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Food in the cupboards of the hut Sir Edmund Hilary built - Source: ONE News -
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Finally we get to see the Antarctic in all its glory.
The last two mornings we've woken up to brilliant sunshine and clear skies. Our little corner of the ice continent is looking truly stunning. Looking south the mountains are amazing. The sea ice is gleaming and everyone is getting on with their day.
I started mine with a trip down memory lane, a visit to the hut Sir Edmund Hilary built back in the 1950s, when he was planning his trip to the South Pole. Getting into the living quarters was a mission. There were four big heavy doors to keep the polar winter out, then finally we were in the living room which is still kept warm and cozy. The sun was streaming in the windows on to the old-fashioned carpet. The chairs from many years ago were lined up around the walls. The kitchen cupboards were full of things like barley sugars, Marmite and Milo. Just like the old days. Hard to imagine what it would be like setting off on a tractor to travel 1,353 kilometres to reach the pole.
These days Scott Base has become a kind of transport hub for many journeys - most of them shorter and a whole lot easier, scientists heading off to monitor and measure. Some go for a day, some for a week.
At the moment the emphasis is on sea ice research and there's all kinds of projects underway. They're measuring how thick it is, how it forms, how the currents affect it. As the sea ice gradually disappears over the warmer months, so too will the scientists who come here to study it. The next wave will tend to be land-based, interested in the geology of this massive continent.
And all these scientists take a fair bit of looking after. They need feeding. Their trips have to be carefully planned. Before they head off on their research projects they're all given survival training so they can look after themselves in blizzard conditions. They need to know how to set up camp, how to get the primus stove going.
Another essential skill is making sure they keep warm, identifying frost nip before it becomes serious. When it comes to frost bite, prevention is much better than the cure. No one really wants the blackened ends of their fingers amputated.
These seekers of knowledge also need transport. Packed up with all their food and gear they disappear across the ice, tiny black specks amid all the whiteness. There are ski-doos, hagglands, four-wheel drive vehicles, snow-ploughs, quad bikes and a chopper. A form of transport to fit any outing or occasion. A fleet of about 35 and a team of mechanics and engineers to look after them.
We've been spending a bit of time up on the hill behind Scott Base, watching the new windfarm take shape. It's part of becoming cleaner and greener and reducing the reliance on diesel. It's not the first windfarm in the Antarctic. The Australians have one already, but it's ours, and as far as everyone involved is concerned, it's the coolest. The first of the three turbines is nearly complete. The blades went up last night and we watched surrounded by the most incredible view.
We watched as well the comings and goings at the American ice runway nearby. With more than a dozen planes and helicopters flying backwards and forwards to their scientific bases around the region, the airspace round here is surprisingly busy.
With all the comings and goings, this part of the world never really sleeps. And as the scientists say, the more they find out, the more they want to know. The quest knowledge takes them far and wide.
And how amazing - as we went outside at 9.00 last night we had to put sunblock on to avoid betting burnt.
