The trip down was smooth, 5 hours in the C17 was amazing. It is an awesome aircraft to say the least, but loud. If the flight hadn't been delayed yesterday, it would have been 8 hours in an LC130, 5 hours was enough. The plane was full, mostly Americans and about 14 Kiwis. Nothing prepared me for walking out the door of the plane and onto the Sea ice. The plane has no windows so it was a surprise. We had our extreme weather clothing on (EWC's), but stepping out to the -15 deg C (-25 deg C wind chill) was a shock and a feeling I will never forget, what a place. The Kiwi Landcrusiers were waiting and we all jumped in the back and headed through McMurdo to Scott Base. McMurdo isn't very pretty, but Scott Base is tidy and very smart inside. We had a tour after a cup of tea watching the seals sunbathe on the pack ice. The place is all joined together and is going to take a bit to get used to navigating. Everyone is very friendly, a really neat Kiwi “family”. Tonight is when the Americans are allowed to come over for a drink. Otherwise they require an invitation!!! Any time you touch something metal you get a whack from the static build up, it is so dry. Fire and dehydration are really dangerous here. Tea time at 6, they have great food. Antarctic survival training tomorrow so you’ll get some more pictures then. At the moment I am overwhelmed and trying to get to grips with reality, might go for a walk, it’s probably getting down to -20 now.
1 comment:
How you felt when you walking out the door of the plane. I have thought that you have worn extreme clothing weather. Glad to read your article. Hope you will show more photos here. I am really exciting to know more about your Antarctica tour.
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