Simba - 27. Simba Ch 27

“It is owned by Kilimanjaro Distributions, and is the Hotel model, the CSIRO has two containers that they own, one is a hotel model and the other is the U Box model, both will be part of the research base at Carrick Bay,” Uncle Nat announced. “I see, so what configuration will all of the buildings be in?” I asked.

“That is why you are coming to Carrick Bay, since you are the Australian expert to these buildings,” Uncle Nat replied. “I would hardly say I am the expert, but ok, I guess I need to sit down and work out the best options available, are there any other surprises for me to know about?” I asked.

“Well yes there is a few, On board here we have a refrigerated container, for food storage, a portable desalination plant, to provide all the fresh water needed for the research facility, as well as two poly tanks to store the water in. We also have a portable waste storage and treatment plant that will treat all liquid waste, which will then be heated so as to evaporate, while the solids are stored in biohazard containers, to be shipped off the island when the next supply ship arrives.

We have two wind turbine generators, to provide most of the power supply that is needed, plus we have a containers with furniture for all of the buildings, including two king single beds in each of the bedrooms in the hotel model buildings, giving us sixteen beds.

The home and away model already has the four fold down king single bench beds, in both ends, giving another eight beds, three of them at one end will be our sleeping area. The other end will be for the two Defence security personnel and the two Catering staff, who are on the other ship,” Uncle Nat informed to us.

“So there will be a total of eight CSIRO researchers staying at the facility?” Aaron asked, “That is correct, they will stay in their hotel container, the other hotel container will consist of Defence support personnel, two communications specialists, two cleaning staff, a paramedic, two electrical and electronics technicians, and a administration assistant,” Uncle Nat said.

“Ok, so I am presuming that you are the CO of the facility for the time we are at Carrick Bay?” I asked, “Affirmative on that, there have been a lot of reports of illegal Patagonian Tooth Fish fishing in the region, along with illegal whale hunting, so we will be monitoring it from Carrick Bay,” Uncle Nat said.

“Right so upstairs of the Home and Away model will be the Defence operations centre in that case, and that leaves the Twist and Shout model for the Defence work space, and the CSIRO will use their U Box Container for research,” I surmised. “Yes, that sounds about right, with the centre area of the Home and away for our dining and lounge area, for everyone,” Uncle Nat replied.

“Does that mean we are spending Christmas on Macquarie Island?” Aaron asked, “Yes, that is correct, the Investigator will collect us in seven weeks time, to take us back to Tasmania, so you boys can get home in time to for the new semester of studies and I have to return to Canberra for work,” Uncle Nat replied.

“Wow! That is awesome, we are going to be down on a remote Island for Christmas. Will it get cold down there Uncle Nat?” I asked, “I have bought you some cold weather gear, just in case there is a cold snap while we are down there,” Uncle Nat replied.

“Who takes over from you, when we head back to the mainland?” Aaron asked, “The Investigator will be bringing my replacement when it returns to collect us,” Uncle Nat replied. “So the base will be here for just six months?” I asked, “Initially, with the option to extend it for a further six months,” Uncle Nat replied.

For the rest of the day, while the ship began the journey southwards, Aaron and I wandered around to get our bearings around the ship, getting lost a number of times and needing to refer to the ships layout. At mealtime, we sat with Uncle Nat and some of the other Army personnel, while the researchers sat in their own group.

The following day at lunchtime, we were half way through eating when Uncle Nat stood up, “Can I have everyone’s attention please…?” he said loudly, and with not much response, Aaron let out an ear piercing whistle, which made everyone stop talking.

“Thankyou Aaron, my name is Colonel Nathaniel Blackwood, and I will be the base commander for the first seven weeks of this joint expedition. On my left is my nephew Corporal Jacob Blackwood, who is the specialist with all of the Ten Fold container buildings that we will be living and working in,” Uncle Nat said and he looked to me before sitting down, and I stood up.

