from Tim Page
near Sansom
Island
Antarctica
27th November 1998
Hello there to the Students of Payne Road State School!
Well guess what, we are still in the same place in the ice. The weather has been rotten for the past 5 days, with lots of snow and wind, we can't see more than a few metres, so the helicopters can't fly. My friend Damien describes the view from the ship as like being inside a table tennis ball!
Happily the weather has improved today, so maybe we will be able to
get going tonight. Here are some more of your questions:
FROM GROUP 1
1) from Jessica, "What do the icebergs look like?"
Well Jessica, there are many diffenent types. There's the tabular
iceberg, which is long and flat, and looks like a table. Some icebergs
are high and jagged, and look a bit like a big church. Then there
are some which have flipped over a few times, so are rounded on top like
a small hill. Some icebergs are very big, many many kilometers across!
The colours can vary too, mostly they are white. Sometimes, when
there is a lot of fresh water in them, they look blue. When the sun
is going down, they look pinky/orange, very beautiful. One thing
to remember about icebergs is that most of an iceberg is under water, so
if an iceberg is 10 metres high, then it's about 100 metres deep beneath
the sea!
2) from Sam, "Are you having fun up there?"
Yes indeed I am, Sam. I have always dreamed of coming DOWN here
to the Antarctic, ever since I was your age. I have always loved
penguins and whales, and this is the best place to see both. So of
course I am having loads of fun down here. There are also a lot of
nice people on the ship, which makes it even more fun.
3) from Amanda, "Do you like seals?"
Yes, Amanda, I like seals very much. They are amazing animals,
living in this cold climate and sleeping on the ice. They are actually
quite cute, looking almost likes dogs with their big whiskers.
4) from Jamie, "How cold is it there?"
Well, Jamie, the temperature here varies quite a lot. The coldest
it has been so far has been about -11 degrees Celsius, the hottest about
0 degrees. It gets much colder than that during the winter and more
inland. It can be -70 degrees near the South Pole! That is
so cold that if you throw a glass of water into the air, it will be ice
before it lands!
5) from Bree, "Are you staying until Christmas?"
That is something everyone would like to know, Bree. It seems
likely that we will, because we are about 10 days behind schedule at the
moment. It is very difficult to plan down here in the Antarctic because
you never know what the ice conditions will be like, and what the weather
will be doing. It can change very quickly.
6) from Elise, "I like school. Do you count penguins as well as seals?"
Happily, yes we do, Elise. As I said before, I have always liked
penguins, so it gives me great joy to count them. So far we have
seen two different species of penguin. First the Emperor Penguin,
which is quite large, maybe as tall as you Elise. They are black
and white, with a yellow/orange patch on the sides of their heads.
The other kind of penguin is the Adelie, which is only about half the size
of the Emperor, but we see more of them. They are also black and
white, and we often see them feeding behind our ship, swimming through
the water almost like dolphins. Penguins may look a little ackward
on land, but in the water they are very graceful and move very quickly.
FROM GROUP 4
7) from Chris, "I hope you've seen more seals. We are learning about Christmas. Have you seen any dolphins?"
Well, sort of, Chris. There aren't as many dolphins down here
as around Australia, but we have seen one kind. We have seen quite
a few killer whales (also called Orcas), which in reality are just big
black and white dolphins. So yes we have seen some. There is
also a dolphin down here called the Hourglass Dolphin, but I haven't seen
one yet.
8) from Casey, "I love soccer. Have you seen any whales?"
Yes, Casey, we have seen loads of whales. Mostly we have seen
Minke Whales, which look like small humpback whales. We have also
seen Fin Whales, which are the second largest in the world after Blue Whales!
Also we have seen Sperm Whales, Right Whales and Killer Whales. It
has been great. Just before I came down here, I went to Hervey Bay,
where I had a whale of a time! By the way Casey, you might like to
know that your name is the same as one of the Australian Bases down here
in Antarctica, it's called Casey Station!
9) from Leon, "We are looking at other countries. I am doing China. What food have you been eating on the boat?"
Well actually, Leon, we have been eating very well on our ship.
The head cook, Paul, has made lots of different kinds of food, including
some Chinese food (stir fried vegetables and tofu). Yesterday we
had Italian food (Fettucine Carbonara) and today we had Mexican food (Tacos).
So you see we have been looking at other countries here too, by eating
their style of food!
10) from Melanie, "I went to Alaska. I went on a boat with lots of other people. What do you do all day when you are not counting seals?"
There are many things to do, Melanie. Today I played hacky sack
and table tennis, read a book about an early Antarctic explorer, ate lots
of food and wrote you an email! I also sometimes watch videos.
Your trip to Alaska sounds wonderful, I have always wanted to go there.
What kind of animals did you see on your trip?
11) from Jocelyn, "My favourite sports are soccer, bike riding, handball and swimming. Have you been through any pack ice?"
Yes we have, Jocelyn. In fact we are going through the pack ice
right now! The pack ice surrounds the continent in Antarctica, and
many seals live there, that's why we are spending so much time here.
The ice floes in the pack ice float around a lot. When we get nearer
to land, we get to the "fast ice". It is not called "fast" because
it moves quickly, in fact it doesn't move at all. It is stuck "fast"
to the land, and is in fact a bit like an extension of land over the sea,
only it's made of ice.
Hello to all the Groups. Have fun.
Tim Page