Stuck In Lodi Again….

(from Paul)

Cancelled again...! We have been here in Christchurch for an entire week now. The storms in McMurdo STILL have not cleared. Of course, this last flight cancellation means that there will be no Sunday Night Lecture in McMurdo since the speaker (me!) is still in New Zealand.

Today, the group has some some work to do while we are stranded in Christchurch. Cass needs to prepare the list of equipment that she will use in her assays for the McMurdo lab I will have Brendan read the diving physiology review articles, which I have on my computer. Kozue, Jessica, and I can begin to review the accelerometer data that Kozue has from Cape Washington. Jessica can also work on her papers. There’s still lots of work to do even if we haven’t reach McMurdo.

Last night, we saw Christian, and Norbert Wu, who also came in. He is making another underwater documentary.

There is a city wide art exhibit on, with sculptures in parks, etc. In the park opposite the Windsor is a giant industrial crane, which suspends a sailboat in the air (when there is no wind).

(Jessica's photo)

And, in Cathedral Square, I thought they had a giant purple squid, but the sculpture is actually a giant purple sperm, which is supposed to promote the fertilization of ideas. The sculpture contains a small information booth, and, of course, the kids love to climb all over the artwork.

Still Waiting

You know that we are scraping the barrel when doing our laundry becomes part of the daily update!

(from Paul)

I am about to go to dinner. We did the gondola ride this afternoon, and then I did my wash. We are still on schedule for a morning departure tomorrow, but we will see.

A sheep and lamb on the hillside.

Here are some other photos of today, including:

Winnie on guard at the Windsor (asleep in the sun on the porch)

Some gondola photos

(Jessica's photo)

Views of Lyttleton

This is a large harbor with an island in middle and is where Scott kept his ponies. He departed from here en route to Antarctica

Christchurch (with coastline).

In A Holding Pattern

(from Paul)

We are still here!!

Yes, we were cancelled again. At least they called and notified us early so we did not have to go in. We are rescheduled for a flight tomorrow, although there is still talk that the weather in McMurdo won’t clear until Tuesday. They are going to continue to try every day until they get us in. There are about 400 people here stacked up in Christchurch for the Antarctic program, and more are coming in today on flights. So, they are quite busy.

We are leaving to pick up our luggage today at the CDC (Clothing & Distribution Center) and get some fresh clothing. Then, we will probably do some laundry today. Otherwise, there is not too much exciting to report. After the chores are done, we are off to the Market and maybe a gondola ride!

(from Cass)

Here are some photos I took in the last few days while we were in Christchurch.

The group in front of the Scott statue

Kozue and Brendan at the Art Gallery

The group in front of the passenger terminal for McMurdo

A black shag on the Avon

Another 24-hour Delay

(from Paul)

We are organizing to go on a tour of Akaroa harbor and see little blue penguins and Hector's dolphins (bus and boat).

The large harbor is Akaroa Harbor. The whole basin was part of a volcano, long since extinct; one side blew out to make access for the harbor.

Some sort of duck??

Some (black) shags??

A New Zealand fur seal

A couple of photos of red-billed gulls

A sheerwater

Later that day

We just returned from our day trip to Akaroa; everyone had a great time. I saw little blue penguins and Hector's dolphins. The one penguin was too fast to photograph, but I got great photos of dolphins and we took a team picture.

Still later that day

We had a fairly simple dinner at a pub type bar that apparently was visited by Scott in his day. It is back in the corner (Bailey's) of Cathedral Square next to an old hotel. The trip was good; everyone had fun and they all saw the little blue penguin (there was just one) and the dolphins. It was a nice sunny day.

I saw Jack, the head of the helo pilots, and he said that apparently there is a small window tomorrow of "good weather" and that after that another storm is moving in over the weekend. So I hope we get in.

If we are cancelled, there is to be the lecture portion of the sea ice refresher course for a bunch of us tomorrow. So, we will get that done if we are still in Christchurch. I heard from Pam Hill at FSTOP that the storm in McMurdo may last another 24-48 hrs (as of midnight last night), so perhaps we can leave tomorrow.

Boomeranged!

After a 24 hour delay, the group boarded the military flight to McMurdo Station.

Jessica and Cass on the plane

Interior of the plane.

(from Paul)

I’m not sure why they flew. Rumor has it that the sea ice was bad all day and that it was Condition 2 in McMurdo. We were 3 hrs into the flight when they turned around, so we landed at about 3:45, and got back to the Windsor around 5 pm.

To top things off, they put Brendan's boomerang bag on the wrong pallet, and would not take it off the plane. Fortunately, I had an extra set of pants, and Jessica had some flip-flops that he could wear. So, we went to the Dux since it was closest as well as good.

