The Terrible Twins' Last Hurrah

This was Hazel’s last full week on base. I am not sure who is more distressed by this, me or her. I do not like the fact that it means that I only have 17 or 18 days left on base myself. What am I going to do when I can’t look out of my window at this view? Anyway, enough of that.

Most of this week has been taken up by preparing for handover. Tidying things away, cleaning the boatshed etc. Yesterday (Saturday) Hazel and I had the joy of preparing the main freezer for the arrival of a year’s worth of frozen food. We moved a lot of boxes and made a fair amount of mess before we were done but now we have room, which will be very necessary. Hazel also has been packing and moving into my room to make room for the new guys. It is an odd feeling to be sharing again but it won’t be long. Once Hazel leaves Julie (the new doc) will take her place in my room but soon she’ll have the pit room all to herself when I leave. 

An important event this week was a visit, on a cruise ship, by Hazel’s parents. She was very pleased to be able to show them the base and the island and I was privileged to meet them. They are now on their way down to the Antarctic Peninsula and having a grand time by all accounts.

Hazel with her new coat (she's very proud of it)

 On Wednesday we decided that we needed to make sure that we had one last night off base. After work we (Hazel, Micky and I) collected our tents, stove, sleeping bags and food and headed round to Penguin River. We had planned our excursion to include bright evening sun and a calm evening but the weather, as usual, had other ideas. No rain luckily but wind and clouds which meant that we spent most of the time in the tent. We all had boil in the bag dinners, a change for Hazel and me since most of our ‘rat packs’ are dried. We had a truly lovely evening sitting in the tent chatting, drinking a bottle of wine, eating some of Hugh’s (the post master) excellent brownies and generally enjoying ourselves.

The next morning we were woken at about 0400 by the sun rising and the world rising with it. We lay in our sleeping bags just listening. We could hear the chattering of the King penguins as they stood on the spit in the middle of the river in different stages of moulting. In the distance we could hear the roaring of a bull Elephant Seal who had found a favourite echo on the cliffs and was using it to great advantage to send his challenge ringing round the bay. We could also hear the weaners (young seals) playing in the water. They are the most endearing things. Two males will come together and play, practicing fighting each other, rearing their fat bodies up and slapping each other with their necks. Sometimes however one gets distracted by the clouds and stays with his head up looking at them. His playmate is usually annoyed by this and will slap him gently with his flip until he returns his gaze to earth. I passed one a little later in the morning who was all alone in a pool just blowing bubbles. 

In various stages of moult    Photo: H. Woodland

Lurking in the ice

                 Displeased with our presence           Photo: H. Woodland

Keeping his flips warm

At about 0530 Hazel stuck her head out of our tent to check whether it was a nice day or not and said, jokingly, “I think we have the attention of a male.” She then lay back down in the tent. About five minutes later we heard a thwumping noise. Luckily Hazel looked out again and like a scalded rabbit shot out of her sleeping bag and the tent. The male that she had said had noticed us had indeed got his eye on us, not only that, he was advancing fast (the thwumping noise) to put his amorous advances into action. Hazel had to dissuade him by hitting the ground in front of his nose with a stick but he looked pretty determined. He stayed there eyeing the tent up while we had our tea but luckily Hazel had persuaded him that we were not a good bet. When we struck camp he took massive fright when we took the outer sheet off the tent and hared off. That would have been one very ‘interesting’ way to wake up.

              The terrible twins' morning tea (with smoke)        Photo: M. Sutcliffe

  

Morning tea with our admirer

Dissuading him from his amorous advances

We had a cup of tea and then had to strike camp and return to base fairly quickly. We all had to be back to work, Micky was late since he starts at 0700, and Hazel had to go onto the Fram (a cruise ship) to help with the post office. Unfortunately she was a little late, we only arrived back at base at 0800, but it was fine.

