Antarctica, Day 56
After my first expedition to Antarctica, when I landed back in New Zealand after a eight hour flight from the snow runway near McMurdo Station, my first thought when I got off the aircraft was ah, finally, fresh air!. This may seem like an odd thought to have given that Antarctica has likely the freshest air on the planet. But here, there are no trees or grass or flowers. I then realized that my concept of fresh air wasn't about what's absent, but what's present. So much of my work here in Antarctica is about highlighting what is present here – that it's not a barren wasteland. But Antarctica also provokes us to think about what is present where we live that we otherwise might not notice.
Tonight I will see a dark sky for the first time in two months. In a few hours, I'll be boarding a C17 military aircraft to make a five hour journey back to New Zealand. The summer scientists have begun departing the continent, making way for a new batch of people coming in to Antarctica to spend the next eight months here over winter in complete darkness. With their arrival came the first fresh fruit and vegetables we've had since I've arrived. As I walked to the cafeteria on station yesterday, I heard people excitedly shouting "make sure to get your strawberry!".
Not a joke – we each received a single strawberry. There were at least enough oranges, bananas, and apples for everyone to get a few each.
So what's next? I'll be continuing this newsletter, albeit less frequently, to share more from my time in Antarctica and keep you posted on the forthcoming National Geographic-supported docu-series I filmed during this expedition. I have well over 2 terabytes of footage to wade through over the coming months and I'm excited to see it come together. A shout-out also to all of you who are supporting this work through my Patreon and helping make it possible.
For now, I'm looking forward to seeing the sunset, my hands no longer looking like alligator skin, fresh produce, the warmth of a New Zealand summer, being reunited with my husband, an epic amount of rest, and of course, the smell of fresh air. Thanks for joining me on the ride so far.
<3
Ariel