Everyone is tired now, and will probably be falling asleep soon. That is all our news.

The Journey Is The Destination

Part of the group left today. They are arriving in Christchurch by a circuitous route since they are flying to New Zealand via Sydney. That route will do wonders for their frequent flier program, but after 14.5 hours in the air just to reach Australia I wonder if the thrill of the journey will be gone.

Paul and Brendan waiting to check in at the Commuter Terminal for the short flight to LAX.



Cass and Jessica hauling their gear and lab equipment for check in. Those boxes always cause a bit of panic from the airline people.




Paul, Jessica, Cass, and Brendan waiting in line. It's always a relief to get rid of all those bags and boxes.

A Traveller's Blessing
(with apologies to the Irish)

May the road rise up to meet you.
May the wind always be at your back.
May the sun shine warm upon your face,
and rains fall soft upon your fields.
And until we meet again,
May your flights always be on time.


Happy trails!

Penguin Ranch 2008

Our 2008 blog will be starting soon!

The Last Photo of the Season

Here is the group after our trip to Cape Royds -- the last group photo.

Cheers to all!

Penguin Ranch 2007

Postcards From McMurdo

"Never for me the lowered banner, never the last endeavour." Sir Ernest Shackleton.



"Polar exploration is at once the cleanest and most isolated way of having a bad time which has yet been devised." - Apsley Cherry-Garrard



"For scientific leadership, give me Scott; for swift and efficient travel, Amundsen; but when you are in a hopeless situation, when there seems to be no way out, get on your knees and pray for Shackleton." - Sir Raymond Priestley



"I have often had the impression that, to penguins, man is just another penguin - different, less predictable, occasionally violent, but tolerable company when he sits still and minds his own business." - Bernard Stonehouse




"Hurley is a warrior with his camera and would go anywhere or do anything to get a picture." - Lionel Greenstreet about Frank Hurley




"The continent has become a symbol of our time. The test of man's willingness to pull back from the destruction of the Antarctic wilderness is the test also of his willingness to avert destruction globally. If he cannot succeed in Antarctica he has little chance of success elsewhere." - Edwin Mickleburgh

Letters From The Ice

(from Jessica)

Things have been incredibly hectic out here at the Ranch with this extremely long stretch of great weather that we have had (after our equally long stretch of bad weather and delays at the beginning of the season!). Cass and I have been very busy with our recorder deployments and lab work analyses.



and have managed to accomplish loads of science.




We are both feeling incredibly fortunate to leave the ice with so much data under our belts.

The birds have been diving regularly through their 2 dive holes, and as the season progresses, many of them have put on several kilograms . . . apparently the eating around the Ranch must be good!

Here is a picture of 2 of our penguins exiting the holes , one mid-air, and Markus (on the right) just after exiting.





One morning we were fortunate enough to see one of the penguins emerge from the hole with a fish still wriggling in its beak (we are pretty certain it is a “borch”, the Antarctic ice-fish, Pagothenia borchgrevinki). The penguin dropped the fish and went back in the water, so we threw it back in the hole .





Between all the science, Matt has managed to find time to get his daily workout in, slightly modified of course to accommodate Ranch life. Here he is in action





The seals are also still regular visitors to our huts, often bringing up fresh Mawsoni (Antarctic cod) that they have caught beneath the ice.

Here are pictures of our buddy Wendell, one of Cory bonding with the seal ,




and one of Wendell with a freshly caught Mawsoni .





Paul and I have also done several dives out here at the Ranch. It is absolutely breathtaking to be diving underneath the ice with Weddell seals and emperor penguins swimming circles around you. Today we did our seventh (and final) dive. Paul has taken several underwater pictures during the dives, but they are all on film so we will have to wait until we return to San Diego to see how they come out. The water has become progressively murkier throughout the season with summer approaching and the amount of algae (and everything higher in the food chain) increasing. Today’s dive was quite cloudy (relatively speaking for the Antarctic of course!).

We have recently made several trips to the ice edge to release birds that have participated in our work at Penguin Ranch. We let 2 of the last 5 birds go in our most recent release and because of excellent weather and good ice conditions, we were able to bring them right up to the ice edge. Here are pictures from this release

Paul releasing our bird Clara,




and one of both Clara and Cody Maverick (among some Adelie penguins), with Cody on the move, about to enter the water.





The ice edge was incredibly beautiful, and it was a wonderful feeling to once again hear open ocean lapping up against the shore.

With that our season has pretty much come to a close. We will release the rest of our birds tomorrow, and then it is time to break down the Penguin Ranch. Despite our slow beginning, it has been an incredibly productive and wonderful season out here on McMurdo Sound.