On Sunday we decided that we had to have a last weekend walk. We had heard from Kris and Josie (two of the Museumees), who had stayed at Harpon on Friday night, that there was a huge ice tunnel close to the hut so we decided to go and investigate. We had to be back on base by 1600; Hazel because she was cooking for the builders (in return for the amount of times they have cooked us two Sunday roast) and I  because I had to check the boats ready to pick up pick up the new winterers off the JCR (one of the BAS ships). It normally takes about 3 hours to get to Harpon so we left base at 0800. Hazel and Micky went into another gear and with some huffing and puffing I managed to keep up and we got to Harpon in under two hours. We found the ice tunnel and had a good investigation of it. The ice over there is covered in moraine so there was very little light that got through the ice. This made it look as if it was made of obsidian. Then as you looked into the walls you could see that there were rocks caught in the ice. It was as if you were looking at a meteor shower in space. I found it incredible to think that they were hanging there, not only in space but in time as well. Once we came out of the tunnel we made our way to the beach and had a look at the seals there. The weather then clagged in so we went to the hut and had a couple of cups of tea and bacon sandwiches kindly made and brought by Micky. 

Entrance

The ice tunnel

Suspended in time

Once we left the hut the wind, which was gale force, literally blew us up and over Echo Pass and we got home in an hour and a half. This is a record and is impressive considering that Hugh, who is a fast runner, can get to the hut in an hour and ten minutes and we were walking with packs. It was a lovely and fitting last walk and I really enjoyed it.

Once I have written this I will go down to the jetty and prepare to either go out by boat and collect the new guys arriving or wait to take the JCR’s lines as she drops items off. Once she has dropped these guys off she will turn tail and head back up the island overnight to reach Bird Island in the morning. There she will do relief and then return to us to do our relief. This is my last blog as the sole boaty on base and (probably) my penultimate one from KEP. A sobering thought but it does mean that I am closer to seeing my family and friends... and trees. I do miss trees.

On that note.

Have a good week.

The Beginning of Departures

And so starts the beginning of the end. Yesterday Jo and Nik left. They both return to the Falklands and from there to the UK through different routes. Nik will return to Bangor and start work there, Jo starts her leave by heading almost immediately off to Spain. She will however return here in March for 8 months.

On Monday Erny and I had finished everything we could in the boatshed on the engine so we put it back into Pipit. It was a slightly nervewracking experience, especially since the wind meant that the JCB couldn’t be exactly square onto the boat. We managed it in the end and started the process of reattaching everything. On Tuesday this was complete and we fired her up. She started at the first push of the button which was very reassuring. We did discover a leak in the fuel stop solenoid which had been badly fitted at the factory. Slightly worrying since they had run it in in the factory but Erny soon fixed it. 

              Micky has a new workmate    Photo: M. Sutcliffe

 As soon as we had finished on Tuesday I headed after Hazel and Jo to Maiviken. They had gone ahead since I didn’t know how long I would be. I managed to make it over to the hut in 45 mins form the church, including putting on and taking off snowshoes. I was pretty impressed with myself actually. Coming up to Deadman’s Pass I was puffing, panting and generally feeling terribly unfit but then I looked at my watch and realised that I was probably allowed to feel a little tired. I was greeted by a nice pewter mug of gin and tonic and we had a lovely ‘sundowner’ outside the hut. This was our last night away together and it was a lovely one. We even managed to have poppadoms on the menu in the hut, which is probably a first for South Georgia,  and they were delicious. 

The next day was such a lovely day that we decided to go down to Maiviken and see what we wanted to do from there. We first devoured a couple of bacon sandwiches since the curry the night before obviously wasn’t enough. We even made one for Daniel who had arrived over for his penguin egg count. This is the season in which he has the most work; from now on he has to come over to Maiviken every other day, whether to check on the Gentoo colony or to do a seal count.

While it was a beautiful day it was incredibly windy so in the morning we stayed low. We sat on the top of a small cliff and watched some wonderful Sooty Albatrosses on their nests. Suddenly there was a swoop above us and there was one coming in to land. It was very gusty so he had to make several attempts, spending all in all about 10/15 mins banking and wheeling and trying to land. He did most of this with his ‘landing gear’ flapping in the wind. It was  incredible to have this majestic bird swooping so close to our heads that if we had put our hands out we would have touched him. Eventually he landed and, looking exceptionally pleased with himself, settled down for the day.  

                                               Sooty soaring                    Photo: H. Woodland

 

                                             Landing gear down               Photo: H. Woodland

At that point none of us were ready to return to base yet so we decided to go back up to Spencer Ridge, where Hazel and I had gone last weekend. This time we decided to go up via the tussock rather than the scree and it was much nicer. We spent a very windy hour or so on the top and then reluctantly decided it was probably time to head for home. It was so windy that I could lean with pretty much all of my weight into the wind and still stay on my feet. It was quite a broad ridge so it was safe. I jumped off one bit of rock and found myself landing much further along than normal due to flying in the wind. We returned home to a delicious dinner at Carse House cooked by Sarah to say goodbye to Jo and Nik. It was lovely and I enjoyed conversation with new people (the museumees).

