David L. Harrowfield's Diary
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Thursday 18 January 2001, Law Base
After lunch today I headed out for a walk with the two PhD geology students Cam Quinn and Dave Kelsey who have been working on the Rauer Islands. Headed around the head of Nella Fjord then up a valley onto Rusty Ridge which led to Castle Bluff. From the top we had a superb view across to Clemence Fjord and across the Fisher Island and the Polar Plateau. I left Cam and Dave then spent some time sitting on a boulder, examining the geomorphology of the area. A skua stood in a small tarn and in addition to washing its head, it alternately washed the underside of each wing. As with other areas around here, it is desirable to walk where possible on hard rock surfaces. Footprints and vehicle tracks last a long time. We cooked a large pot full of ravioli for tea and enjoyed the stillness of the evening.
Friday 19th January
After a glass of orange juice and some toast, Cam, Dave and I headed by foot for the Russian Progress 1 Station from which their airstrip on the Polar Plateau is serviced. Over a few hours I was able to do a sketch map of the area and identify places from which I subsequently collected sand and water samples. This completed the core of the sampling work which Jim asked me to do for one of his colleagues in Canberra. I used the table in one of the huts for my sampling equipment and it looked as if people have recently been in residence. On the table was some bread and cheese while in a frypan was some chopped up potato. We had not been back at Law Base long when a helicopter arrived with Jeremy, the Davis Station leader. It was great to catch up on news of Davis and also to see surveyor Dave Hurd again. This afternoon our numbers increased to seven with three new residents including Ken Barrett the engineering services supervisor from Davis and two surveyors Gary Johnston and Paul Digney. I cooked a great meal of fried steak and vegetables for tea and opened a bottle of wine to celebrate the completion of my sampling.
Saturday 20th January
I spent most of the morning in the lab hut which is a small red 'apple' hut. Was able to get all the paper work done for yesterdays sampling and to get the samples in Jim's portable freezer which is run off a petrol driven generator. After lunch I went for a walk to Seal Cove where 17 Weddell seals were lying on icefloes and resembled large brown and grey slugs. Late this afternoon we walked over to the Chinese Station where I had a welcome shower and then joined the Chinese for the evening meal. A video was put on and I indulged in karaoke for a laugh. Later a game of table tennis was played. It is interesting to see the short time spent by the Chinese over their meals. They fill a bowl with whatever they want, eat it up and generally leave the dining room to have a shower, play pool, mahjong, cards or simply to read a book. It had been a few days since I was at Zhong Shan and I could not get over the work accomplished on the new water piping. They work long days and keep their work area very tidy.
Sunday 21st January
Up to another fine day with very little wind, but is apparently snowing at Davis and bad weather is forecast for us. Early today Ken and I walked over to Progress 2 to see if the Emperor penguin was still there. We did not see it but had an interesting time examining an old helicopter which is awaiting removal when their ship arrives. Back at Law Base I had a quiet afternoon reading and attending to a few domestic jobs.