Jeff's visit during station refuelling

Us on the boat - taking in the view.

Standard view from the boat.

Jeff finally made it to Casey!

Watching pancake ice form
on the early morning (4-8am!)
refueling shift.

Charlie Brown type
Christmas tree on the ship...

Pretending to be a fuelie as
I dip the tanks to check on
fuel levels.

I arrived at Casey in November and a couple of weeks before I left, Jeff headed off to McMurdo for a brief stint.  While it's nice to be on the same continent in theory, we were thousands of miles apart.  The good news is that after he finished up at McMurdo, he had a job waiting with the Australian Antarctic Division.  The job was as a refueling assistant and it involved a trip down to Casey on the resupply and refueling ship, the Aurora Australis.  The boat arrived shortly before Christmas, only to be greeted by rough weather that meant they were heading back out to sea.  Luckily for me, I got to leave station and hang out with Jeff on the boat for a few days while they waited out the weather.  After refueling was finally finished, Jeff got to come ashore and hang out at Casey for a few days as well.  A lovely Christmas present for us both!

The berth on the ship that Jeff
and I shared.

A refueling boat checking on
the floating fuel line.

All people and small supplies
get to the Aurora via inflatable
boats and a rope hoist (for
goods) or scary ladder (for people)

A good way to pass the
time on a blustery day.

Keeping watch on top of the fuel tanks.

Station sending off the Aurora

The Aurora Australia parked in front of
station (and a porpoising penguin)