Thursday and Friday were a blur of tidying up the boatshed etc. On Friday Jo, Hazel and I wandered up to Sooty Bluff for a last walk together. The time has finally come when enough Fur Seals have returned that one needs a bodger to walk to Sooty Bluff, just to tickle them under the chin if they start to look a little aggressive. I seem to have found my niche in the Hazel/Jo/Ella friendship: I bring laughter as people laugh at me falling over and I am the shield for the other two to wander along the beach with. We were prevented from getting all the way to Sooty Bluff by one large male with ‘crazy eyes’, we decided it was not worth trying to get past him. It was a really lovely walk though. That night we had a BBQ. It was unfortunately distinctly cold but good none the less.

It was with a heavy heart on Saturday that I wandered down to the jetty with Jo to say goodbye. I know that I will see her again (if only because she has invited me to spend some time with her in Spain) but it really did feel like the beginning of the end of my time here. We have had so many adventures together, had such great times and become such firm friends that it was a real wrench to say goodbye.

The rest of the Saturday was beset by a snow storm. This was very fitting since whenever Jo went on holiday the sun always shone and it seemed as if South Georgia was crying for her departure. I spent most of the day in the kitchen, helping Hazel with her Saturday cook. I also managed to clean and rearrange my room and bath room in preparation for Hazel moving in for a couple of days at the end of this week to make room for the new lot coming in and then for Julie (the new Doc) with whom I will be sharing till I leave. Dinner was a real success: black pudding on a bed of grated carrot and beetroot with melted brie and salami slices on top served with onion chutney. Then a chicken pie with mash, green beans and broad beans. To top it all off we had rhubarb crumble with custard. Perfect.

Today (Sunday) Hazel, Micky and I got out of the house early to make the most of the weather and headed up Hodges. This is a peak directly behind Grytviken, hovering over the whole cove like a benevolent giant. There are three possible routes and we decided to go straight up the front face. It was fine until we hit a snow slope which we needed to traverse. Luckily we had brought ice axes because without them we wouldn’t have been able to go up that route. Now,  I don’t like heights at all and we had to kick steps into the slope traversing it. It was pretty steep and at the bottom of this slope are cliffs and air. I have to admit that I kept my head down, looking at my steps and tried to keep my breathing level. I was very pleased when that section was over. The only other ‘bad’ bit was a bit of a scrambly climb over a step to move onto another slope. This would have been fine in normal circumstances but this is South Georgia and you can put your hand onto what looks like solid rock for it to crumble at your finger tips. I did not want that to happen while climbing. Again all was fine and we made it to the very windy summit after a couple of hours from starting. 

                                      The base from half-way up           Photo: H. Woodland

                                            Scree is unpleasant                    Photo: M. Sutcliffe

At the top

We had lunch tucked under the peak and then returned down the other side of the peak into Boulder Pass and then down Deadman’s. It was as usual a lovely day and I thoroughly enjoyed myself (except when slightly scared). Going up Hodges was the last thing that I had on my list of things to do so I was very pleased I managed it. The only thing marring the day was the fact that Jo wasn’t there with us.

By this time next week the new folk will have arrived, we will have started handover and the countdown to coming home, a rather sobering thought. I am looking forward to this week though and am waiting to see what it will bring.

In honour of it being Remembrance Sunday as I write this:

“We will remember them”

Engines and Ellies

So starts the last month of my time in South Georgia. I am not going to dwell on it too much but since I woke up this morning remembering that fact I thought I would share it.

