Thursday and Friday we were off station on our field training. This is a course most expeditioners complete shortly after their arrival on station, to learn skills such as navigation and survival essentials for an Antarctic environment. Over the two days we completed a number of exercises such as preparing for a field trip, driving quads along GPS waypoints, waste management, and orienteering using a map and compass.
What was really fun though was a ration pack dinner and camping out in a bivvy bag on the snow! It was surprisingly warm in my sleeping bag and I got a pretty good night’s sleep.
The trip took us up the plateau to Rumdoodle for the night, which is the landing area for planes later in the summer season when the sea ice is gone, then a drive around and up to Mt Henderson for some breathtaking views over the plateau to the fast ice.
We all returned safely to station in the afternoon, a bit tired but full of stories to share with our fellow expeditioners and new skills to keep us safe when travelling out in the field.
