October 2: Snowflakes....

A September project started by my friend Justin on Station was to capture the beauty of some Macquarie Island snowflakes. After watching Justin trying to scurry back and forth between the Market Square and the freezer during snow flurries for a few days, I couldn't help but join in the fun, appointing myself  assistant snowflake catcher.
Let's be clear, these snow flake images were hard fought.
Snow storms pass in fronts here so just trying to collect them on glass plates during 30 to 40 knot winds was the first challenge. It snows at around minus 1 C here, so the next challenge was to run with the captured snowflake, without it sliding off the glass and before it melted, into the freezer. Justin would then be at the ready inside the minus 18 freezer, with his camera poised. A ridiculous but ingenious set up was devised for mounting his camera and lights using bunsen burner stand and tripods that I found in the science laboratory. Then Justin would have to find the tiny snowflake on the glass plate, all whilst his fingers would be freezing. Then finally we'd stand and hold our breath and be really still and then.....click...
.....wonderful sub-Antarctic snowflake crystals. We ran out of time to perfect the set up, but these images capture the beauty of the delicate and intricate crystals of our Macca snowflakes.
Thank you Justin for sharing your project with me! (Especially in face of my incessant over-enthusiasm!)

Snowflake. Photo: Justin Chambers

Snowflake. Photo: Justin Chambers

Snowflake. Photo: Justin Chambers 

Snowflake. Photo:Justin Chambers

Snow crystals. Photo:Justin Chambers

Snow crystals. Photo: Jacque Comery

September 29: Power house engines

Lionel our Station Mechanic, invited me to help out on a service on the  engines in the main power house. He has been kindly  tutoring me  on engine maintenance  to assist in my study towards my Marine Engine Driver Course (MED3).
On this day Lionel taught me how to undertake a valve adjustment.
The engines which power our station are marine diesel engines, and so I am able to complete many of the tasks required of my course here on Station with Lionel.

Valve adjustment. Photo: Lionel Whitehorn

Maintenance on the engines in the power house. Photo: Lionel Whitehorn

September 18: Station BBQ

Even in the sub-Antarctic a BBQ is sometimes called for. On this day we had completed a Search and Rescue training exercise that was run over 5 hours. We celebrated with a BBQ outside of the chippies workshop.

Relaxing by the fire drum. Photo: Jacque Comery

Taste testing. Photo: Jacque Comery

The BBQ skewers. Photo: Jacque Comery

Sitting by the fire. Photo: Jacque Comery

BBQ on the workshop porch> Photo: Jacque Comery

Rugged up for the BBQ. Photo: Jacque Comery

August 5: Snow day





 

Garden Cove donga. Photo: Jacque Comery

Snow drifts at the Mess. Photo: Jacque Comery

Water tanks. Photo: Jacque Comery

The green store. Photo: Jacque Comery

Station buildings. Photo: Jacque Comery

Distribution hut a little buried. Photo: Jacque Comery

 

August 3: Blizzard

The snow began to fall last night, and did not abate at all throughout the day. We have not had such a sustained fall since we arrived. A pretty white dusting soon turned into a blanket, and by evening, snow drifts almost a metre high had accumulated around the mess.


Me waking across market square from the mess to Cumpstons in the mid afternoon. Photo: Andrea Turbett

 

Working from the office on a snow day. Photo: Andrea Turbett

July 24: The Station cats...

Cats were first introduced to Macquarie Island by sealers, brought ashore to help protect food stores from rodents also introduced to the island by ships. No doubt they also quickly became companions to men living a harsh and lonely existence. With little food and being left to fend for themselves  some strayed and soon became wild. Whilst cats were first mentioned as living on the island in 1820, it was likely that they were present before this. By 1912 feral cats were described as being numerous.

Sir Douglas Mawson himself  in his address to the Australian Geographic Society in 1919 declared his opinion that the cats of the island were a menace to birdlife and should be exterminated.
In the 1970's it was estimated that there were  170 to 250 cats on the island killing 60,000 burrowing seabirds annually.

In 1996 the  Commonwealth and Tasmania Governments funded a five year cat eradication program, which was declared a success in 2002, and the island remains cats free today.
A few pelts hang in Tasmanian Parks office on Station, a testament to the wily hunters that prevailed on the island for almost two centuries.
This station photo from 1980 hangs on the wall in the mess, and two station cats appear, clearly companions of expeditioners.
Oh what a joy it would be to  have the company of a feline companion through the long winter. Alas the impact on wildlife here speaks for itself, and the eradication of cats from Macquarie Island has allowed many species regain a foothold  in an ecological balance upset so long ago, with the first arrival of humans.
For a wonderful read on the life of a Ranger involved in the hunting of  Feral Cats on Macquarie Island check out Feral Dilemma, by Michael Anderson, 2014.

The 1980 Macca Station crew, complete with pet cats. Photo: Jacque Comery

July 23: An aurora on a windy, cloudy night

An aurora appears....yah!
Oh, it is windy and cloudy and a bit rainy too...oh...
Internet doesn't work, not much else going on...ok...photo challenge!
Now for the challenge part.
Firstly the wind. It buffets and shakes the tripod so much that no attempt of shielding it with your body, hugging it, or hanging from it seems to steady things enough to get 13 seconds of shake free exposure time! (Well we do live in the Furious Fifties I guess). Not to mention that you almost get blown off the vantage points from which you want to shoot from (on this occasion the 'golf tee' half way up Wireless Hill).
It whips an endless spray of salt through the air, which coats your lens, gets into your camera, and all over your face, but also spreads a fine mist overhead which disperses the light in the shots, making everything a big green pile!
The clouds? Well that is obvious. They just get in the way. Although sometimes they do offer some nice contrast in the sky.
And then the moon turns up, flooding everything with light, including the sea mist, trying to steal the attention of the big green aurora lights.

