David L. Harrowfield's Diary
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Sunday 21 January 2001, Law Base
Had a fairly quiet day but in the evening a most convivial time in the mess hut. Ken Barrett the maintenance supervisor from Davis Station and the two surveyors Gary and Paul, injected great humour into the evening. I was also 'accused' of doing the same. "You Kiwis", said Gazza, "I wish I had a notebook to record some of your comments". The roast leg of pork which I put in the small gas oven at 3 pm , took nearly 6 hours to cook. It was supplemented by roast potatoes, peas and tomatoes, followed by two large cakes of chocolate. Outside it was a beautiful evening with rocks lit up a golden colour, having shadows nearly two metres long.
Monday 22 January
The day was fine but with pressure falling, a spell of bad weather was forecast. By lunchtime the wind was gusting to 25 knotts and with Jim's assistance I was able to do a little of my own scientific research which will support earlier work for a scientific paper I am writing about the effects of wind on historic huts. I discovered today that the reason why the roast for last evenings dinner took so long, was because I had left a metal plate out of the top of the oven. It also appeared a blockage may have occurred in some of the gas jets. This evening the weather began to deteriorate and an excellent front was visible coming in from the north-north-east. By 9 pm the wind had picked up and light snow was falling. I was astonished to see Mr Cong Kai arrive by foot from his station. He had come to deliver an invitation from Mr Liu Shuyan the station leader for us to be guests at the Chinese New Year celebration, which they termed the Chinese Spring Festival marking a start of the Year of the Snake. We had the hut nice and warm and after a glass of orange juice and a raspberry tartlet biscuit , Mt Cong headed off into the bleakness of the night.
Tuesday 23 January
It blew all night and gusted at times. At 8.30 a.m. there was a light layer of snow over the ground. At least it did not come up through the floor of my donga as it did during the last blow. I have the interior quite dark and got out of my sleeping bag to find myself standing in soft powdery snow about 3 cms deep. We could not do very much today and spent our time in the mess hut. I have been reading an excellent book titled John Curtin, who was one of Australia's great prime Ministers and we also had a discussion on inaccuracies on the present map of the Larsemann Hills. The wind continued all afternoon with occasional flurries of snow and decreased visibility and at 6.30 Mr Cong arrived in his big tracked vehicle. We all bundled aboard and were soon at the Chinese Station where after a shower, we headed for the 'mess' and enjoyed the usual fine Chinese dishes plus a few additions which this evening, included complete Chinese fish. On the way home the big vehicle became marooned on a mound of icy snow, but by using a length of timber and two chains with hooks, it was soon free. Back at Law Base, we got the heater going, set a gas lamp on the table and continued our ejoyable Antarctic related discussions over a glass of port.
Wednesday 24 January
Jim was up early today and made a pizza on the stove top. We enjoyed this for breakfast and with the possibility of a helicoter arriving, spent most of the day about camp, since the radio comms have to be maintained. The machine arrived late in the afternoon, having returned three people from the Russian station, who had been to Davis for a few days, and delivered some fruit and vegetables to the Chinese station. Jeremy the Davis Station leader stopped off briefly and we had an enjoyable yarn while cargo was loaded and unloaded. This evening the weather was still and beautiful and in marked contrast to 24 hours previously. Gazza and I went for a walk to Seal Cove where there were 14 seals lying on floes. The blues and pale greens of the large bergs and edge of the Dalk Glacier, which was not far from Seal Cove were magnificent and have been described at greater length in my main written record that will provide much enjoyment in the many years to come. This record together with my many films and tapes will also form the raw material for another publication.