Damoy's Point in the Neumayers Channel -Landing #6

When we woke up this morning we were  in the Neumayers Channel (below Anvers) located on the western side of Wiki Island ready to take the zodiacs onshore .  The weather was quite perfect this morning and it was our turn, the Chinstrap penguins, to be the very first group off the ship for landing #6. So, we got into our Zodiac at 7:00 AM dressed warmly for our excursion and off we went.  When we reached the land at Damoy’s Point and came ashore, the snow was fresh and hadn’t been walked upon;  

We could see several penguin highways which we are not allowed to step on.  It’s the rout the penguins take to go from their nest to get to water and go find their food.

Damoy Hut

We walked across the fresh blanket of snow to the Damoy Hut, which was built in 1975 and kept in use until 1995.  It has now been restored to its original form and is used as a museum. The land here was an airstrip that enabled personnel and stores arriving by ship to be flown on to Rothera Station in early summer when sea ice prevents dirt access to the station by ship

A party of two or three men were stationed her to transfer the cargo from ship to plane.

The kitchen had no running water and the food was good in that big container.

Dinner table and benches for as many as 12-15 people who lived and worked here.

This penguin is getting ready to cross our walking path.

Port Lockroy Post Office

We could not make a stop at the Port Lockroy Post Office because the ship is too large, so the post office crew game aboard our ship.  The post office is operated by the British government for four months each year.  The crew of four live inside the building.  There is no running water or toilet for the residents to use.  When ships pass through, they deliver 20 gallon cans of water and propane which the postal crew must lug back to their building. Buckets are used for human waste and taken by the ships for proper disposal. Our ship invited them onboard to sell postcards and stamps.  The postal crew took showers on our ship and were invited for dinner.  The postmaster also told us what it was like to live down here for four months which was interesting.

The postal workers take the letters back to the post office and postmark them.  They are sent out on the next ship that drops off the mail at the Faulkland Islands where it is loaded on an airplane and flown to Britain and then processed normally and delivered.

Shackleton’s Antarctic Adventure

In the evening Shackleton’s Antarctic Adventure was show in the theatre.  "This documentary followed the daring real-life exploits of Sir Ernest Shackleton and his crew. Determined to become the first people to walk across the South Pole, Shackleton and his men embarked on their daring Antarctic expedition by sea. When their ship, the Endurance, is trapped and destroyed by ice, the British explorer and his group struggle to survive in the harsh, frigid environment, defying the odds as they cheat death largely through sheer perseverance."

Cozy bunk beds three man high.