Time flies like an arrow and fruit flies like a banana - 29 August to 4 September

The title of this post is a rather poor pun but true nonetheless. The closer that we get to the arrival of the S.A. Agulhas the faster time seems to pass. It seems only the other day that we were celebrating Mid-Winter and 100 days, then 40 days and now it is only 40 days until we are back in Cape Town. The closer it comes, the more the anticipation grows. We all dream of our first sight of Table Mountain, the first fresh fruit, the first cup of tea with real milk and of course the first sight of all our families.

 With the rapid approach of takeover we have all been hard at work cleaning the base, for some reason John et al decided that we should go completely overboard and wash the ceilings and walls which has got to be the biggest waste of time ever. Firstly the ceilings and walls really are not dirty at all and secondly the base is going to be replaced in the very near future (that is if the government decides to that renew the lease in 2013). It really smacks of make-work, something that we have to do in order to alleviate their boredom. We even had to weed the grass growing on the wooden platform that supports the helipad, why - no one knows.

The cleaning also really always seems to fall on the nicest days when the wind is still and the sun is shining in other words the days when it would be ideal for me to do longer trips away from base to check nests or ring birds. Ag, whatever, it really is only a few more days now. I will survive!