Midnight arrival at Dumont d'Urville

It is a quarter to midnight local time (GMT+9), the sky is light, the penguins are active, and we are finally moored opposite Dumont d'Urville station.

It has been a day of ice. Big tabular bergs floating by, the Astrolabe bumping through unconsolidated pack, forcing its way though thicker but still not solid pack, us taking photographs from all angles and in all light conditions. More often than not it felt like being in a dream world. A cold one at that.

For the time being we are consigned to the ship. Those whose final stop is Dumont itself will disembark tomorrow. The others (myself included) will continue to bunk on the Astrolabe, and hope to get permission to go ashore and visit the base during the day. This state of affairs should only last a couply of days, as JY and I are scheduled to fly up to Concordia on Tuesday 8th.

Thats all for now... Goodnight from Dumont d'Urville station!