Sorry for lack of posts...

Seem to always be apologising, but this is just a short note to say that I have been very busy getting ready for the voyage south and haven't really had time to sort out any more posts, nor am I likely to until after re-supply of the station in several weeks time. Hopefully then I will then be able to put up a lot of posts detailing what I have done since the weekend at Mt. Field. Basically I have been packing, having a great time back in Adelaide and then packing some more and training. If you are wondering where I am and what it is like, have a look at the tracks and situation reports regarding voyage 2 (links from this page: http://its-db.aad.gov.au/proms/public/schedules/sitreps.cfm). Hopefully I don't get too sea sick! Will post again as soon as possible.

On the weekend we headed out to do a walk in Mt. Field National Park, but we were thwarted by a lot of snow high up and some bad weather. I was amazed that there was so much snow at 1400 odd metres above sea-level at this time of year. I did however really enjoy the walk (thanks to the Pandanni bushwalking club for taking us), which kept quite low and took us into twilight tarn and twilight hut, both of which looked spectacular surrounded by snow (see picture).

Will probably have very few posts over the next month (and not many with pictures) as my personal laptop is being packed away as cargo, and I will be relying on my work laptop, until everything is unpacked at Davis. It is all getting very close, very exciting and a little bit scary!

Sorry for the delay between postings. Have I mentioned that life is pretty hectic. This is especially true leading up to the cargo close date, which is tomorrow! I really should be packing, but writing here is a good way of avoiding it for now.
The most important thing that has happened since my last post was getting my gear. This didn't ocur in a straight forward manner (as they didn't have me on any of their lists), but finally I managed to not only get some stuff, but actually some good stuff for taking out into the field. The pictures included are of me mucking around with some of the stuff in my hotel room (I particularly like the gimp mask...).

Anyway, the other bit of news is that I finally have a decent camera to take down with me. I ended up with a Nikon D80 wit one of the "super-zoom" style lenses (18-200mm). It seems to be a good basic set-up, but I have lots of experimenting still to do, and I will hopefully get another lens before sailing (a 30mm F1.4 prime). I think this will give me the ability to do everything I want to do down there photography-wise.

Looking forward to spending my final week with family, friends and my wife before eventually getting on the boat.