A month in Antarctica

Part 2 of Port Alfred artist JANE FOOTE's ruminations of her once-in-a-lifetime trip to the great white continent.

VERY COLD FEETE: Dudley and Jane Foote on the Northern Buttress of the Vesleskarvet mountain range in Antarctica Picture: BAREND VAN DER MERWE

IN my previous article I wrote about our voyage to Antarctica aboard the SA Agulhas for the annual South African National Antarctic Expedition take-over. On December 23, the ship was up against the ice-shelf of the Antarctic continent.

It was blue sky and sunshine for most of the off-loading, but then it started snowing and blowing. The Cat-train (Caterpillars, sledges and bulldozers) were caught in a blizzard on their way to SANAE IV, South Africa's scientific base, and it took three days to do the 300km trip.

The helicopters couldn't fly until December 28 and it was only on January 3 that the last of us were flying to SANAE, gazing down at the frozen desert that is Antarctica proper. An hour later, there it was, a science-fiction like structure perched on a 200m high cliff – an impressive sight.

A WELCOMING SIGHT: The SA Agulhas moored at the ice-shelf, waiting to take the team home Picture: JANE FOOTE

Immediately on arrival we were given orientation. The potential dangers of this unforgiving environment were emphasized – people have died at SANAE. And then it was down to work. Take-over had begun. Supplies were packed away, dozers shovelled snow, team 50 showed team 51 the ropes, a wind turbine went up, the helicopter flew the geologists to other mountains to collect rocks, maintenance was done, journalists wrote stories and I sorted out two libraries. And everyone did "skivvy” duties.

We had lots of gorgeous days but we also had a white-out. Swirling snow totally obliterated the view, the base trembled and groaned in the 110km/h wind and it was minus 35 degrees. We could not leave the base and felt like aliens in a God-forsaken wilderness. No-one could feed Smelly, the snow smelter that supplies all the water for the base, and showers were forbidden until the storm abated five days later.

On some of the sunshiny blue sky days we were allowed to go out and play. We went for walks in our huge boots, the snow crunching underfoot and sparkling in the sunlight. Away from the noisy base, we drank in the silence while gazing at the magnificent landscape.

Then there was the day the DC3 aeroplane brought some consultants for a visit. We all went down on skidoos (these are a bit like scooters with skids) to watch it land/bounce on the freshly ‘dozed runway.

On another beautiful evening – still bright sunshine at 8pm – we were taken to an amazing place called Crystal Palace, which is tucked away at the base of the mountain on which the base stands . This was one of the highlights of our trip. Look out for more details about this in myfinal article.

After about a month most of the work had been done and it was time for the take-over games, which included the hilarious throwing of the orange "pumpkin” boot. The 50 and 51 teams treated us to an excellent meal at the take-over ceremony. And then it was over.

We took off from SANAE on the evening of February 5. The red boat came into view and I could see living breathing penguins and seals moving about on ice floes. We'd only seen a few birds at SANAE. I felt my heart soar.

ICY ISOLATION: The SANAE IV Base, Antarctica, is perched on top of a 200 metre high cliff in Queen Maud Land and some 300km inland from the ice-shelf Picture: DUDLEY FOOTE

Read more about the serious stuff that goes on at SANAE in Antarctica at , and read more about the crazy stuff that goes on there at .