RECREATION

 
  To the side and below is the darts game we play with the McMurdo team on Friday nights. We are also playing against the Casey, Davis (both of these are Australian bases in the Antarctic) and South Pole stations and do this via a radio link. You can just make out the radio to the left of Steve who is sitting down (just under the flash spot). Its alot of fun and everyone has to be very honest about scoring. "Yeah right!" I hear some of you say. The first game for Friday night darts, 27-3-98 at 9.20pm goes to Davis station. Best of 3 or 5 games.

The rest of the Scott Base team are doing other things like watching videos or doing a bit of carpentry, etc. The McMurdo team comes over to our base because its easier than us going over to them. We have the better facilities for this sort of thing and they like to get away from Mactown, so it works out good for everyone.   By the way . Since I last updated this page the bar has been changed and what you see on the right is how it looks now. Just a little different from the old bar!

 Elvis lives! He just works in the galley at Mactown. The picture to the left was taken before I got here.. Its New Year's day 1998. We call it Ice Stock. Very similar to Woodstock but people tend to wear more clothing. After the big New Year's eve party at Scott Base the night before, its a bit hard on the body to get too carried away.  

Mork showing off his cross country skiing skills in the pitch black night.  Mork and I skied out to Silver city and back again one evening in the middle of winter. Guided by the distant lights of Scott Base. On the way out there we could just make out the features of the land in the faint glow of the Antarctica night.  Right,  A bit of golf on ice. White golf balls are not very popular down here. Green or red will do the trick though.

Nothing like going skiing in Antarctica. With the only ski field and ski tow on the continent, it's our pride and joy. The truck has been converted into the ski tow, as it circulates a rope loop around one of its rear axles with special adaptations. The rope then goes up the hill to a pulley and comes back down to the truck; simple but effective. You then use a harness and a special clamp called a "Nut Cracker" to latch yourself on, and up the hill you go. There are safety's built in, so you don't get pulled through the top pulley if you don't let go in time.

 
I've shown this photo before, but it is always nice to relax in a nice hot tub after a cold day outside or a work-out in the gym. One of several hot tubs around the place but the only official one between here and Mactown.

 
Chris is doing his daily exercise on the stepper. In the gym we have weights, a rowing machine, a stepper, and a cycling machine. We also have a couple of large mats and stuff for doing sit ups and stretches. We heat the room with a preway diesel fuel burner so it should never get to cold. Chris has slimmed down a bit since we came down to Antarctica and many of us guys have lost a bit of weight. Its normally the other way around with weight gain so we are really pleased.  Not everyone has lost weight but most people do look healthy and not too overweight.
 
 
 
 

 
Christmas at Scott Base. A time of good Food, good

Food friends and presents as well as all that sharing caring and good will too everyone else stuff. Santa, (who looks remarkably like he has been eating to much of his own cooking) is having a good time handing out the presents we have all given to each other. To the left you can see Tony, Ray, NJ, Chris, and Steve enjoying a Xmas dinner.  Don't worry about me, I never smile in Photos.

The meal and the few friends we invited from over the hill (Mactown ) made for an unforgettable event. The cake to the left was made by Pauline but all the painting was done by the helicopter crew.

Bowling in Antarctica. The excellent thing about living so close to a large base is the ability to share some of the recreation facilities. Bowling is one of these.

Eric (left) is lining up the pins for a strike. Dave (right) is having one of his knock em all down every time nights.  This is a very sought after bowling alley as it is an old manual type that requires people at the other end to return the bowling ball and reset the pins. That means you have to wait until the person's feet are out of the way before you throw the ball. They shout obscenities at you if you don't and you run the risk of breaking bones . It cost $3 dollars US per game, per person. The money is divided amongst those who work during their off hours to allow you to play the game. The trick to this alley is knowing the curve of the lane. The dryness causes the wood to twist no matter how well you install it. Every now and then they bend it back into shape and wait for it to get bad enough for them to have to redo it.
 
The hockey games we play against and with the Americans are getting harder and faster all the time. I have already written a bit about them in the Night Carte (monthly magazine) that we produce for friends and family back home. In this shot Mork is guarding the goal with grim determination.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Climbing Wall and other Gym things.
The climbing wall is another Mactown facility available to those who want to use it.  With small hollows, dints and ledges for the beginner through to the master climber.  Its just another one of those sports activity things that you can play on if you don't have a bedpal!.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Other activities

Stitch and bitch, where craft-minded women (mainly) get together and sew / weave ( whatever ) over some wine, and at the same time bitch about whatever comes to mind (usually men); not hard to do for most people.

