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Rowan McLachlan

Welcome to the Hotel California

Updated: Aug 20, 2023

Amazing news everyone!!!! Guess where we are....



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... still stuck in New Zealand! Sad face. Cool mural in downtown Christchurch though.


Unfortunately, we have hit a series of road blocks that have delayed us getting across the Southern Ocean and onto Antarctica.


Originally, we were supposed to depart Christchurch on Friday the 19th August at ~9 am, which corresponds to:

  • 10pm Thursday 18th UK time or

  • 2pm Thursday 18th Oregon time or

  • 5pm Thursday 18th Ohio time

P.s. this random assortment of places represents where most of my friends and family (and probably the only people reading my blog) are located. Hi Mum! 😅


As I write this post, we are currently scheduled to depart on Monday 22nd August - so finger crossed! But what happened? Why the delays?


Well there have been a few contributing factors.


First of all, we are among the first group people traveling to Antarctica during a special time of year known as "Winfly". Winfly is the changeover period between the winter and summer seasons, during which there are a limited number of flights (only 4 this year) that transport a small number of scientists and contractors to McMurdo Research Station (click here to see the live-streaming web cameras at McMurdo and to learn more about the base).

Screenshot of the McMurdo Station live-cam for 20-Aug-2022 : credit https://www.usap.gov/videoclipsandmaps/mcmwebcam.cfm

After these four Winfly flights, there will be no additional flights for approximately two months, at which point people start arriving en-mass during the period known as "mainbody". These Winfly flights transport the essential support staff who's job it is to prepare the station for the busy summer season which begins in early October. The contractors have a variety of important jobs that include defrosting the accommodation cabins which are allowed to freeze over winter!


Unfortunately, the first Winfly flight was delayed due to treacherous weather near McMurdo which would have prevented the C17 air force plane from landing. Each day that first flight was postponed, the backlog of flights grew.


But wait - Good news! One of the four Winfly flights made it to Antarctica yesterday!


Bad news: as that C17 plane landed, the ice runway sustained substantial damage, probably due to the snow and ice not being compact enough (*shakes fist at global climate change*). Alas, now efforts are underway to repair the runway, but no other flights will be departing until it has been fully repaired and passed safety inspections.


And so we wait! Andrew, Lila and I are currently in a hotel in Chirstchurch, known as the Hotel Califo... I mean The Elms Hotel.



Despite checking-out several times, its seems as though we can never leave...


Luckily moral is high and take-out food plentiful.





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