I still don’t know why ice fills me with joy. And this morning there’s not just ice but sunshine. Aurora Australis is chugging her steady way through drifts of sea ice and around majestic icebergs on sparkling water under a clear blue sky. It’s minus 5 on deck but no one cares, everyone’s out marvelling and taking photographs. Thanks to Sarah Armstrong I hope to share a few very low resolution pix with you – let’s hope it works. I know there’s a few friends and families of other crew members reading this blog – hello! and hope you get a bit of a feel for where we are and what we’re seeing on this glorious day.

What better conditions could be had for writing a scene about Ingrid, Mathilde and Lillemor arriving in the ice on their voyage? After that, writing will be taking a back seat to being up on deck and experiencing this extraordinary world.