The last couple of days have been paradise, bright sun, not a cloud in the sky, no wind.  The light shines on the glaciers highlighting the ancient blue glacial ice that peeks through the snow that has clung to the icy surface.  It reflects off the snow and ice, bouncing up to blind my eyes as I walk across the station.  Looking across the Islands and ice bergs it is easy to see that spring is only a few days way, the sea-ice almost looks like it is melting as I am watching it.  The distant hum of new life has started, the odd cheep from the feet of a Emperor penguin, the occasional sighting of a seal or Adelie penguin signalling that they are soon to return on mass to breed and raise another generation of Antarctic wildlife.

 

The station is also humming with renewed energy, the return of the sun has brought some life into our steps.  The surge of positive energy that only sunlight can nurture.  As a community planning has started for the summer season, in November an influx of tradespeople, scientists and project officers will arrive trying to capitalise on the brief 3 -4 months of relatively warm weather to complete projects and pack in research.  The summer is frantic and quick, the build up has commenced.

Over winter the community had settled into a routine, we are all here together.  There was minimal discussion of what we are going to do when we got home, it seemed to far away to start planning.  While some weekends away were planned the sense of ‘next week, when the weather is better’ prevailed.  The months stretched ahead, so much time to achieve all our goals for this year, then suddenly this weekend everything has come into sharp focus.  I realised that there are only a few weekends left on the continent, the list of things to do is getting longer then the number of weekends available to complete them in!!!

I desperately want to return to the Emperor penguin colony and see the fluffy little grey babies waiting patiently in the crèche for Mum and Dad to return with fish for them.  It was my biggest fear that I might miss this opportunity because every-one would hate me and refuse to go with me to the colony, they didn’t so I have no excuse to not make it… except being disorganised.  I’ve set the date today, in two weeks I will be at Auster again, baby penguins I’m coming soon, don’t grow up to fast.

 

In October the Adelie penguins return to the Beche Islands to start nesting, one of the station jobs is to count them as they return.  Initially there are only 10 or 20 taking an hour at most to count but the numbers surge through October to November until there are thousands.  It takes all day to count them as they run around stealing each others rocks to build their little rocky nests.  We also have to visit the rookery Islands were the snow petrels nest, these little delicate bright white birds nest on the high points of the Islands in rocky cracks.  The chicks are hard to see, but a few hours of patient waiting with the zoom lens will hopefully bring a reward.  In late October & early November the seal will start to return to give birth to their pups on the sheltered sides of the Islands in front of the station.  So many amazing sights to see. 

In addition to all my jollies, there is suddenly work to do as well.  Planning for the preparation of the sea ice runway so that the little twin otter planes can land, pick us up and return us to civilisation.  Pre – planning for infrastructure and science projects, the allocation and sharing out of community duties, a community clean up, making beds for new people and packing and moving out all our ‘stuff’ that we have managed to spread across the station.

On a personal level, I was meant to have nearly finished the book I have been writing this year.  I have loved this project and I love my book, it is like a treasure trove of memories for me.  All the adventures that have made me hold my breath in equal fear and excitement, all the experiences that have made me cry or take a deep breath happy to be alive.  Trying to do justice to the smells, tastes and textures of the places that I have loved and that captured a part of me.  I haven’t finished but I am still hopefully that it will happen and a draft might be ready to share with nearest and dearest.

The thought of returning home is both thrilling and confronting.  I can’t wait to get home, to see my fur children and my family, but after two years away will they recognise me?

This is the confronting part,  I am a little battered by life, my clothes are worn out, my botox has worn off, my greys are showing, the diet has still not really become a habit but the morning tea tim tams definitely have, all fixable but a shock!!!  I am sure the whole family have changed, a new nephew has been born, another one is speaking, new jobs, new plants in the garden, the kettle is probably in a different spot and the 20 year old cat will look frailer then I ever thought possible.  I won’t have a job!!!

The thrilling part is starting to dominate the confronting part, there is a new adventure waiting, a world of possibilities is starting to open up, life’s journey is going to drags us on a new experience.