Drawing classes. David Rosenthol is a reasonably well known artist who is currently working in Mactown and runs classes for people who would like to learn the basics of drawing. He is a very interesting artist with good teaching skills. Steve, Pauline and I have been to this month's set of classes and Steve and I also went to one of his small art exhibitions at the Mactown library on Friday night 1-April-1998.

Getting there. For many just the effort of getting from Scott base to McMurdo in the summer via foot is more than enough excersise. If however, you wanted to save your strength for a party then you would wait at the shuttle shelter at the entrance to Scott Base. There is normaly enough room on a shuttle bus to catch a ride as it travels backwards and forwards between the Air field and McMurdo.

Carmen, One of the American shuttle drivers on her day off is waiting at the shelter for a shuttle. She has just spent an evening at Scott Base consuming vast quantities of good quality Scott Base cuisine from the mess.  A common occurrence for many Americans who preferred the good Kiwi food.  Don't worry, the Kiwis often go to McMurdo and pig-out on the ice-cream machine and real orange juice in their mess so it evens out.
 

Aerobics. A class full of sweat and pain. That's why I don't go, but some do and they love it.

Yoga Classes. More pain. One of the guys from our crew who goes over there often falls asleep when they tell him to relax. He has a habit of taking the instructions literally no matter how hard he tries not to.

Happy hour and bars. I have never been to a happy hour but I hear they are well patronized. It all depends on the type of people employed during the year. Some years the people are party animals and other years they are very subdued. The demographics of a small community are hard to predict until they happen. There are three bars during the summer and two during the winter.

Laurie is holding onto my Hot Chocolate while I take her photo in the Coffee Bar at Mactown. Hours are from 6 till 10.30pm (aprox, apart for party nights) and open every day except Monday. The Scott Base bar is open after work everyday and we all take turns being bartenders. We don't drink much so it becomes a place of social gathering more than anything else. Thursday nights are American nights, where the Americans are invited over for drinks, and some take the opportunity to have a meal with the Scott Base staff.

 
Brunches. Mactown has brunch in their mess on Sundays and we all try to get over there when we can to provide a bit of variety and social interaction.

Various parties.

Almost every weekend there is a different party at Mactown. I still believe that the Scott Base ones are the best but are not as frequent as the impromptu ones in Mactown. We seem to have better music and atmosphere for some reason. Here we see a hat party. Flowers, fish, balloon's, miners head lamps, pop up xmas penguins...nothing is to sacred to put on your head and call it a hat.
 
Volleyball We use the same gym as for the floor hockey but string a net across the center. Another fast game, played at Mactown where they have the big gym to run around in.

Polar Plunges . Brrrr !! We had the second one since I came down here in October 1997. The last was sunset on the 24 of April but we didn't jump until the weekend after. This was the end of sunrise at the beginning of winter. The ice was 1.5 meters thick, and the outside air temp was temp was -33 degrees Celsius, The sea water water temp was a balmy -1.2 degrees Celsius (sea water doesn't freeze at 0 deg Celsius, due to salt content) . We do it in our birthday suits, male and female. We dig a big hole in the sea ice and then put a wet harness around your bare waist and jump into the freezing water. You don't need any encouragement to get out (via a ladder). Then it's a matter of quickly putting the bunny suit back on and going for a dip in the hot tub or shower to get warm and normalized again. From the time you get out of the water and back into the base your hair has turned to ice and the rest of you looks like a shriveled prune. I must admit that when you warm up the body does tend to bounce back with vengeance as ice cold water has a very invigorating effect. I think there is alot of nighttime activity afterwards as invigorated couples make sure everything still works !! : )
    

(Picture 1)Chris from Mactown does the plunge into the waters off Scott Base. He even surfaces with the ice-axe Jonathan (scott base engineer )dropped into the water while opening the reverse osmosis hole big enough to enable plunges. He earns himself a dozen tinnies for his efforts. The ice hole we "eventually" had to is use was the water intake for the base, which is always kept clear.
 
