Ambassador Wally

Hi there,

I'm Wally the Bear from Sacred Heart School in Dunedin. I am so excited about heading down to Antarctica and feel very lucky to represent my school! I hope we see penguins. I was looking forward to seeing polar bears too but I found out that they only live in the Arctic, not the Antarctic!

I can't wait to fly down to the ice in the big US Airforce plane. Luckily I still have my winter coat on ready for the chilly weather down at Scott Base.

Catch up soon,

Wally.

Tuesday 27 October 

Kia ora koutou,

What a fantastic journey down to Antarctica! We were so lucky to not have any delays and have a clear flight with incredible views as we approached Antarctica. I was surprised at how much sea ice there was – it went on for mile after mile. I am glad I brought my sunglasses because with all the ice down here it is really bright. It is also really cold. It was -20 degrees Celsius when we landed and some of my fur started to freeze!

Scott Base is a great place to call home, it is really warm and comfortable and even has a gym. We weren’t able to go exploring until we completed our field training which was really fun. I even learnt how to ride a skidoo.

Well, even though the sun is still shining I think I should try and get some sleep.

See you tomorrow,

Wally.

Wednesday 28 October

Hi everyone,

It was another sunny day in Antarctica today although it was quite chilly at -20 degrees. It was especially cold out on the skidoo as we raced across the sea ice.

I was surprised at how big the field camp is where the scientists are working. I thought they would be staying in tents. It was interesting to see the hole they had melted through two metres of sea ice so they could take measurements.

I am looking forward to returning to the camp tomorrow if the weather is ok.

Bye for now,

Wally.

Thursday 29 October

Kia ora,

It was a beautiful day in Antarctica today. We learnt more about the sea ice and how it forms. The scientists have put temperature sensors into the sea ice to find out how much the sea ice thickens over winter. At least they don’t have to check their monitoring equipment because it has some smart technology that sends the data to Scott Base and back to New Zealand via satellite.

We had a great walk up Crater Hill this afternoon, the views were amazing but it was quite tiring so I’m off to catch up on sleep.

See you tomorrow,

Wally.

Friday 30 October

Kia ora koutou,

After a cloudy start we had a glorious day today. We helped the scientists with lots of their work like drilling an ice core and measuring the depth, saltiness and temperature of the ocean below the ice.

My favourite part of the day was melting the sea ice with hot water so we could recover the temperature probe that had been placed over winter. It was so nice to feel the heat of the water while standing on the cold ice.

We are lucky enough to be able to stay overnight at the K131 field camp tonight.

Talk to you tomorrow,

Wally.

Monday 2 November

Kia ora,

It was so cool to be able to camp out on the sea ice, especially when we were able to sleep in warm shipping containers rather than in tents. We caught up with the scientists and Trevor the friendly local Weddell seal.

I learnt that the scientists are using a tool which is like a fish finder except it is used to find platelet ice rather than fish.

Tomorrow is our last day here in Antarctica. I’m going to have an early night so I can make the most of it.

Bye for now,

Wally.

Tuesday 3 November

Hi there,

Time flies when you’re having fun. I can’t believe how quickly our time down here has gone. We went out on the skidoos for one last ride to the K131 field camp. It was cool to see Trevor the friendly Weddell seal and find out more about Gabby’s work. I was so impressed by the photos that Gabby has been taking of the sea ice platelets – they are stunning.

I have had such a great time down here in Antarctica but I am looking forward to catching up with you all.

See you soon,

Wally.