.

Mawson gets a radar

nobody@flickr.com (tiabunna) — Sat, 27 Oct 2012 03:55:59 -0700

tiabunna posted a photo:

From an old slide. Mawson was one of the last major Australian observing stations to receive a wind-finding radar. This is a WF2 with a range of about 200km, being installed in its protective radome in February 1967.

Adelie penguins

nobody@flickr.com (tiabunna) — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 04:23:10 -0700

tiabunna posted a photo:

From an old slide. After our late return from the interior, the sea ice had gone and summer had largely passed. There was no possibility of visiting the penguin colonies on surrounding islands, but various wildlife came visiting the station area.

Around in East Bay

nobody@flickr.com (tiabunna) — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 04:23:11 -0700

tiabunna posted a photo:

From an old slide. Some icebergs had trapped broken sea ice in East Bay, adjacent to Mawson station. Here a Weddel seal has hauled up with an Adelie and Emperor penguin.

Visiting Adelie and Emperor penguins

nobody@flickr.com (tiabunna) — Wed, 24 Oct 2012 04:23:11 -0700

tiabunna posted a photo:

From an old slide. After our return from the interior, while awaiting the arrival of the relief ship "Nella Dan" (caught for some time in sea ice) it was a pleasure to see various wildlife visiting the station area.

Back to Mawson

nobody@flickr.com (tiabunna) — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 05:14:07 -0700

tiabunna posted a photo:

Apart from weather, we had a relatively smooth run back to Mawson. Here the caravans and sledges are being ferried to Mawson - and, since our departure, the sea ice had disappeared.

Getting them out

nobody@flickr.com (tiabunna) — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 05:18:54 -0700

tiabunna posted a photo:

When the blizzard was over, it was necessary to clear the snow from the tractors and sledges. Fortunately, on our way south, we had left our third tractor at a depot not far away, so it was possible to go there with a Snowtrac and retrieve it - checking a safe route and returning very carefully. The first tractor was relatively easy to extract, the "sideways" one proved a problem. First (as above) we tried lifting it sideways with two tractors, using steel cables and bridging timbers: all we achieved was to shake the tractor further down the slot while breaking cables and chains.

Another blow

nobody@flickr.com (tiabunna) — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 05:05:32 -0700

tiabunna posted a photo:

Having both our tractors stuck in the crevasse late at night, we expected to start releasing them the following day. It was not to be, as we had another blizzard, lasting four days and leaving the tractors half buried in snow drifts. More dangerously, the crevasse also had been covered with soft snow, so we had to use safety ropes and ice picks to determine its location.

Why did we stop?

nobody@flickr.com (tiabunna) — Wed, 26 Sep 2012 04:45:13 -0700

tiabunna posted a photo:

Heading back to Mawson station, late at night on the 100th day of our trip and trying to make up lost time, when suddenly we stopped. Our tractor had hit a crevasse, generally referred to as a 'slot'. Many trips had been through this particular area and never before had one been encountered here.

Merry 66 Xmas

nobody@flickr.com (tiabunna) — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 04:18:46 -0700

tiabunna posted a photo:

From an old slide. About as white as Christmas can get - while we had our celebrations, another blizzard developed and was filling the air outside with whirling snow. Our chef, back in Mawson, had prepared the cake for us prior to departure.

Ghost of Christmas (long) past

nobody@flickr.com (tiabunna) — Mon, 24 Sep 2012 03:18:43 -0700

tiabunna posted a photo:

From an old slide and unashamedly "bumped up" in my photo stream to put it in the correct context. The "Spring Trippers" group photo on Christmas Eve, too long ago! (1966).