The Peterson Melon (centre-frame) nestled among the hills of Peterson Island, with the huge Vanderford Glacier in the background.Late in the month I spent a night at Wilkes, and did plenty of walking throughout (October is when the wildlife really started to explode again!), but those will have to wait for another post. The real highlight of October for me was a two-nighter spent at the Browning Peninsula and Peterson Island (this region has become the jolly destination of choice for most because of the scenery) with Bob, Tod and Curly.
Because of the distance from station to Browning it’s a good idea to take extra fuel with you. Thick snow on the sea-ice will mean you use a lot more fuel than on bare ice, as will driving around from place to place once you’re there. Some people also like to take a small generator and heater with them for the huts. This is what the trailer was for.
As we left station the overcast sky suddenly cleared and what little wind there was had stopped completely, just for us! 
We headed south via Bosquett Island where we saw 11 Weddell seals and 8 pups lying on the sea-ice, basking in the sun. Starting around mid October the Weddells come up through tide-cracks in the sea-ice (which are more pronounced by this time of year) to give birth. Bosquett Island is a known haulout area and pupping site for these seals. 
This photo shows our quads parked on the sea-ice near Bosquett, looking toward the distant Peterson Glacier, which slopes down steeply toward the sea. You can see the lines of crevasses littering the glacier in this photo.We then skirted around the ice-cliff walls of Penny Bay towards the Browning Peninsula and Browning hut, arriving to an icey reminder of why the Browning hut toilet received such a dishonourable mention in ‘Toilets of the World’ (4th photo below).
After the first layers of snow we found solid ice further down. You don’t want to be “hanging on” by the time you get to Browning.Browning Hut has a terrible layout. It's really just a glorified freezer container, and consequently warms up beautifully and very fast, but you can see how narrow it is from Tods photo below. Its impossible to pass someone inside, and the table is always in the way!
Spend a year here and you become an expert on critiquing anything to do with the Antarctic Division… we’re such spoilt whingers!The following day was even better than the first. There was literally not a breath of wind, no clouds, and glorious sunshine! I really don’t think theres been a better day all year, and we got to spend it exploring Browning and Peterson!
We explored a few ice-lakes on the peninsula before heading off to scale the impressive peak of Teigan Island.
This photo from Teigan Is, looking toward Browning Peninsula, shows how tide-cracks form around the base of islands and bergs, cracking as the sea-ice rises and falls with the tide.
Bob and I atop Teigan. Bob is adding our names to the parchment, and elite few who have scaled this mighty peak!
The steep decent from Teigan. We then went up Boffa Island (below), where we stopped for lunch.
Silhouette of Tod with the unmistakeable shape of Teigan Island on the right.
After lunch on Boffa we decided to get up close to some of the larger bergs in Penny bay. This was amazing! I don’t think I should try to describe what it was like to see these things, but hopefully some photos can give you an idea. 
The three photos above are curtesy of Todor. Its impressive to hear these bergs moaning, groaning and cracking while youre so close to them. 
By afternoon we had made it to Peterson Island and the melon, where we were to stay the second night. Not far from the melon there is a proclamation, rolled up inside a cylinder, which claims the adjacent land for the USA (hence the flag in the picture below). I’m not 100% sure how this works in regard to the Australian claim (perhaps it is now void since the Antarctic Treaty has only been effective as of the 50's), but the US proclamation has been there, under a pile of rocks, since January 1948.
The Peterson Melon, while it may not look like much, is actually quite an efficient field ‘hut’ in terms of using the space and heating etc. Though I had seen it a few times this was the first time I had stayed overnight in the melon, and I was surprised at how well it fit the four of us inside, compared to say Browning Hut, which has a terrible layout.
Above (foreground right) and below you can see the melon with Motherway Island standing tall in the background.
After settling in we decided to go for an evening stole to the summit of nearby Motherway Island, and take in la buena vista. A good place for a bit of product placement...
Who is James Boag...?
The third and final day the wind had gotten up a little. We still had beautiful sunny skies, but 15-20 knots wind in -20C is still pretty chilly, I can tell you. We went for an early walk around the rest of Peterson Island, scaling some more great peaks, and saw some spectacularly situated (though all but empty) Adelie penguin rookeries, with 3 or 4 of the early comers scattered around the place.
By the time we returned to the melon the wind had eased slightly and by circumstance I was forced to trial the 5th and final field hut toilet… the one I was so quick to dismiss a few months ago. They say a picture tells a thousand words, and while you may not want to hear all the words this picture has to say, I hope it says enough to show you why I would like to retract my prior dismissal of the Peterson Melon facilities. On the contrary I would like to take this opportunity to crown the Peterson Melon Toilet the winner of my TOILETS OF THE WORLD competition!
Where else do you get a view like this?
Having gotten that over and done with we decided we couldn’t leave without walking out on the sea-ice to what appeared to be two of the most impressive bergs in the whole area, sitting a 1km or so future out than the island. We weren’t disappointed! Testing the ice thickness regularly with our ice axes on the way out we jingerly approached the more impressive of the two and found a gaping hole in it’s side! 
Presuming this berg had recently broken off the nearby Vanderford Glacier, I am at a loss as to how the tunnel would have formed in the first place. But I have to say I kind of like the mystique of not knowing. 
You can image how much Bob, Curly and I wanted to go in here (I know I wanted to at least), but I've heard too many stories about big bergs rolling over unexpectedly... I didn't buy it with this one... I think Bobby was just trying to scare us, but it worked.
The pups were very cute! They were probably just a few days old at this point – very floppy, silky fir, and would look at you with big glassy eyes. 
Of course Tod also took plenty of photos here, with a better zoom lens than mine (we’re not meant to be closer than 20m or so), but he somehow seems to have a knack of getting into the right place at the right time. I don’t know how he does it but he just knows how to take good photos! The three below are his. 
Having satisfied ourselves that this was one of the best jollies ever we turned tails for home.
Given that the ship was meant to arrive one week later, I was happy at this point that I had seen what I needed to of Browning and Peterson, knowing that it would be almost impossible to get down there once ‘summer’ was into full swing (science projects, airbus flights, vehicles booked out, field training for the new guys). However it is now more than a month later and there is still a small glimmer of hope that I might be able to get there again for a cheeky mid-week jolly. It really is by far the best place we can go here at Casey! 
Tods panorama of the Vanderford Glacier, looking from Browning Peninsula.
