Happy 60th birthday Scott Base

Friday was the 60th birthday of Scott Base. As readers will know I was at Scott Base a year ago, for its 59th birthday, so have been thinking a lot about my time here.

On the physical side, I was hugely impressed with Scott Base. It is small and compact but far superior (in my opinion) to the huge McMurdo. Having all the buildings inter-connected is great.

Also the sense of history with Hillary's Hut having been renovated, as one of the first premises on Antarctica.

But what I still think about is the work done by the Kiwi scientists down in Antarctica. Unlike me, they don't spend all their time at Scott Base. After a couple of days there, they head out in tents around the continent to do their science whether it be counting whales, mapping sensitive areas with , drilling through the core to find out what the climate was thousands of years ago and much more. It's a raw and tough environment, but an amazing one.

The other thing I recall is how diligent the Antarctica NZ team were at preserving the environment – right down to having to pee in a bottle and have it shipped back to New Zealand.

So Happy Birthday Scott Base. The week I spent down there is one I will never forget.