Scott Base

Last Thursday was America Night at Scott Base, the New Zealand base that's located just over the hill from McMurdo Base. Americans are only allowed to visit a couple of times a week because there are less that 100 Kiwis and nearly 1000 people at McMurdo.

There are shuttles which run between the two bases on America Night, but a bunch of us decided to make the 15-20 minute walk there. It was snowing, and instead of the normal ice crystals I've seen here in the past, there were nice, fluffy snowflakes! Most of the hike is on the service road, but once you get near the base, there's a walking path which saves 5-10 minutes of walking.

All the buildings at Scott Base are painted light green, and most of them are connected to one another with walkways. It looks *much* nicer than McMurdo which, as I've written before, has an isolated mining camp look and feel.

One of the big attractions of Scott Base is their store, which has Kiwi-themed clothing and souvenirs. It's cozy and very busy on America Night! There's also a bar which Americans can visit only on Thursdays.