Tuesday, November 11, 2008

Easy Come, Easy Go

My first voyage to Antarctica involved 10 weeks on board a ship, crossing the equator then on southwards via various little known islands and eventually bashing through ice nall the way to the ice cliffs of mainland Antarctica. This time, I left the UK on Wednesday afternoon and touched down on the Antarctic Peninsula in time for lunch on Friday.

The photo above shows the Dash 7, the British Antarctic Survey's 'passenger jet' that brings people in and out of Rothera Research Station from late October to early March. It lands on wheels on a runway kept clear of snow and can even make it further south to land on blue ice runways. This morning the Dash 7 left Rothera bound for Punta Arenas in southern Chile. Amongst it's 14 or so passengers and crew was Matt Balmer, who's just finished 2 and a half years working as an electronics engineers down here without once leaving. When the plane returns tomorrow morning, it will bring the Dutch crown Prince and Princess, on a weekend trip south as part of their world tour monitoring the effects of global climate change.



5 comments:

BLS said...

A dash 7 looks small for Antartica. Living by Christchurch NZ airport Im used to seeing the Hercules with skis attached and the GIANT usaf freighters flying to the ice. Thanks for the great photos.

Inge' said...

You have the most amazing blog! I really enjoy seeing your photos and reading about your life.

I cannot imagine staying in such a place for over 2 years without leaving though. That guy must really have it together in his mind to handle that kind of isolation for so long!

Ryan McGinnis said...

Enjoy reading your blog. Gotta admit -- depsite all the cold, and the more cold, and the even more cold, compounded with a smidgen of snow blindness -- what you're doing sounds like the experience of a lifetime. The photographer in me is quite jealous.

Sohbet said...

www.ircask.com ircask.com sohbet sitesi üzerinden sohbet ve aşk odalarında sohbet edilebilir. ircask sohbet siteleri blog irc forum sohbet ekle islami sohbet galeri msn mp3 güzel sözler chat directory

Unknown said...

I enjoying reading in your blog..Weee
custom upholstered furniture