From Tim Page
Onboard Aurora Australis
stuck in the pack ice
Antarctica
3rd December 1998
To the Students of Payne Road State School,
Hmmmm. Not a lot happening right now. We are kind of stuck! Our ship has broken down, and we don't know if they are going to be able to fix it. The propeller, which is what pushes the ship through the water, isn't working. So right now we are sitting in the ship, surrounded by ice, with very little to do.
At least the weather is good and we still have lots of food!
Here are some more questions and responses from Group 1:
1) from Jessica, "I'm in 2Mc. I have a friend called Kierra. Hope you are making some good friends."
Yes I am, Jessica. There are many people onboard our ship (about
85 at the moment). The people onboard are very friendly and very
interesting too. One person on the ship, Mike, was a friend of mine
before I came on the ship. Mike is from Brisbane. He studies
whales and the songs which they sing. He goes out to Stradbroke Island
during the whale migration and puts a microphone in the water to record
them singing!
2) from Jamie, "How cold is it there?"
Well, Jamie, the temperature varies quite a lot. The coldest it
has been so far has been about -11 degress 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!
3) from Bree, "Is it fun up there?"
Yes, Bree, it is. I admit, it is more fun when we are moving!
There is so much to see here. Loads of penguins (which I have always
liked), seals, whales, birds, icebergs and lots of other cool stuff.
I also got to go up in a helicopter, which was great fun. There are
a lot of nice people here, which of course makes it fun being here.
4) from Elise, "Have you been on the ice?"
Yes I have, Elise. When we were at Davis Station I had to walk
over the ice from the ship to get to the station. This was "fast"
ice, which means it was stuck fast to the coastline. The pack ice
is not attached to land, but instead floats around in the sea. When
we were out in the pack ice, two groups of people went out onto the ice.
One group went out to capture a Crabeater seal to study it. Don't
worry, they didn't hurt it, just had a look and then let it go. Another
group went onto the ice to cut a small hole in the ice because they are
studying different chemicals and bacteria that are in the ice. While
they were waiting to get back onto the ship, they built an igloo!
5) from Nick, "Does it ever get boring?"
You know, Nick, it can get a little boring sometimes. Especially
since we are currently stuck in the ice. But then I realise how incredibly
lucky I am to be here stuck in the ice, seeing places which very few people
get to see, and then I am no longer bored. There are many interesting
people here to talk to, good books to read and sights to see, and of course
I can always send you an email!
6) from Amanda, "Have you seen any other icebergs?"
Yes, Amanda, we have seen thousands of icebergs! In fact I can
see one right now, looking out the window. The ship is surrounded
by flat sea ice, but in the distance there is a great big iceberg that
looks like a big vertical hill. On the other side of the ship is
a whole line of icebergs that look like a whole series of giant cliffs!
7) from Sam, "Are you having fun? Are you missing home?"
Yes, I am having fun, Sam, but yes I also miss my home. I live
in Rosalie in Brisbane with my girlfriend, Kaye, and some friends.
I do miss it very much, but being here is such a great opportunity to see
new places and things that I am lucky to be here. I will be home
soon, though I'm not sure exactly when or how at the moment!
That's about it for now. Have fun everybody!
Talk to you soon!
Tim Page