Friday 31st January Museums and Post Offices of Antarctica

Our morning started with a talk from a woman who is currently living in Antarctica and working for the UKAHT (United Kingdom Antarctic Heritage Trust). This charity-based organisation, conserves and manages 6 museums across the Antarctic Peninsula which were formally research stations and are now museums, being restored to their former glory. It was a very interesting presentation and following this we visited the first of the museums. This was the Port Lockroy Museum which had been a variety of things over the past century. It had served as a whaling station, a staging post for British Expeditions, a strategic spot to watch for enemy ships during the WW2, a research station etc. The base a Port Lockroy closed in 1962 and after extensive conservation work, became a museum recreating accurately the conditions in which men lived and worked in during the 1950’s. The building also has its own shop and post office and a small team is employed by UKAHT to maintain buildings, operate the shop and post office and carry out long-term monitoring of the wildlife. It is entirely funded by the gift shop and post office. There were many, many penguins all around the base and once we’d finished looking through the museum, we spent time watching them. After returning from this excursion, our ship cruised a short distance to Damoy Point, a rocky headland on the west coast of Wiencke Island. Once again, we were able to go ashore and have time for walk and continue to observe the many, many penguins who inhabit this area. The penguins move around from one area to another using a “penguin highway” so it was great fun to watch them using these “highways” as well as sliding on their tummies, building nests and looking after their chicks. It was a beautiful calm afternoon and made more picturesque by the snow falling. Once again, a stunning day in Antarctica