The preparations for New Year's Eve celebrations began early on the last day of the Millennium with a dedicated group of individuals out on the ice to start building the ice tables. These were ingeniously constructed from empty 200 litre fuel drums covered with ice and snow and beautifully finished with icicle candelabras. To add to the theme of "Millennium on Ice", three ice sculptures were created by the talented Melissa and her trusty volunteer Colin. Perfect imitations of Ross, Crabeater and Leopard Seals adorned the party area. The celebrations started with a very civil sit-down barbecue in the mess that carried on for a couple of hours. The partygoers then started to move out on to the ice where the real fun was about to begin. The usual New Year's attire had to take a back seat to warm jackets, long pants and questionable headgear. Drinks were kept cool merely by leaving them on the tables and a keen few even had a go at the last hacky session of the millennium. The atmosphere couldn't have been better. A cold mist fell across the pack ice giving the place a surreal feel and with a horde of Adelie Penguins gatecrashing the party, it was truly turning into a special occasion. The sun was low on the horizon but with no chance of setting as we were so far south. A large brass bell was lowered over the side of the Aurora by one of the cranes (a little bit of overkill?) to be rung as the clock struck twelve. To add to this, the ship's whistle was going to be blown on a countdown from 5 and as sparklers and party poppers were handed around, the mood of the crowd started to get a little excited. The moment soon arrived and the cheers, hoots, and yells continued for a good 5 minutes as hugs, kisses and assorted embraces were swapped by everyone present. The pace of the festivities increased as the party really got going. Dancing, snowfights, photo shoots and frolicking with penguins were just some of the antics on the ice. Some were becoming oblivious to the cold, but others were starting to feel the chill and by around 4.00am most people had retired to the warmth of the Aurora Australis. It would be a fairly unanimous decision that this was a very special New Year's party. To celebrate the start of a new century standing on an ice floe, penguins all around and little more than 200 people within thousands of kilometres is very unique. Every person on the Aurora, be they crew, expeditioners or management, should all feel proud and privileged to share the experience.