The journey south

I have now safely arrived and settled in at Bird Island, South Georgia, which is to be my home until April.  The 9000 mile journey began last Tuesday when my luggage and I were dropped off at Darlington train station by Adam and I caught the train down to my parents in Lincolnshire.  The next day my parents took me to Cambridge, which is where the British Antarctic Survey offices and labs are.   Here I met a small group of other BAS staff who were also heading south and we were taken to RAF Brize Norton in Oxfordshire.  Here we met more BAS staff and boarded the plane.  By now our group size had increased to 9 people, all of us heading for South Georgia.

The plane was a relatively ordinary military version of the Airbus A330 (and not a Hercules, which some people have asked me). 

We passed a pleasant journey on a plane that was only half full, which was nice as it meant 2 seats each and just enough space to sleep on the journey.  The journey takes about 17 hours, with a short stop at Ascension Island for refuelling approximately half way there.   Ascension Island is a small rocky island far out in the Atlantic, a little south of the equator, and was a pleasant 26 degrees when we got off the plane. 

Sadly we aren't allowed out of the terminal to explore the island as we're still in transit but it was nice to get off the plane and stretch our legs (I did spend a week on the island on a previous trip so I didn't feel I missed out too much by it only being a very short stop on this occasion).    

Once the plane was refuelled, we continued on our way to Mount Pleasant Airbase in the Falkland Islands.  Another bus journey from Mount Pleasant and we arrived in Stanley, the capital of the Falklands.  The Falklands are windswept and vast (like a larger wilder version of Shetland). 

The majority of its ~3500 inhabitants live in the capital, which sprawls along the seafront, in an array of brightly coloured, mostly wooden-clad buildings.  We spent one night in the Malvina hotel in Stanley, which was just enough time for a walk along the seafront, where I spotted my first penguin and seal.

The next morning we were on the move again (by now it was Friday).  This time onto the MV Pharos SG, the Fishery Patrol Vessel for South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands.  We spent nearly 3 days onboard, heading from the Falkland Island to Bird Island which lies at the western end of South Georgia.  As the ship is quite small, and the swell was pretty big, the crossing was quite rough, but the time passed pleasantly enough. 

There are two research stations on South Georgia.  Four of us are heading for Bird Island Research Station while the remainder of the group are heading for King Edward Point Research Station.  The group heading there made our journey very interesting- they are whale scientists and were heading there to study humpback whales.  They were a very interesting bunch doing some fascinating science, and kept a permanent watch on the bridge of the ship for whales during the entire journey.  This was great as there was always someone there to tell everyone if whales were spotted.   The journey was mostly spent eating, or watching the birds that were following the ship.  This one is a wandering albatross.

As we got closer to South Georgia, there were quite a few icebergs.  I have never quite got over my fascination for icebergs.  Every one is different and the colours and shapes are ever changing with the light.

We finally arrived safely at Bird Island on Monday, where four of us disembarked the Pharos in small boats to our new home.  We receive a very warm welcome from those currently at the island and quickly settled down to life on station.