Part III: Antarctica and Academe - Scott Polar Research Institute

their creamy feathers accentuated by the grey-white brash ice. When they took off in
a cloud it was quite beautiful. We then went slowly along the front of my glacier, the
Laws Glacier, under the ice cliffs. It was massive ice architecture with vaults and
caves at the water line - deep blue - and pale towers and minarets above pierced by
deep blue vertical cracks. It was impressive close under it and one felt very
insignificant.
On we went, past Lynch Island and around Cape Hansen to the next large bay.
Signy Island in sunshine was looking good from this direction. We passed Half
Moon Glacier and on into Shingle Cove, where we landed. There were elephant seals
and penguins along the shore which was fringed by floating and grounded brash ice.
Slightly grubby penguins from the colony behind were mountaineering, jumping
and teetering from floe to floe - and immaculate birds fresh from the sea were
coming in to land. We then went on around to the next cove north and along the
front of the Sunshine Glacier. The ice architecture here was different from the Laws
Glacier - more finely columnar, with greater vertical cracks. There were some
beautiful lighting effects. We returned to base via Cemetery Flats, where Nelson and
I landed and walked back to base over Knife point and the Stone Chute.
I spent an hour walking around near to the base, up to the old base site, Gash
Cove and Berntsen Point - thinking as I always did there of the early days. Then
back for an evening of talking. I had a long talk with Val Juneman - the first woman
to live on base. She was a soil scientist, involved in the Fellfield Project. She told me
about her plans for the four months she would be on base, obviously disappointed
not to be staying for the winter. She was impressed by the opportunities and she
should do well. We also talked about Africa, because she was recently there on a
visit to the Masai Mara. I spoke also with some of the others, looked around base a
bit more, in the generator shed and other 'tradesman' areas. It was all in very good
order and a credit to BAS. Morale was very high, which was pleasing to me and they
obviously had been through a very good winter.
Next day after a good night's sleep I found it was a really 'dingle' day: clear sky,
bright sunshine and superb views. As there were no problems on base and no one
had asked to talk with me privately I decided to make the most of the fine weather
and to go into the field again. We took the two Humbers - first to Gourlay where we
landed briefly. We continued across the south coast of the island, stopping to look at
interesting bergs and rocks. Our drivers for these two days, Pete Macko and Pete
Hizzett, were very experienced boatmen. (The former was going out, the latter who
had been down before, was coming in). We went on around the south end of Moe
Island, to Mariholm Islets and then around the corner to Cumming's Cove, where we
landed. A very attractive Weddell seal pup, one of this season's with a tag attached
was noted. The Cummings Hut was still very sound and snug, with stone walls, and
wooden lining. We had a cup of coffee and wrote in the hut book. On up the coast
we went, round the point to Tioga Bay, where we found the wreck of the Tioga , a
whaling transport- now just below the surface - its boiler still intact. On to Foca
Cove, where we didn't land but saw the hut. On again past Spindrift Rocks and
round North point. All that day it had been clear and sunny, but now cloud was
coming up from the west. Pete Hizzett took us out into the strait to look for Hobart
Rock. He found it - most impressive, rising to within 6-8 ft of the surface, with, that
day, no obvious clue to its presence. An unwary ship's captain could easily wreck
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