“Good afternoon, I would like to set up a team to discuss the placements of the buildings once we arrive in Carrick Bay, so I would like one of the Defence personnel and two researchers to join me after lunch to have our first meeting, that is all I have to say for now,” I said as I sat down.

“Half an hour later, the administration assistant, who is also a Corporal and two scientists sat down in the now cleared dining room and in the middle of the table, was a topographical map of the southern half of the island. We had a lively discussion on location of the base, as there are a number of possible sites, with the biggest site being 160 metres above sea level, and where a one-kilometre J shaped track would need to be created, to provide easy access between the beach in the bay and the base.

The other location is at just 80 metres above sea level, and is in a valley, which may cause a few issues with a wind tunnel effect, and a third location is at 280 metres above sea level, with an approximately 2 kilometre long track required to get to it, but it is a more protected area from strong winds.

In the end I let the group know that I would suggest the three possible locations and let the Colonel make the final decision, as he has more experience in regards to the logistics of establishing base camps. With that discussion put on hold, the next thing to discuss was the placement of the buildings.

It was agreed that the Home and Away building would be the main central building, and the its location should be in the middle of the base site, with the other buildings surrounding it, and the CSIRO representatives said they would like to have their two buildings close together, which everyone was happy to agree too.

That left just the Twist and Shout building for the Defence Force, which I decided has to be fairly close to the central building, and the waste plant and desalination plant and pump would be a little lower than the main base camp.

After the meeting, I was staring at the map when Uncle Nat made an appearance, “How did it all go?” he asked me and I sighed, “Not as good as I had hoped, there was a lot of discussion about the location, and some felt that Carrick Bay was not the ideal location,” I replied.

“Ok, we chose Carrick Bay based on your submission to the Army, but if I remember right you recommended another site,” Uncle Nat said to me, “Yes, Mawson Point at Bauer Bay, which is just 7 ¼ kilometres south-west of the former base location,” I replied.

“Ok, get the map for that area, and lets have a look at it, and see if we can get a better outcome,” Uncle Nat said to me, as I walked over to the cupboard where the maps are stored and I retrieved the map for the northern half of the island.

We looked at the map closely for a few minutes before Uncle Nat smiled. “I like it, apart from the Historical significance, it is very flat, just above sea level, and it has a bay, even if it isn’t a very protected one, and this area just south of there is slightly higher and a protected area from the winds on two sides,” Uncle Nat said.

“Ok, so that is going to be the base site then, will you need to let the other ship know of the change of location?” I asked, “Yes, I will go and see the captain now and get a message sent to the Naval Ship right away,” Uncle Nat said, before leaving the room, while I packed up the maps and put them away.

With another four and a half days of sea travel to go, before we arrive at Macquarie Island, Aaron and I kept busy with trying to work out the best positioning of the buildings, now that the location has been finalised, and the CSIRO wanting to be a little farther apart from the main building.

Uncle Nat had recommended that the Twist and Shout building be placed at the back of the camp, as a joint recreation facility. With that, all agreed on, I had a few days to relax, and do some more research on what it is like on Macquarie Island.

A day out from the island, with news that he Naval ship was approximately twelve hours behind us in arrival time, I received an email from Jabali, which I was a little surprised about. “Hello Brother, we have heard that you are on your way to a remote island in the Southern Ocean, so I gathered a few friends of mine from the village, and have recorded some music to fit in with the video footage I took of you, when we climbed the mountain and had two unexpected visitors.

I hope that you enjoy it. Mama Afya says to tell you to be good and take good care of yourselves. Your Brother; and friend always. Jabali.” My eyes were watering a little with emotion, as I remembered that day at the top of Kilimanjaro, a day that will be in my mind for the rest of my life.

I opened the video clip and pressed the play button, and soon sweet African music and singing filled my cabin, as I watched the edited video clip of our trip up the mountain, once of the happiest times in my life. I didn’t hear the door open, as my attention was fixed to the computer screen, but when I did, I saw Uncle Nat and Aaron standing at the door smiling.

“Did Jabali organise that?” Uncle Nat asked when the video clip ended, and I just nodded yes, as I wiped away some tears with the sleeve of my shirt.

