One of my favourite shots

 

Farewell penguins

 

Farewell to the home of the Wandering Albatros. It's been a blast!

 

View from our porthole. The first sunrise I have seen for months - and it is just beautiful.

 

And leave Antarctica behind forever

 

We enter the ice pack ...

 

The land slips by ...

 

Those left behind, let off farewell flares as we sailed away from Casey and the snow closed in.

 

John, Chris and I with Petie to the right. Snow falls as we leave Casey.

 

Beth, John & I head out to the AA - going home!

 

A gorgeous Wilkes shot

 

JOhn, Me, Chris, Andrew. We had just been given our Antarctic medals just before leaving Casey forever.

 

The Aurora Australis at Anchor at Casey

 

The whole family. Back John, Beth, Andrew, Me, Nicky. Front Leo & Chris

 

JD and I at Wilkes on Boxing day

 

Last entry - Feb 2007. The journey and adventure ends here.

OK, well it has been a while.
I got back to Hobart Sunday 14th January – 2007.
The sea voyage was nice and uneventful, the water was calm and the trip was quick. 9 days in all. It was a strange feeling pulling away from Casey Station. John, Chris, Beth, Leo and I stood on the roof of the ship for a long time watching the shores of Antarctica slip by. John and I stayed up there for hours, just watching the light change and the ice and magnificent Bergs flow by, knowing it would be the last time we ever saw them again. It was bitter sweet really. It was an end to the whole adventure and the closing of an amazing chapter in our lives.

It is nice to be home – I am back in Newcastle now. Maxy the Dog was SO excited to see me. For two days he never left my side, staying at my heals constantly. Then he realised I wasn't going anywhere and he relaxed once more. We spent two weeks in Hobart, then two weeks in melbourne catchin up with family and fiends, then made our way home to Newcaslte. Maxy was exstatic to be home, didn't take him long to settle in once more.

Arriving home wasn’t too great initially - The tenants I had, had trashed my house and I have had to replace all the carpets and need to re-paint most of the walls. It took the professional cleaners over 4 hours to clean the filth these pigs left behind. Also, on a NO PETS lease, these bastards had 2 dogs, 4 cats, 4 rabbits and a bird – all inside! One dog was apparently a huge monster that has destroyed my side fence, trying to get in to next doors dogs, presumably to kill them by the sounds of things. The fence is being replaced tomorrow. I am pretty pissed at all of this because I have had inspections while I have been away and the Property managers sung the praises of these tenants. Obviously they never actually VISITED the bloody house! But that is another battle to fight. I am currently taking the tenants to the rentals tribunal to try and have their bond released to me. Doesn’t come anywhere near to the nearly $5K I have had to spend but it is a matter of principle. These pricks should NOT be allowed to get away with this! I don’t even live with much hope that I will even get their bond released to me – the system sees to be on the side of the tenants, no matter how much damage they do. We shall see. But it is still nice to be back home in my own little house, in my own space. I don't return to work unitl April 2nd, so am having a much deserved rest at the moment.

On an entirely different note: a pretty amazing thing happened three weeks before I left Casey Station. John Donaldson – the PI whom is always being written about in this Blog because we are always together – and I got together. On our first day back on Oz soil – in Hobart – he asked me to marry him. Of course I will, who wouldn’t, he is an absolute darling of a man and I adore him with all of my heart and soul. We have become best friends over the past 18 months and it is lovely that we are now in love. So there you go. I had to go all the way to Antarctica to meet the man of my dreams and then waited until 3 weeks before the whole adventure was over before I let it happen. Ha ha – typical Trace.

OK, well this is the chapter closed now folks. No more to write. No more yarns to spin you, just a few pictures to show you of the last days and the trip home.

John and I are planning on hiring a motor bike in about 18 months and riding up the west coast of the States, through the Rockies and on into Alaska. So my adventures are not ending at all. Both John and I have been bike riders most of our lives, so it will be fun. Then after that, one day, we will go to the the Greek Islands (Where we will be married), Turkey and then Egypt. So there you go – a happy ever after ending to a very tough, but amazing year for me. Along the way I loved and lost, made amazing friends and had the most magical and incredible time of my life, ending with the love of the man who is my soul mate and best friend. I am very happy and very much in love. So it was certainly an adventure worth having and one I enjoyed sharing with you all.

