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Show - . . ,- i'! - 't. J ' - if --s . ft. n . I t e . . -- ft ii - cTfH4 - c- --, vT-- .W,: ' i I 1 TT I s . 11 I V V . u rk R. H. PRINCE PHILIP 1 i I i rM j. ,.t.w-J.rr-- " 11 r i By I - 4 . - "Land. ' ! --n i I ' n M I K r ' 3 , - i - ; . '4 I . I ' ' T1 ' f " 1 - 1 M ' , .v - ' - . v - " ' - - ' - ' -- "host" to be a" bird of strange charm and extremely odd habits in all fairness report that penguin rookeries and elephant seal : dormitories' rin have a mnst.i un. E . 'v - . " j.. pleasant odor. I strongly recommend that anyone interested approach them from upwind. . My visit to the survey base coincided with the annual changeover of base parties. The ship John Briscoe was specially designed for this work. I spent a few days aboard her, and during that time we visited one of the two bases inside the Antarctic Circle. . Tennis in Fur Coats ' ? rill. t For some curious reason, one of the passengers had brought a couple of tennis rackets and some balls, tind so with great solemnity and not a little hilarity, the only recorded game "of tennis in the Antarctic was played outside the hut-- seem to remember that the Antarctic Tennis Club was formed, but as far as I know it has never been recognised by the Lawn Tennis Association. Quite close to,thi3 base, there was an Adelie penguin rookery, and we spent a very pleasant half-hopaying' it a visit. The Adelies are the toughs of the penguin world, but even so they have a lot of charm. With raised hackles and much pecking, they will resist any interference 1 ,. . . S. ur with their incubation or their chicks, but they arp sonn parifipti and quiterepaiedJ.aJtreaL visiting humans as equals. It would be hard to imagine a bleaker situation for a nesting site. Mostly snow, with haphazard sites patches of rock and gravel sticking out,-th- e are usually about 50 feet; or so above the water. For some reason, the sea looks pitch black, and it is with slabs' of gray sea ice and blue-greicebergs. "chips" of "ice because it just is relatively soft The sea inare hard forma on the sea; the icebergs very deed because the ice has been formed under the immense pressure of thousands of feet of snow before it breaks off into the sea, I can quite understand the fascination which the Antarctic has' for many people. It may be bleak and stark, but it has a kind of lonely, empty beauty which exercises a very strong attraction.-I- n particular, the part" of Antarctica called Graham Land with its steep mountains, icefalls, color of the snow must and the have some of the most glorious scenery anywhere in the world. Given half the chance, I would go back, if only to see the penguins and sea birds again. pock-mark- ed ice-barri- en er -- ever-changi- ng Family Weekly, September 2, lHi -1 |