“That is an awesome video, we should add it to the Kuishi Project promotional video on the promotions as well as on the website,” Aaron suggested, “I will think about that, but firstly we need to concentrate on getting the new base set up tomorrow,” I replied.

While we are together, I have one more small surprise, I ordered a second Tree House Container, which is on the Naval ship, and I thought that we could set it up higher up from the main camp, as our camp and observation base, and that it could be the research base for Kuishi Project.

I arranged for the project logo to be put onto it, and it has a its own four little pods, that sit under each corner of the upper deck, and one contains a fresh water storage tank, another has a waste storage tank, and the other two are store rooms, that contain all the furniture to accommodate four people.

It will have the same layout as the other Tree House model when you were using it as a temporary home and with the furniture out of the store rooms, one which is refrigerated can be turned on and used to store food supplies, while the other one can be used for just general storage,” Uncle Nat announced.

“Wow, that is awesome, does the CSIRO and Defence Force know about this?” Aaron asked, “They only know that there are a total of six main buildings, and they each know that the CSIRO own two and the rest are owned by Kilimanjaro Distributions, on contract,” Uncle Nat replied.

After consulting the island maps, we decided on a location, which will be at 224 metres above sea level. Although only 550 metres away in a straight line, getting to the observation base requires a 1.5 kilometre strenuous hike up the mountain to get to it, which we were easily capable of doing.

We arrived on the west coast of Macquarie Island just before sunset, and it was an amazing sight, to see so many king penguins, gathered on the rocky shores of the island. I was very much looking forward to stepping onto the island in the morning.

“The next morning, Uncle Nat, Aaron and me were on the first boat to the island, with a supply of snacks and water bottle to keep us sustained. Trying to avoid interfering with the penguins as much as possible, we headed inland to where we had estimated to be the new location for our base.

When we arrived at the location, we were stunned to see even more penguins, Emperor Penguins this time, plus a few groups of Sea Lions, so we had to go in search of a place where we would not be disturbing the local wildlife, and we hiked northwards along the coast to see if we could find a better location.

Just over a steep rise we came to Douglas Bay, were there was only some seals, and no penguins, and there was a good flat area set back near the foot of the hill, as about forty metres above sea level. There was a flat area at the top of the hill, about four hundred metres away; that will be idea for the Kuishi Building, which will be at 230 metres above sea level, and would be just 4 kilometres away from the original base.

Uncle Nat radioed back to the Investigator, to let them know of the new location, before doing the same with contacting the Naval ship. Aaron and I decided to go and hike up to the top of the hill to get a good look at the Kuishi site, and Uncle Nat gave us a spare radio, to keep in touch.

From the top of the hill, I was able to guide the helicopter ship on where to place each of the containers, with Uncle Nat making sure that there was enough space between them for when they are opened up. When the last container was being lifted off the ship and knowing that it was the Kuishi container, I guided the helicopter up to the top of the hill, to where Aaron and I are standing.

The container was placed about fifty metres away from the edge, with the smaller containers placed close by, so they can be moved into place later on. What I didn’t expect, was when I heard Uncle Nat over the radio, guiding the helicopter ship to lift one final container up to the Kuishi Camp.

As the helicopter ship returned to the naval ship, I carefully opened the huge two doors, of the ten foot long container, and I gasped when I saw what was inside, two quad bikes, fitted with storage containers on the back for carrying supplies, and on the front of both bikes was the Kuishi logo.

Aaron noticed a pile of star pickets and a small heavy hammer laying on the floor of the container, with each picket, with the top section being bright red in colour. “I guess they are to make the track where these bikes can go, which I am guessing will be fairly limited,” I commented.

The northern side has a gentler slope down to the bottom, which would make it idea for the bikes, so from the Kuishi container, we began to pace out two hundred and fifty metres in that direction.

We hammered in the star pickets to make the trail, as it went down the slope and around the base of the hill to where the new research base is located, with the distance been just over two kilometres.