Thanks for coming along on the journey.
I wish you all peace, love and happiness in your lives.

When in doubt – do it anyway!!

Trace xx

Bye everyone. Have a great holdiay season!

 

Adelies.

 

Puppy love!

 

A beautiful site, Mum & her pup

 

This is a site I will miss very much. Beautiful Bergs on a gorgeous day.

 

Wilkes and beyond

 

Looking at Casey station from the hill above Wilkes

 

My Gorgeous gift from Chris and John.

 

18th-24TH December. LAST EVER BLOG FROM CASEY.

OK, well this is my last Blog update ever from Casey Station – Antarctica.
I have to start with the loveliest story. Tuesday evening Andrew, Marilyn and I were called in for pre-dinner drinks to Chris’ room. Champagne with frozen strawberries greeted us. Then, John and Chris presented each of us with a Christmas present. Hand made Bronze Ice Axes in a beautiful, lined wooden display cabinet complete with a space for our Antarctic Expeditioner medallion to sit. Chris and John have spent months making these over many lunch hours. I was simply speechless and very touched. Two nicer men you wouldn’t find anywhere and that they are my friends is even nicer. What a lovely thing to do. It is a beautiful and special gift and very unexpected. There is a wall in my dining room, where this will be hung when I get home.

This has been a busy week at work.
I went out boating Monday for the morning. That was fun, but at the end of it all my arm was totally shattered. No more boating for me I am afraid. All the fabulous work the Doc has done with his ultrasound treatment over the last 3 weeks has just been blown right out of the water in one morning. Bugger! I am now in desperate need of that second cortisone needle, but I will wait until just before I board the ship. Once I have it, I need to completely rest my arm for several weeks. That wont happen until the trip home and my time in Hobart.

I have had lots of last evers this week. Last Transmitter Farm checks and visit. Last Receiver Farm checks and visit. Last Magnetite Observations performed – thank God! and last IPS hut work. The weather has been rather atrocious and very Antarctic. High winds, blowing snow, no visibility, freezing cold, all the things I love about being here. It is a fitting thing for the end of my time I think. I love the fierce Casey weather. I would have been disappointed if it had stayed lovely until the end because great weather is very Un-Casey like.

On the non work side of life, I went and took a long walk all over Shirley Island and spent a lot of time just sitting with the penguins. I will miss these little guys. The Adelie’s are just so fun and so curious, I adore them. I was also able to sit with a few Weddell seals over on the Island, which was nice. I shall miss them as well. They are, in my mind, the most beautiful and gentle creatures on earth. My fondest memory of the whole year will always be the day I was able to help the two seals down at Williams Nunatak. That experience will stay with me forever.

I went on one last jolly. A mid week overnighter to the Wilkes Hilton with Andrew, John, Chris and three of the science girls. We had a fabulous time. Far too much alcohol was consumed and my stomach ached from all the laughter. A fabulous last jolly to be sure. The Wilkes Hilton rocks! It is a great hut. It has the only wood burning fire in the whole of Antarctica!! It is fueled by all the off cuts from the chippies workshop. We are great at recycling everything down here! Ha ha. So I had one last wander around the old Wilkes station and happy snap time.
I have nearly 30Gig of photos and that is with all the crap ones already culled! It is almost impossible to take a bad photo down here.

So now we have Christmas decorations up in the Mess and the Wallow. Lisa’s hand painted fire place graces the climbing wall again this year and the station is readying for a Christmas feast on Monday. Robbie has been cooking for a week! A gorgeous Ginger Bread house sits in one of the windows of the Mess.
My room is packed – just this PC to go in a box once I publish this post – and I am living out of a bag until I get home. Time is really flying now. The end is near.

