Antarctic Ends / Kiwi Friends

Antarctic parting
Caves, fjords, sweet corn, paua, beach camp
Sought after home coming

Rewinding the memory a couple of months brings me back to Antarctica. At this point I've written and perhaps you may have read quite a bit here on the topic of great southern continent, but come the end of the season I'm left with heaps of untold stories and events. As it should be I suppose. Thought I now find myself two months off the ice and in the landscape of Raymond Nebraska, I still can't part with at least a couple of these events here.

the view from the Lake Bonney helipad; a stroll on Lake Hoare

The dry valleys. One last trip to this amazing place yielded exactly what I was desiring - a chance to explore. The dry valleys are an amazing landscape of mountains, glaciers, ice-covered lakes and just plain dirt. Not too many places down here supply accessible dirt. Tasked with removing some temporary buildings from the quickly melting lake ice, we planned for one night camping at Lake Hoare.

beautiful though it is, the melting lake ice top can make for some treacherous trekking

Due to difficulties resulting from the unstable lake ice on lake Fryxall, we garnered an extra night out of town, some wet overalls (mostly mine) , and a chance to take a stroll up the Taylor valley with some of our down time.

The hike was amazing and something I'll never forget. Across a frozen lake, up over a defile (the terminal end of a glacier butting into a mountain) and then up a steep track to a huge bench full of some of the most interesting rocks I've ever seen.

at the edge of life and along the way: native lichen and moss


beyond the edge: an 800 year cured mummified seal in it's final resting place; atop a wind hewn sculpture


rock imitates wind

As a finale to the season, I couldn't have asked for a better trip. Back to mactown for the busy season when the ice breaks up. Combine this with the annual visit from Oden - a Swedish icebreaker - and a channel is open all the way to McMurdo, allowing for our single resupply vessel and an oil tanker to make their deliveries.

helicopter's eye view of the sea ice breaking up, soon after these several foot thick chunks will blow out to sea and either melt or refreeze into the next round of annual sea ice; oil tanker in port delivering the jet fuel that most vehicles run on.



farewell! icy continent! from the flight deck of the Australian Antarctic Airbus






hello sunset in the NZ bush!

The end of the season is long awaited and we are all glad to find sunset and decent drinks on tap waiting for us in Christchurch. This year I also found a very special woman named Angie waiting at the airport for me! All the way from Lummi Island and Nebraska, for many months we kept in close touch and decided to meet in NZ and have a holiday here together.

We bought a car and hit the road, touring the south island, first beach hopping all the way down the east coast with a surfing finale in the Catlins. An amazing time relaxing and learning to surf. I rode waves more often than i went into the drink (Maytag-ed), and narrowly escaped the killer surfing sea lions (best surfers I've ever seen) at curio bay.

castle hill - a great place to walk hang your jaw out at some amazing rocks and maybe even scramble around climbing them!; trees imitate wind

Myself, Angie, and Phil. We were a traveling trio. Phil, a great friend and my roommate in McMurdo, provided and enabled all surfing activity. thanks Phil! ; Parakanui bay, where the surfing began for me under huge cliffs, surrounded by bush, kelp and even a few endangered yellow-eyed penguins.


Paua - a great New-Zealand native shellfish, traditionally shredded and fried, we sauteed them gently over our camp stove at Parakanui bay

The beach party ended with a rash of Sea Lion interruptions and friends headed homeward. Angie and I decided to head up to Fiordland National Park and then on to central Otago to visit another friend on the way to the west coast.

West Coast beach art - thousands of kirin and loads of driftwood sculpture - a truly amazing scene by the side of the road, easily an entire kilometer packed to the gills; the Hokitika Wild Foods Festival, and the answer is yes with ample imbibables



Hayden and myself just after he tried to kill me by letting ride his "custom" motorbike.

Finally in our story of traveling New Zealand, there is the Mapp family. My friend Hayden worked down on the ice with me as a deep field mechanic. In our time in New Zealand we managed to meet his entire extended family. In addition to his wife Jane and two boys, Angie and I stayed with his folks Lloyd and Val on their sheep farm in Marlbourough, visited with his brother on his 5000 acre high-country station, and spent a couple of days getting back in touch with urban living with his sister in Wellington. All in all the family really imprinted in me a sense of some real kiwis making their country what it is everyday. Reaching back only three generations, they have as close a connection with the settling of the young country as anyone. Together they are involved in sheep, cattle, and deer farming; eco-tourism; back country guiding; and the art and housing markets. From the hippest city to far off and rough valleys, they were able and excited to show us a great deal of what New Zealand has to offer in culture, place, and politics. Thank you Mapps!

Lloyd and myself on Mt Patriarch; family lorakeet who occasionally came inside for breakfast on a shoulder!


the bird really loved Angie's hair; on top of Mt. Patricarch

Sunday drives are a bit different in in the hill country. Try as he might, Lloyd only just missed getting the truck's clinometer up to 40 degrees incline - this is just how they drive in the back country here: don't wear your seatbelt because it might get in the way if you need to eject quickly!



Aukland - a city comprising an entire quarter of the population of NZ. And home for one night before the longest flight I hope to ever subject myself to. Atop a volcano in the middle of the city, a wonderful way to end a trip arm in arm with an amazing traveler and my love, Angie.