The outcome? Many photos of auroras peeking behind clouds with wiggly stars in the sky that look like a plague of small white larvae, that have escaped into my camera lens!

On the upside though, a fun night was had just being in the great outdoors and making the best challenge of Macca's elements. And good company is always to be found in like minded souls also stumbling around in the dark, trying to avoid elephant seals, just trying to take a damn photo!

And here they are....

Aurora to the east. Photo: Jacque Comery

Moon to the west from Wireless Hill Golf Tee. Photo: Jacque Comery



Trying to make an appearance from behind the clouds. Photo: Jacque Comery

Big green pile! Photo: Jacque Comery

July 17: Trip to Brother's Point

I had planned to walk to Brother's Point Hut and rendezvous with Ranger Anna to assist her with Petrel burrow searches. Overnight snow falls buried many of the burrows, so Anna cancelled the hunt. I was happy to walk out to the hut anyway, and so began my three day Brother's Point Hut trip.  My plan was read, eat, check out the beach for cool stuff, read, etc, walk on the beach... you get the picture.
 

Brother's Point Hut with Brothers Point in the background. Photo: Jacque Comery

This hut is one of two that were actually moved from their original location at the former research station on Heard Island, to Macquarie Island. (The other is at Waterfall Bay). Imagine living in a whole village of googies!  How very Jetsons! The cold porch on the side has shelves for stores and is where we leave wet gear and boots. The green wooden box on the balcony is the fridge. ( It IS just a box, but Macca temperatures are usually pretty fridge like.

The googie or spaceship hut. Photo: Jacque Comery

 





I arrived at the hut in good time, and put on dry clothes, made a cuppa,  and had a relax after my hike out. The water pipe to the hut was frozen so I scooped water out of the top of the tank to fill the kettle and get water for the night. It was so cold that ice was freezing on the jug between scoops!

Inside the hut. Photo: Jacque Comery

Cosy bed! Photo: Jacque Comery

View back up to the plateau. Photo: Jacque Comery



View from Brother's Point to the north. Photo: Jacque Comery

The googie window. Photo: Jacque Comery

Frozen jug. Photo: Jacque Comery

Scooping water from the hut tank. Photo: Jacque Comery

 

My cosy little spaceship hut was warm and toasty in no time, and after taking advantage of the short-lived sunshine I bunkered down to read for the whole afternoon. 

The winds built throughout the day and by nightfall the hut was shaking on it's foundations. I wondered if I actually might experience flying in the  space ship!





 

July 14: Rye bread!

Chef Justin has been teaching me new more new tricks...
Presenting....
RYE BREAD!!!!

Clearly the fact that these loaves of bread are the subject of post of the day demonstrates how excited I am to make bread!
Perhaps I shall leave here and start an artisan bakery.  It will need to be artisan so as to accommodate my unpredictably shaped outputs! ...or maybe not...



Rye bread. Photo: Jacque Comery

July 9: Breadmaking

Today was my day to cook in the kitchen. I thought I'd give the bread making a go. For a bit of fun, I changed up the recipe that Chef Justin taught me and made a four seed loaf. I couldn't find linseeds so I threw in, poppy seeds, black and white sesame seeds, pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds.
I couldn't have been more chuffed with the results.
Yah! Bread making is my new favourite hobby.



Dough ready for the tray. Photo: Jacque Comery



Ready for the proofer. Photo: Jacque Comery

Introducing my 4 Seed bread loaf. Photo: Jacque Comery

July 7: Pie!

With chef off station along with 6 others, we have been talking turns to cook dinner for the six remaining expeditioners back at VJM.
Tonight I was surprised by a menu offering called "Station Leader Pie". Yah! Thanks Deputy Chef Dan for the vegie pie!

Station Leader Pie!. Photo: Ben Golden

June 6: Not who I was expecting at the front door...

Upon reflection if I could chose from all of the uninvited visitors that I've ever had call upon my doorstep, I'd chose this guy hands down. He had no message to preach, nothing to sell, and no donation to seek... in fact I am not entirely sure if he knew what exactly he was even doing on my doorstep, or that it even was a doorstep!



Elephant seal on my doorstep. Photo: Jacque Comery

I really think he wants to come in!. Photo: Jacque Comery

 

June 21: Midwinter Day on Macca

The shortest day of the year was celebrated  with respect to old traditions and a few fun activities of our own.
The traditional midwinter swim was first up with a swim on both sides of the Isthmus.  Cold is an epic understatement. This was followed by recovery in the sauna and spa, and an afternoon Macca multisports olympics. In the evening we enjoyed a mid-winter cocktail, and a spectacular gift of a 13 course degustation menu from Chef Justin.
We welcome the arrival of longer days to give us more daylight in which to explore our island home.



All set for the midwinter swim in sub-zero temperatures. Photo: Lionel Whitehorn

Must run faster....can't feel legs..  Photo: Lionel Whitehorn

 

The east coast. Photo: Mark Baker

 

Post swim hot tub. Photo: Lionel Whitehorn

Shooting hoops at the Macca Olympics. Photo Rich Youd

Recording midwinter.: Photo: Lionel Whitehorn

68th ANARE crew. Photo: Lionel Whitehorn