Air NZ Blog #1 - Ash

Finally, the planets aligned on Thursday and we were able to depart after four days of delays due to weather. That meant subjecting myself to the sweltering hot 28 degree C days we had in Christchurch. Not exactly ideal acclimatisation for the -20 degree C we were expecting on arrival, but I took this in my stride. I’m not complaining though, as four days of waiting for the opportunity of a lifetime is a very small price to pay.

The twelve orange-jacketed Kiwis on board the Boeing C-17 Globemaster were a small bunch in comparison to the sea of red jacketed Operation Deep Freeze Americans we were sharing the ride down with. Our final destination was the Pegasus ice runway on the Ross Sea ice adjacent to Scott Base (NZ) and McMurdo Base (USA).

It was fascinating inside the cavernous hold of the C-17. My eyes were soon tracing the exposed cable runs, refrigeration units, hydraulic lines, reservoirs and miles of wire runs, trying to work out how everything worked. I was very quick on the uptake when we had the chance to visit the flight deck! There were a few more engine instruments gauges than I’m used to but still a familiar Boeing philosophy showing through.

Panoramic views of the frozen sea ice unfolded beneath us as we approached the continent. For as far as the eye could see stretched an immense sea of white, fractured with vein like tributaries snaking their way through it all. Five hours after take-off and we were preparing ourselves for landing. This meant donning all our Extreme Cold Weather (ECW) clothing in readiness for disembarking onto the frozen continent. I looked and felt like the Michelin man, and I certainly wasn’t cold. I was forewarned about the brightness on exiting the aircraft and it certainly was a “BAM!” moment as I stepped out onto the ice. It was a picture perfect day and Antarctica was there in all of its glory. A quick pinch on the arm to check I wasn’t dreaming and then we were shuttled away to Scott Base.

The majority of the summer crew we had trained with had arrived a week earlier and were there to welcome us to our new home. Our firemen instructors had also arrived previously and within ten minutes of our arrival the fire alarm was screaming and the drills started in earnest. Over the next two days the scenarios continued with two drills per day. One inside the confines of the narrow corridors and rooms of the base, and the other outside in the brutally exposed elements. I’m still learning my way around the base and even with a very thorough induction tour, I would still find myself occasionally disorientated to the location of the latest fire. As a bonus, Darryn [Bennett] asked me to sub in for him in his fire crew while he was away at McMurdo base. I soon found myself pulling “unconscious” bodies out of a smoking Hagglund and rescuing “electrocuted” mechanics from the workshop.

To be able to venture out on the walking tracks around the base, you have to complete a field training course run over two days, with an overnight. This gives you the knowledge and skills to negotiate the hazards particular to Antarctica. Unfortunately ours aren’t scheduled until Tuesday but there are still great opportunities to go on “fam” or familiar trips with guides to some of the early polar explorer huts. I jumped at the chance to go to Discovery Hut near the McMurdo base. This was built by Robert Scott during his first expedition of 1901. Surprisingly enough it was a kitset hut built to an Australian design, complete with open verandah having been trial assembled in Lyttelton before departure. We were guided by Gilly who would put an Antarctic lecturer to shame with her passion and knowledge for the polar explorers. At one point she was close to tears giving an emotional recount of how Scott’s rescue team found him and his companions embraced together in their frozen tomb. The interior of the hut was eerily left as if we had stumbled back in time to 1916. Frozen seal blubber still lay in slabs on the floor and biscuits and cans lay on the shelves. A frying pan with seal meat still in it lay waiting on the range in preparation for their imminent return. This was home for three months for a marooned team supporting Shackleton’s traverse attempt and I struggle to conceive how they managed to survive. Previous exploration parties had elected to stay on board their ships rather than stay inside the draughty and cold building. True survivors and true Antarctic heros!