I have taken a bit of time to read though all my Blogs this week. This is something I have never actually done. I write them, publish them and then forget about them generally. It was - strange - to read about the adventures I have been on this year. It is almost like reading someone else’s words. I was thinking – “My God, did I really do all this?” It is a pretty incredible achievement to have lived and work here for a year.
Remembering my wonder and excitement when I arrived on station; my first uncertain steps as a Tech down here were amusing to me. Now, 13 months later, it is all just second nature. As a Tech I have stretched myself way beyond my limits and am proud of my work down here. It has been a very satisfying year, full of achievements for me work wise. I have done so much, worked on so much equipment and performed so many roles this year. I have been Comms Tech and Comms Operator with helicopters and airplanes. I have been IT Guru and Computer Technician. I have climbed masts and fixed antennas as a rigger. I have done vehicle and plant installation work and replaced panels in an Anaresat Dome. Man, I have done it all – in just 13 months. It has been awesome! I can’t believe all I have learnt while being down here. It has been absolutely brilliant. Best of all I have worked with a man who has become a lifelong friend. Andrew is such a nice fellow and he and I work really well together. So that has been a big bonus. I have heard of years where the two Comms Techs hated each other and didn’t speak for a whole year. Imagine how horrid that would be?!!! And me being a “Have a chat” – I would just die! :op

Antarctic wise, reading about all of my trips and my jollies was fun. Recalling flying along the sea at speed in boats in summer then over sea ice on quads in winter: visiting seals and penguin colonies: visiting field huts: trekking up Motherway Island, around the Browning Peninsular and Robbo’s. The traverse to Law Dome and Law Dome East (aka – the ENDS of the earth!) and a big trip to Wilkins runway are up thee as well. So many more adventures had and shared: it has all been the most awesome experience. It wasn’t all fabulous though. Reading about my frostbite incident sent chills down my spine as I remembered it. Undoubtedly the worst experience of my time here. Breaking through the melt lake late in summer was the scariest experience of my life. It was 10 seconds of sheer terror as I went down, not knowing where, or if, there was a bottom to the lake. The scream of terror that left my throat very nearly severed a vocal cord! Hurting my arm has also been a downer, the pain has been excruciating at times. But all in all, the good outweighs the bad. The experiences and memories will be with me forever.

Making friends along the way has been fabulous. Lisa – my sparkie mate – is still a best friend. The “Boys”: John, Andrew, & Chris, still with me and still all doodles that I love like brothers. Then there is Robbie - my cheffie - who has taught me so much in the kitchen and is a great mate. Some people have moved in – and out once more – of my life. They have left their mark also and I am glad I had the opportunity to know them, if only for a short while.

On a personal level, I am coming home a very different person to the one who boarded the Aurora Australis at Mac 4 in Hobart on December 2nd 2005. I have made the most of every opportunity I have had while I have been here. I am pretty sure that I have seen and done it all! I have had more adventures in this one year than most people pack into a whole lifetime. I have also taken the time and mustered the courage to look inward as well. It hasn’t been easy; there was a lot about myself that needed work. Slowly, step by step I have made changes that will, hopefully, better me as a person. I have learned patience and tolerance. I have learned not to judge and to accept the world and those in it for what and who they are. Each of us is our own unique person. I have also learned that there are those you think you know who turn out to be a beast of a very different nature than you initially thought. There have been a couple of these. No matter; these are all good lessons to learn. None of it killed me; tortured me a little at times perhaps; but never fatally – ha ha.

Now the journey is almost at an end. All in all it has been an opportunity that I am very glad to have been given.

Thanks to all of you have come along for the ride with me. It has been an interesting process to publish my weekly updates and know there are lots of people; I never have and never will meet; reading my Blog on a regular basis. Actually, the anonymity is less daunting than knowing I am going home to friends and associates who now know more about me than I normally would have revealed. Hmmm, yes, an interesting process indeed – I think.
This Blog was started as a simple way of keeping track of my time down here so I could look back in years to come and prompt memories that had faded. It seemed like a good idea, as I am certainly not a diary person. In the process I have been able to share an experience that few on this earth will ever have the opportunity to undertake and that is nice. I hope you enjoyed the journey; I enjoyed the telling of it. I will update one last time – from Hobart in 2 or 3 weeks – and share with you all my sea voyage home and my first glimpse of civilization, greenery, people and Maxy the Dog.

Until then, have a Fabulous Christmas and New Year everybody.

Be good – if not – be good at it!! ;op

Trace :o]

Just hangin' on the Pagadroma, sun in my eyes, enjoying the view. What a life hey - and I get PAID to do all this?!!! Life is GOOD!

 

Cool cloud formations and light over the station as we head back to the wharf.