THE ROCK & THE GURU - tuesday 29 january

Monday we were hit with a big snowstorm but today the sun was shinning brightly. I rustled up the boys and we hiked out to Castle rock. A superb day.

On the walk back the boys were giving me the usual banter when I quickly responded, "hey I have a photo of you boys holding hands" (cleverly snapped 2 hours prior) arrrh the silence was instantaneous. Heavenly.
But I can't resist boys - here's one for the daily mockery of my kiwi accent. So to the delight and laughter of blog readers - here's some Dave, Heath, Dave 'MANLOVE' (payback is a beautiful thing)

Another highlight today was that I was given a really cool tee to say thanks for my volunteering. It has a newspaper cutting print on the back which was the actual advertisement used by shackleton to gather crew for his expedition. Super superb.

During the evening I went to see my friend Talle speak at her travelogue run in the galley. She's a really keen solo tramper. Talle's spent a lot of time tramping hardcore backcountry tracks in New Zealand, visiting places that even many guru trampers and hunters are scared of. She often tramps in areas that don't have marked trails. She just packs her bag, talks to DOC, hires an emergency locator beacon, grabs her topo then heads into the bush. I remember sitting down with Talle near the start of the season and she showed me some absolutely amazing photos of her adventures throughout New Zealand's wildlands. She's been to some spectacular places.

Talle shared an incredible story with us last night. You know one where you raise your eyebrows, enlarge your eyes, and are left with your mouth wide open.

One day she whilst hiking in Kahurangi National Park, the weather suddenly turned and she became stuck in a severe storm. She came upon a section where two rivers crossed. As an experienced tramper she knew this is how many trampers die in the bush; from crossing flooded rivers. She had been in a torrential downpour for many hours. She couldn't get a fire started, as the fuel was soaked through. Unable to change clothes since her other clothes were damp (she was on day 9 of a hike) she reached for her sleeping bag to which she heartbreakingly discovered was wet through. To keep herself warm she built a step out of large stones and for 45 minutes at a time stepped up and down. Up, down, Up, down. She'd rest until she began feeling cold again then stood up and repeated the process. Around nightfall the river level had lowered enough for a safe crossing. She continued hiking all through the night, (remember this is unmarked/untrailed territory), until she reached the hut 8 hours later.

Now would be a good time to tell you that Talle is 63 years old.

HEADSTANDS & BOATS - sunday 27 january

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MY DARLING HUSBAND

This afternoon I drove a delta group out to a plane wreck site called Pegasus.

The aircraft crashed on 8 October 1970. About 30 minutes before the aircraft was due to touch down on the sea ice runway, the weather deteriorated rapidly. Visibility was down to zero and snow was blowing, but Pegasus was committed to land even in ‘white-out conditions.' There was no alternative airstrip and fuel was low. The plane attempted to land five times, but had to abort each time because of the excessive snowdrift caused by gusting winds. On the sixth attempt Pegasus finally landed, but veered off the runway and hit a snow bank, which sheared off the starboard undercarriage and wing.

Amazingly, all 68 passengers and 12 crew survived, escaping with only minor injuries, although the atrocious weather conditions meant it took about four hours for rescue vehicles to transport the crash survivors 5.5km back to McMurdo.

It is an incredible sight. Fortunately I’ve seen it a few times with work, but I volunteered to take some "townies" out to see it, as they often don't get the chance to see such things. I kept myself entertained though by doing handstands.

That evening I had the chance to tour the NBP vessel which had just embarked on a voyage from sunny Christchurch to the chilly waters of Antarctica. The journey took 24 days, with waves reaching 50 feet! It is full of scientists completing research projects onboard. The National Science Foundation leases this boat for the small sum of $30,000USD per day. Yes you read correctly. Per day. That's $20.83 a minute. 34 cents per second. That's a dinner for two at a fancy restaurant just in one scientist's toilet break.