   

As I said, we do the polar plunge in our birthday suits but in this case the girls (as shown Helen in black and Hermione in lepoard skin) decided they would do it in Bathing suits or costumes. Chickens !!!  I would show you some photos of the guys doing it the tradional way, "naked". But I don't want to embarrass myself, or make anyone throw up.
Notice the ladder in the water and Chris lying beside it scooping some of the ice out.  Helen gets back into a bunny suit before scrambling back up to the hot tub. The water has enough time to freez in your hair before reaching the safety of the Base. Nothing like combing ice out of your hair to get a feeling for antarctic skinny dipping.

 
Music Bands and plays are often done during the summer . During the winter it is normally just the odd band that keeps going.

Videos, TV, Radio and Books. There are heaps of all these if you want to veg out and do nothing. Many people take the opportunity to read up on the explorers of the past. There are many good books out there for people to read. Some are very factual, others are written in story or diary form. There is also a good video library. Both Scott Base and Mactown have their own radio stations. All you need is a radio. You can be a DJ at the radio station in Mactown if you feel the desire. The Scott Base radio station is just a combination of two 5 CD carousel players and a radio transmitter. The TV stations at Mactown use a combination of video players and armed forces TV satellite reception to give them a few channels. The library at Mactown and Scott Base keep you reading if that's what you want to do.

 Surfing the net and communications. We have the ability for email and internet communications. It keeps me occupied when I am in the mood to do more on my web page. One of these days I'm going to run out of site space. There are only so many pictures I can fit into my 10 meg cyber slot. I also do heaps of emailing to friends and family back home, not to mention the kids and teachers that often write to me and ask me questions about everyday life at Scott Base Antarctica. People have their own interpretations of life down here and I am no different, I just say it as I see it.

We also have telephones, fax, etc. The phone number for Scott Base is available from directory service and its like calling from one part of New Zealand to another part. Our fax number from NZ is 02 409 6705. We cant guarantee a reply but you just never know

Carpentry and other hand crafts. Some people like to do a bit of carpentry or other such skill. Many of the people at Scott Base brought down their own wood to make certain craft sorts of things.

Helen holding up the two beaded mirror frames she made from tiles, beads, and other ceramic stuff, Chris took down some wood and he made a coffee table, and a CD rack cabinet. Other people did things like knitting jerseys, spinning wool, and internet web pages.
 

Dancing classes. Not long after I first got down here I decided to try the dancing classes over at Mactown. It was a strange mix of different American dance styles which I found weird compared to what I was used to in NZ. So after putting up with the stiff and proper dancing they where trying to teach me I decided to start up my own classes. For a while I was teaching Rock and Roll dancing at Scott Base (its a bit like Jive with kiwi ingenuity built into it and based on old American styles ). People who came along seemed to enjoy it. It eventually faded due to other things and I have never got around to restarting the classes. As you may be able to tell, I love to dance Rock and Roll or Ballroom and its just a matter of finding a dance partner.

 
Sight seeing and walk abouts. Walking is still a thing some people do when the weather permits. You can't go too far but at least it gets you out of the place. Some people book the A-frame hut ( a small hut on sleds used for field training) or silver city (the tin box American equivalent) for a week end. It provides a bit of isolation and privacy from the eyes of a small community. Other places to go are Observation Hill, the hill shrine Grotto ( got you guessing now) and a few other places. Many of these locations are explained in other photos and places on this site and when I have sorted them out I will create hyperlinks to them. Or you could look to the adventure and scenery areas of this web site and you may find them.

Things like the ice caves, crevasses and other dangerous places can only be visited at certain times of the year when the ice has properly re-frozen or settled after the summer season.. The places like the A-frame and silver city are safe for extended stays or during sudden storms as they are self contained units, designed for these conditions.
 
 
 
 
   

(Left) Around Christmas sometime Chris said he was going outside to make a snowman. I had nothing better to do at the time so I went out and gave him a hand. It was built at the entrance to Scott Base. Several days later we purposely drove over it in the Hagglunds for a laugh.  You will also notice that we both have a bit more weight on at the time.  This is before we spent some time in the gym and lost about 10 to 16 Kg each.
(Right) If you take the time to get out and about in the summer you can always go and look at the wildlife.  When in Antarctica you have to make the most of it, and do what you can when you get the opportunities. If you don't then you have only yourself to blame. Someone in our group made the comment that they had never seen a good Aurora, which is a bit sad when all it would have taken would be for them to get some enthusiasm to go outside and have a look.  I think they did eventually, but it took them long enough.

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Edited by Shirley Baston Fred [email protected] ICQ # 15167279