The morning report and Lorna on the Pyramid - December 6th

The Pyramid:

You will have worked out by now that we are quite remote here on Rangatira but we don’t feel alone. Occasionally fishing boats get so close that we can hear their radios and a plane came over yesterday too. We’ve got a radio in the hut tuned in on the fisherman's channel and we can pick up anything said across the airwaves at any time of the day. The important communications start just as we’re getting set up for the day at about 7.45am when the teams on the other satellite Chatham Islands call in to DoC at their scheduled times, or “Scheds.” The person calling starts with “DOC base, DOC base, DOC base, this is The Forty Fours. Do you copy?” And DOC base of course does copy. They have a quick chat about work, water and food supplies and how the radio battery is always running down, before leaving the airwaves clear for the team on the Pyramid to take over.

Living on the Pyramid:

Lorna with a friend:

I especially love hearing what is happening on the Pyramid (also known as Tarakoekoea) because you can hear the albatross screeching in the background. Lorna, who is a PhD student at University of Canterbury, and her field assistant Dan are the official “tough cookies” of the satellite Chatham Islands, living on a rock which juts out of the sea just like a pyramid! The only flat area on the Pyramid provides just enough space to set up two tents. Lorna and Dan not only brought their food for their stay, but also had to bring all of their fresh water. Our little hut on Rangatira and its water collecting system is the Ritz in comparison!

Chatham Island mollymawk and her chick:

At 8am it’s our turn. Mel tells Abi at Doc that we’re all still alive and that the work is going well and checks to see if there are any messages for us. Mostly there is nothing, and Abi tells us to keep safe and both of them agree to talk at 8 am the next morning.

“South East Listening” is how we say goodbye, letting the world know that we have the radio on in the hut.

We get the marine weather forecast from the radio too. For fishermen of course this information is crucial, but so it is for us as well. If it’s raining when we wake up, then it isn’t a filming day as cameras tend not to work in the pouring rain. And as we spend the whole day outside it is useful to know how much rain gear we should put in out backpacks.