Friday afternoon, I arrive in town with my two bags containing oodles of very warm clothing.....and Hobart is experiencing a heat wave.
After checking the luggage into the hotel, I take a walk down to the harbour, trying to get a glimpse of our ship. But the Shokalskiy is hiding behind the big cruise ship.
It is also far too hot for my taste, so I drag myself back to the hotel where I meet my room and cabin mate Mary.
Later on, we all walk down to Mawson's Hut Replica, Hobart where we get a very informative talk and slide show about the resurrection of the original hut in Commonwealth Bay.
A better look through the replica hut is a project which I will have to keep in mind for a cold winter's day. Right now, it is so hot and stuffy in there that I nearly suffocate.
A big dinner at the Prince of Wales Pub concludes the first day.
On Saturday morning, our luggage is picked up and taken to the ship. I opt out of the walking tour and go to Salamanca market instead, seeing I don't often get a chance to go there.
A very interesting lecture about the formation of ice at the IMAS Hobart is next on the program, then we head over to the Ball & Chain for lunch before finally walking down to the wharf.
At last, we get through customs, onto a bus for a very short distance and there she is, the Akademik Shokalskiy
Length: 71 m
Weight: 2,140 tons
Draft: 4.5 m
Next, we have to find the lecture room for a final roll call and some instructions. Minutes later, the alarm sounds for the emergency drill. We have to don the life vests, scramble upstairs and climb into the life rafts.
By the time we go to dinner, we are already in rough sea and quite a few people are a tad unwell.
The roaring forties are rocking me nicely to sleep.
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