Welcome to Casey Station!

               

Hey guys! Writing to you form my new home here at Casey Station. I know I have now been here for the last week, and should probably have updated with a blog post earlier, but I have to find some way of keeping you all on your toes! :)

View of the front of the Red Shed, where everything in Casey seems to reside

Our lounge room

       Here is Casey station, a small very comfortable Antarctic station that I can very easily call home. The red shed is the building where we mostly reside, have our kitchen, lounges, cinema, library and most importantly – “Splinters”, the local bar serving delicious home-brews.

My new local pub - and here
the beer is free!

           My room is a small dorm-sized room, fitting pretty much just my twin bed and a little dresser but is also a marvellously cosy space in which I seem to sleep like a log. I share a little lounge space with two of my female colleagues, and a bathroom down the hall. Everything is extremely clean and well maintained, and the building, even dating from the 80's feels very tasteful and modern.

My new digs

Shared lounge with tons of natural
 light all through the night

Band room! 

The Wallow as seen from above,
huge windows and rock-climbing wall

The place is quite big, and has everything you could possibly want in a home. Hydroponics for fresh lettuce and tomatoes, a sauna and hot-tub with flatscreen tv, two gyms, a cross-country ski loop, ping-pong and pool tables, and even a rock climbing wall in the Wallow! Needless to say, I can very happily picture myself here for the next 4 months, and can easily see why all the beardy winterers that welcomed us are in such good spirits, even after being isolated here with only 18 of them for 8months.  

       

                   

View outside those huge windows :) ICEBERGS

           Outside the 2-story windows in the “wallow”, the view is of the Casey sign-post, and in the distance the wharf and yes, ICEBERGS. As beautiful as the mountainous landscape of McMurdo was, I will admit that this absolutely tops it. I guess I am used to mountains, but not that used to icebergs.

the "EVS", my new home

home of the hyperbaric chamber
and dive gear

Getting a guided tour of Casey

             










            Weather has been absolutely amazing, most days hanging at about -3°C and sunny, though we had a nice big snowfall last week, dropping about 40cm of fresh beautiful powder everywhere. The wind here really does affect how the temperature feels, but I have found that most days I am comfortable working the EVS (Emergency Vehicle Shed, where the hyperbaric chamber and diving gear is being kept), in my thermals and work shirt / pants.

       


         This even includes my frequent work outside to and from different storage containers and buildings around “town”. Mind you, “town” is a single street, about the length of a city block.

Old Casey Wharf

         



        You can however wander about 5 minutes down a snowy road to the “old Casey” station and wharf, allowing for views of the sea-ice and crystal clear blue waters beneath.




       
          Needless to say I am absolutely itching to get in there and get to experience my first Antarctic dives, though I will probably have to wait another week before that happens.

Icebergs, and beautiful lighting

Look at that water!!!

 

                   

Lamb for the feast

Delicious apple tarte

        Food here, which I was initially worried would be somewhat unexciting due to the limitations on fresh or varied ingredients, has been outstanding! The two chefs we currently have working are making it their mission not only to please everyone on station (including a Vegan expeditionner), but also to do it with style. Saturday night we get to enjoy a served dinner (as opposed to the usual buffet style service), which this week was divine.



Looks like the calories lost to work and cold will very easily be regained in this place.
Now that I've really started into work, and we are trying to catch up for over a week of delays, I'm a bit slower on writing these. But believe me I have a lot more stories to share, and MANY MANY pictures pictures of penguins :)