After 6 weeks of no new faces, the Sir David Attenborough returned for its third call of the season. 35 people would be departing! 

As the doctor is ideally not busy in Antarctica, they have extra duties such as running the shop and post office. With a mail run set to depart on the boat, I helped  apply the Antarctic post mark to all the outgoing mail. A lot of people had written to Rothera especially this year due to the press coverage of the new postbox, so it was exciting to return mail all over the world – as well as postmark my own post! 

The goodbyes were hard – as always- and meant just over two weeks until our return journey. Still, in Rothera time, that was both a heartbeat and a lifetime. 

Here’s just a little more of the fabulously eclectic Rothera day to day..

Emma created an escape room, where willing participants raced the clock to solve the mystery of the dive store. It was great fun to work together (and see how your teammates brains tick!)

The garage put on an open day, allowing anyone to drive the machines. The different challenges included lifting empty oil barrels onto a trailer with the excavator, using the telehandler to reverse the bus at into a space, driving the piston bully (with passengers!) and laps of the station in the Volvo. It was an exciting glimpse into the machinery that run the base! 

It was closely followed by Eurovision, where sweepstakes, bingo and a TV dinner helped to add to the glamour of what was hopefully Eurovisions southernmost watch party? 

With hours to go until we boarded our big red taxi, there was still opportunities for work experience! I helped Tom the field guide service primus stoves. These stoves are of the same design as Shakelton would have used, due to their fuel efficiency. In the non field season, they get stripped back, cleaned and rebuilt. The intricate parts are relatively simple. Despite that, we still almost set the building alight in testing the rebuilds..

One final walk around the point as I gave the tour to the ships cadets.  The numbers of fur seals had increased massively, with the mothers and young hauling out on the beaches.

The ship arrived on Tuesday 19th May. As the wintering team prepared to be isolated for the dark months, they got dressed up smart for a dinner on board the ship. The ones of us set to depart enjoyed a last night in the bar, waiting for the winterers to return. The mood was excited, sentimental and a bit somber. The end of time at Rothera for some, and the goodbye to friends, the sun, and outside contact for others! 

We boarded the ship at 8.30am on Wednesday 20th May.  As the mooring team cast us free, flares were set off to mark the occasion and initiate the winter season.