Last week Erny and I decided that Pipit’s port engine was so far gone that we had to remove it and change it for the spare one. This meant we spent Tuesday and Wednesday undoing and removing every bit of wiring, piping, hardware and everything that attached the engine to the boat. We also made some swift calculations about how heavy the engine was (1 ton) and what would be able to lift it (the JCB). On Wednesday it was the moment of truth and Joe carefully lifted the engine out using the JCB. It swung gently and with careful handling by Erny and myself we made sure it didn’t graze anything as it came out. We then took it into the boatshed, set it down on some stands and started the work of transferring everything that we had borrowed from the spare engine back over to the new engine. This included the starter motor, alternator, turbocharger, radiator cap and other bits and pieces. We also removed some fancy electronics which the spare engine has since it is a new engine which the other 3 don’t have. This includes glow plugs and a fancy coolant temperature sensor. We don’t actually have a mode for glow plugs in the starter system on the jetbaots because we keep the engines warm anyway so it would just have been confusing. All we have to do now is change the mountings from the old engine to the new one (which doesn’t have any on at the moment) and then we will be ready to replace it. I am not sure when this is going to happen since we need a calm day to ensure the boat doesn’t move around too much and the forecast is not good for the rest of the week but we will figure it out. 

Where the engine was

Slightly nerve-wracking ........

 While working out on the boat we were kept company by some Ellies. There was one big male who kept swimming around the boats checking out what was going on which was pretty cool. There are also now weaners (pups who have weaned) littered about the place. I thought they would all wean around the same time but we still have pups being born and suckling with their thick black fur and weaners in different stages of moult all together. There was one weaner who lay exactly where we get onto the boats. She just slept and didn’t seem to notice whenever we walked past (or sometimes over) her. She was very sweet so I named her Nellie the Ellie and she has been very companionable. 

Checking on our work

Nellie the Ellie

Sleeping Nellie

 On Friday Hazel and I took Jo out to the last transhipping of the season. We had to go out in Prion. She still smokes a huge amount but once I get over that embarrassment it is quite cool, we have our very own smoke machine and Jo climbs up the pilot ladder out of it just like a stuntman in a film.

After that we had to go and pick up Rod and Nik from Sorling where they were staying after coming back from St Andrews. I decided that I was sick and tired of the jetboats so we went in 2 RIBs. It felt very good to be in a RIB again and I very much enjoyed the trip over and back. Just as Hazel and I were about to beach to collect them I noticed a large shape swimming under my bow. It took me a couple of seconds to realise that it was a male Ellie swimming under me, he obviously hadn’t noticed the boat and since we were only in about 3 feet of water I had to go into reverse so as not to hit him, which luckily I didn’t, and I noticed him a little later watching with interest our doings as we got them aboard.

On Saturday Daniel took Hazel over to Maiviken to show her how to count penguin eggs since he was heading off to Prion Island on Sunday to count albatross chicks. I followed them at a gentler pace with the new Museumees. It was their first walk on the island and boy did they have a good day for it. The cloud in the morning had hung low and the whole place looked a little cut off at the knees but then the sun burnt the cloud off and we were treated to one of those spectacular days where the sun just makes everything even more magical than normal. The view as you pop up over Deadmans Pass always takes my breath away but I love watching it through new people’s eyes as they experience the glory of South Georgia for the first time. We went down and joined Daniel and Hazel, who had finished their work, and we all had lunch sitting pretty close to the penguins. It was Josie’s birthday and she was rather bowled over by it. I have to say sitting in the sunshine eating with penguins is one of the things I am going to miss about this place, even the smell of the guano. 

Maiviken from above

 After lunch Hazel and I decided to try and get onto the ridge to the right of Maiviken. Very sensibly, looking at the rather nasty scree slope they would have to tackle, the museumees said no thank you and went down to the beach with Daniel to see the seals. We scrambled up the scree (I had forgotten how much I dislike scree slopes) and eventually, after much sliding and cursing, got onto the top of the ridge. It was a spectacular view down to the other side of the peninsula and beyond, out to sea. We saw a yacht come in and she looked miniscule. 

On top of the ridge

 We wandered along the ridge to the end and there sat and relaxed for a bit, alternately chatting and dozing and just enjoying the view. At 1600, knowing we had to sign in back on base by 1800, we finally decided to wend our way back. Wend was the word along the top, not so much on the scree slope. I managed to scree surf which sounds much better than it actually is, I was not sure I would be able to stop. We made it down in one piece and headed home for a Halloween themed Saturday night cook.

On Sunday the weather was miserable so I messed around in the Chippy Shop, Jo Hazel and I watched ‘Creation’ about Darwin and then we and Nik had been invited to dinner at Druken Villa (the museum residence in Grytviken) where we had a lovely evening full of laughs and jollity. All in all it was a great end to the week.

This Saturday Jo and Nik leave which is going to be very sad. We had better make the most of our time together. 

The funky clouds have started