Where: A 15 minute walk from my dorm out to and past Hut Point, just about a hundred feet out onto the ice, away from land.
What: It's a seal!!! It's no more than 6 feet long, roughly!
How: An "Observation Tube," or "Ob Tube" as locals call it. It's basically a hollow metal tube that is lowered into the water, through the ice. At the bottom of the tube are windows all around, so you can see out into the water! The tube (and you) are suspended by steel beams that are laid across the ice!
Enjoy these photos! (click any of them to see a larger image)
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| The view from Hut Point. |
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| Zoomed in... Note the little green tube the people are gathered around... |
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| I am walking out onto the ice. A short ways out, the ice is already starting to melt! You can see the patches of water which are sitting on top of the ice, as well as the little man-made bridge over and out onto the more frozen ice shelf! |
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| Here I am, about to go down Ob Tube! For safety sake, they lock "Ob Tube" with a wood lid. I had to check out a key and a radio (so I could radio in if I met any trouble). |
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| And down I go! Or up I come! |
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| I've actually taken two trips out to Ob Tube now. On the 2nd, I wore my Norwegian Sweater! So warm! Note that Hut Point is in the background on the right--just a short ways off! You can even faintly see the Hut Point cross on the far right! |
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| Here's a good view of the whole above-ice portion of Ob Tube! And me having a good time! |
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| For your viewing pleasure, here's more of what it looks like down below. The little white dots scattered about are plankton, or something. You can also see an ice crystal starting to form in the upper left corner of the window! |
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| Some seals sunbathing, pictured with the Ice Pier just beyond them! I was highly fortunate to have seen a seal from Ob Tube, as not many get to see that, I've found from asking around! |
So no, I did not go diving, but the underwater seal photo was real and taken with my camera by my hands! Cool stuff, eh!
Brett
2010-11-23 11:57pm (NZDT)
Wow Brett! Had no idea at all about a tube, but it certainly makes sense! What an adventure. That was fun! Next mystery photo? love, mom
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