How to hut - Macquarie Island style

For the average Australian Antarctic (or sub-Antarctic) expeditioner, heading off station for a few days to visit a field hut is one of the many pleasures of our year south. While commonly recreational trips, there is also a range of maintenance and repair jobs needed to keep each hut in top notch condition.

Here on Macquarie Island, we have five full field huts dotted around the coast, and one additional shelter (almost as good as a hut, but lacking a few of the luxuries). Most people spending a year here will try to get to each hut at least once, which is no mean feat when the main transport method is foot and the island is almost 13,000 hectares of mud, tussock and hills.

In order to keep everything running safely and smoothly, there are certain things you do when arriving and leaving a hut. No one wants to be the person who forgets to turn off the water valve and freezes the hut supply line, so we all listen attentively to our handy Field Training Officer (FTO) who gives us the run down during our first trip out. After that, individual hut routines are finessed with each passing trip, and by the end of the year we’ll all have it down to a fine art.

So, with some help from my trusty fellow expeditioners, here is ‘How to hut – Macca styles’.

Hoorah, first view of Hurd Point Hut. This hut is right at the southern end of the island so it takes a bit to get there. After 2 days and 34km of walking, it's definitely time for a cuppa!

But before rushing in to put the kettle on, there's a few things to take care of. First thing is to get the power on. Each hut has a RAPS unit (remote area power source) which uses solar and wind energy to provide us with power. Here at Green Gorge Hut, Angus turns on the unit while Pete makes a beeline for the hut.

Safety never rests, and an AAD expeditioner always checks the hut vents are open. Each hut also comes equipped with two different carbon monoxide monitors, so we are pretty sorted in that area.

With the vents open that cuppa is one step closer. Next step is getting some gas to heat the water. Here at Waterfall Bay Hut I open the LPG cylinders.

Most huts have plumbed cold water from a rain tank outside, and on arrival you open the outlet valve from the tank. David Point Shelter is a little more rustic, so filling up the kettle involves Chris popping to the tank outside. Still pretty luxurious, although note the hut itself is the rather tiny converted water tank on the left hand side (the wooden structure is just a storage shed). Standing room for one only!

Finally inside with wet boots drying and a change a clothes on, the kettle is boiling while Tim whips up something tasty at Brothers Point Hut.

And a day or two later it’s time to pack up and go home. We do it all in reverse and then leave Bauer Bay hut clean and tidy for the next trip.

Hoorah, another successful Macquarie Island field trip! Back up the hill we go.

In aid of comms

While no one job here on Macca is any more or less important than another, I have to admit that our comms tech, Norbert, is rather busy man. One of his many jobs is keeping the 3 VHF radio repeaters working, so we can communicate up and down island during the various field trips we all enjoy.

Two of the repeaters are within a fairly easy distance of station, but one is right down the bottom of the island, on top of one of our highest peaks, Mount Jeffryes.

A couple of weeks ago Norbert was looking for volunteers to accompany him on a maintenance mission to this particular spot, and not really knowing what I was getting myself into, I happily volunteered. Our chef, Annette, joined us to make a party of three.

We worked out our route, put in our trip application, packed some essentials (mainly wine and cheese) and a few days later we were off.

In fairness it was actually a great trip - 6 days in total and 3 of them were sunny and less than 15 knots (unheard of!) but a 65km round trip for an hour's routine maintenance on an aerial does seem a bit much. Thankfully it's a once a year job, so no more Mount Jeffryes for me!

Day one dawned with blue skies and hardly any wind. What a treat! Heading south down the main overland track.

Still looking fresh at this stage. And the first day of Macca hiking that I haven't had to wear full wet weather gear.

Day two, and yet more fair weather. Woohoo! This is taken outside Brother's Point Hut looking north up the island (towards station).

Climbing up out of Sandy Bay where Brothers Point Hut is located. The two offshore rocks in the background are known as The Nuggets, and most days are hidden in mist and fog.

No matter the weather, you can't escape 'Buzzy'. Formally known as Acaena magellanica, Buzzy is a notorious and widespread Macca plant which takes any opportunity to stick itself to every possible item of clothing it touches, and is impossible to remove. Once touched, you spend the next few hours trying to pick it out of your gloves while getting stabbed by its hundreds of tiny spikes. 

 

Annette making her way through a rather picturesque and Buzzy-free valley on day 2

From the top of the track down into Waterfall Bay. Our hut for night 2 is somewhere down on the coastline.

Norbert and Annette clambering down the Jesse Niccol jump-down into Waterfall Bay, not far to go for the day now.

And lo and behold, here is Waterfall Hut. It's another pre-fabricated 'googie' or 'smartie', similar to Brothers Point Hut. The rest of the huts on the island are individually build and each unique.

And after a lovely night at Waterfall Bay, it's time to go uphill again. Annette makes her way up the Mt Martin jump-up.

About half way I stop for a breather. Honestly, who thought putting a track up these gradients was a good idea?

But you do get some great views. Looking down into a maze-like elephant seal wallow area. In a few weeks this area will be filled with breeding harems.

Back up on top of the plateau, you get some pretty great natural terrace formations

And even more cool, over hundreds of years the gravel stratifies itself out by size so you get a striped pattern - something to do with repeated freezing and thawing, but the explanation was a bit lost on me...

A view down island over one of the terraced areas - our destination is Mount Jeffryes, just to the right of centre in the background

And finally, on day 3 we reach the repeater - the aerial is on the highest part of the hill and the associated comms tech guff is in the shelter to the right.

But being one of the islands highest points, it's rather cold up here!

Brrrrrr....

Norbert gets busy with the job as Annette and I do star-jumps and jogging on the spot to keep warm

An hour later the job is done we head for home - another 3 days back to station but this time rain, hail, snow and 40 knot winds (the Macca we know and love).