A Sunday Drive to 'A Room with a View'

On Sunday I had the opportunity to pick up friends at the Kiwi Square Frame camping hut. This converted mil-van hut is about 6 miles away and used by the Kiwi's in the summer as a working hut. In the winter it is available on weekends. Since there is no electricity a vehicle heating plug-in is not available so guests need to arrange their dropoff and pickup.  I enjoy getting out of town into the wild and after the normal 30 minutes pisten bully start up a friend and I were on our way. The weather was typical this time of year and blowing hard. I navigated with a GPS through the sometimes whiteout conditions. This particular pisten bully had steel tracks (versus rubber on the others I have driven) so it made for a rough ride especially at the transition from the Ross Island onto the ice shelf which stretches over McMurdo Sound. But once on the ice shelf it was pretty smooth and flat where I was able to max out to the 11mph top pisten bully speed. The drive normally takes about 40 minutes but the visibility put it closer to an hour.

Once there we took a quick tour of the one room and were back on the road quickly as the weather continued to deteriorate. The drive back was very demanding as the tail wind blew the exhaust onto the front window where it instantly froze. We continually had to stop, get out, and scrape the window. I felt like I was driving a tank and looking out of small slits of clear window. Even though we had the GPS tracking it was a little unnerving with the extremely poor visibility. If you drive too much off the tracked route there are crevasses to deal with. We eventually made it to Scott Base where the guests dropped off some borrowed gear. After that it was another 2 miles to McMurdo. It was a fun trip but a nicer day would have made it more enjoyable. But then it would not have been Antarctica.

Out for a Sunday drive.

Use the gas pedal to set RPMs to around 1700 (right of steering handle). Speed controlled by the white dial. Transmission toggle to the left of dial.

Inside the Kiwi Square Frame. There are four bunks through the opening.

This affords a nice warm view of Mt. Erebus during a full moon.

There is no plumbing or electricity. Water is brought in and removed. A small camping stove is available for cooking.

A warm stove.

A map of New Zealand and replicas of the flags from Scott's Discovery Hut.

The Kiwi Square Frame is basically a mil-van made into a hut and towed out to the ice.

The guests chariot awaits.

A fine Antarctic day - Snowing and blowing.

Right inside the outer door is the toilet. There is a seat with a 'human waste bucket' underneath. You also bring your own pee bottles. When leaving you take everything with you.

I can add Antarctic 'chauffeur' to my resume now! 

Three short videos during the drive out: