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



June 20: Midwinter kitchen prep

 

Posers. Photo: Jacque Comery

Stove. Photo: Jacque Comery

Chef at the stove. Photo: Jacque Comery

Chef Justin. Photo: Jacque Comery

All lined up. Photo: Jacque Comery

Planning. Photo: Jacque Comery

 

Making parmesan crisps. Photo: Jacque Comery



Pizza bar. Photo: Jacque Comery

Rich and Ben kitchen hands. Photo: Jacque Comery

June 19: Midwinter heritage lunch

Midwinter's is the biggest event on the Antarctic expeditioner calendar.
We kicked things off on the Friday before midwinter, and joined our colleagues back in Hobart, Australia via video link. We held a heritage lunch in the Tasmanian Parks Service artefacts shed. Chef Justin recreated the earliest menu that we could find in the archives (1959), and we dressed in the best heritage gear of the day that we could rustle up.
Fronts of rain and snow swept over the island  and it was deafening in our shed during the storms. It all added to the mood of the day!


Heritage lunch. Photo: Lionel Whitehorn

Sometimes everyone needs a prop. Photo: Lionel Whitehorn

Cheers! Photo: Rich Youd

Very serious expeditioners. Photo: Rich Youd

Thanks Lionel W and Rich Yfor the pics from the day!

June 18: Pastel sunrise

Such a simple thing as the colours of the sunrise, are a sight not to be taken for granted during winter at Macca.  With almost everyday delivering us precipitation, we usually awake to grey cloud laden skies.
On this crisp morning pastel pinks were painted across the sky like water colours.  A beautiful sight.  It is the things that you don't see that often that captures your attention and your imagination sometimes.

The rising sun glows over the Southern Ocean. Photo: Jacque Comery

Pastel sky from the Hamshack. Photo: Jacque Comery

Pretty pink dawn skies over The Nuggets. Photo: Jacque Comery

June 17: Kelp

Kelp on the beach. Photo: Jacque Comery

 The kelp that lays around the beach is such an interesting thing.  It is so tough and hard you cannot tear it. It feels like  thick leather, and I am not the first person to muse how this would go on a sofa (and yes, the conclusion was nice for a day, then not so well as it rots!). If you try and bite it you can easily punch through its tough skin. Inside it has an interesting honeycomb like structure which is also evident in the pattern on the outside of this freshly washed up example.
Where is grows in big mats in the near shore area it attenuates the surf to a great degree, creating calmer pockets especially at low tide for the elephant seals to wallow in, and for the penguins to enter and exit the water without falling all over the place!
Piles of it are tossed up onto the beach by the huge seas that every passing storm brings.
I can only ponder how beautiful these kelp forests must appear from below the surface, and what an amazing habitat it must create for the  animals that swim amongst it and shelter in it.

June 16: Lookout Gentoo

Gentoo with an excellent vantage point. Photo: Jacque Comery

June 15: Kelp gull

Kelp Gull. Photo: Jacque Comery