Some things that I have experienced for the first time since being here

It was a fortunate moment of looking out the window to see two Emperor penguins sliding along past Scott Base. There have been murmurs of their presence every few days, but I’ve never been able to see them well, let alone catch a good photo on my camera. Fingers crossed they’re back again and hang around long enough for us to head outside. I also saw evidence of their footprints in the snow which is so adorable.

While the moon has technically been above the horizon since we arrived, we saw it in the sky for the first time yesterday!! We also took our telescope up towards Crater Hill, mostly to try out the equipment but it was great timing to zoom in on the moon in the evening. This means I can take the telescope up the hill any time that there’s something observable, and we know that the battery/motor/drum/lens all works in the cold.

I learnt how to cross-country ski, which is meant to be a faster(?) way to get around when venturing longer distances on the flat land, but in all honesty walking is about the same speed. I can do walking much more coordinated too…