During the days leading up to Resupply, as if conscious of the generally excited mood on station, even the Sun and moon could not help being drawn into the festivities, putting on a rare show for the expectant crowd at Casey. On the 7th of February we were treated to a partial solar eclipse, which the ever-vigilant camera of Todor managed to capture through a dark plastic bag and a thin layer of cloud. The eclipse lasted for just a few hours in the morning, but was an expedient event to mark, for some, the end of a rather surreal Summer holiday, and the beginning of their journey back home to loved ones. 
[Aurora Australis at night from Casey]
[Aurora Australis at night from Casey]Being a ‘winterer’ however I must say I felt like something of a bystander to much of the excitement. Watching and hearing the ‘summerers’ talk in sanguine tones about what delights they were going to indulge in once they got home didn’t make the prospect of staying for another 9 or 10 months sound terribly enticing. Nevertheless there was a notably jocular feeling running through the station prior to Resupply, which was at times hard to avoid.
[Tom and Jenn in the Wallow]
Resupply itself however was one of the more chaotic periods we have experienced here to date, and I must say was not something I was looking forward to with great enthusiasm. The more seasoned expeditioners had warned us of this, and that the entire process was estimated to last around a week (dependant, as everything, on weather) by the end of which we would be well and truly ready to welcome the supposedly relaxed Winter with open arms. 
[Ice cliffs of Newcomb Bay]
For me, the most concerning aspect of Resupply was the fire board. Im not sure exactly what would have happened in terms of a muster and the fire response team, but I have included here during and after resupply shots of the board to illustrate the relative simplicity we are now dealing with, post Resupply. In short, we had lots of new people on station who may or may not have known where to go and what to do in case of a fire, and others who may or may not have heard the alarm at all. Thankfully though, we had no troubles with fire alarms during this time, and Resupply went off more or less without any problems. 
Essentially, resupply is about providing the station with enough food, fuel, material (plumbing, building, electrical supplies etc), and winterers’ cargo (the rest of mine and others’ personal luggage) to last until next summer. Bellow is the contents of one-of-five food containers on the floor of our Green Store, which I helped unload with the vested interest that it is to last us/Casey for another 12 months. 
As an extra however, there are often many A.A.D. (Australian Antarctic Division) head office employees, science related ‘round-trippers’, and others, who visit the stations on these voyages for various reason, and who have certain projects to complete during the Resupply week. I was assigned to accompany one such BoM employee on a trip to the Wilkins A.W.S. (automatic weather station) during this week, giving me a pleasant day away from the station. 
The only free vehicle at our disposal on station being the Noddy, (Latin name: Warpus speedus), at least 6 hours of our time was spent bouncing up and down therein. It was however one of the clearest, calmest, and most pleasant days of all time at Wilkins – and, being so, we enjoyed a very civilised alfresco luncheon of antipasto ingredients at the Antarctic Circle. 
Essentially, resupply is about providing the station with enough food, fuel, material (plumbing, building, electrical supplies etc), and winterers’ cargo (the rest of mine and others’ personal luggage) to last until next summer. Bellow is the contents of one-of-five food containers on the floor of our Green Store, which I helped unload with the vested interest that it is to last us/Casey for another 12 months. As an extra however, there are often many A.A.D. (Australian Antarctic Division) head office employees, science related ‘round-trippers’, and others, who visit the stations on these voyages for various reason, and who have certain projects to complete during the Resupply week. I was assigned to accompany one such BoM employee on a trip to the Wilkins A.W.S. (automatic weather station) during this week, giving me a pleasant day away from the station. The only free vehicle at our disposal on station being the Noddy, (Latin name: Warpus speedus), at least 6 hours of our time was spent bouncing up and down therein. It was however one of the clearest, calmest, and most pleasant days of all time at Wilkins – and, being so, we enjoyed a very civilised alfresco luncheon of antipasto ingredients at the Antarctic Circle. To top off a rather enjoyable break from station life, on our return to Casey, coming back “down the hill” at around sunset, we witnessed one of those phenomena usually reserved for the desert regions of the warmer latitudes. Not knowing exactly what causes such a phenomena in the coldest place on earth I can only assume that the mirages we saw were due to light radiating off the snow and ice, which in turn refracted our view, showing us bergs that were bellow the horizon. Please correct me if I am wrong as this is only conjecture, but bellow is my attempt to capture the event. 
