Another cover from Frei Base

This one is a bit better than the last one I received as the cachets were placed on the front this time. But otherwise, it's the same. I believe the top left cachet represents Teniente Luis Carvajal Villaroel Antarctic Base on Adelaide Island. The middle one is for the Villa Las Estrellas Kindergarten (yes, the town has its own kindergarten school)

TAAF Kerguelen Cover

I don't remember sending this but I must have done it late last year shortly after the "Espace Champeret" stamp was issued. I used one gummed and one self adhesive on this envelope. Nice of the post master, Mr Jacques Zadorozanyj, to date it 4 Nov 2010 - the issue date of the stamp.

Also on the back are cachets from Jeorome Perronnet , chief geophysicist ,and Kevin Coustaut, an ornithologist, both currently involved with research on the the island.

Base Presidente Eduardo Frei Montalva

This is the back of a letter I got back from Frei base recently. Nothing special on the front. At least that's where I think it came back from. I seem to remember there was another Chilean base or something down there I sent letters to. Another place that routes it's mail through Frei, like most other bases in the area.

Halley Research Station

Halley 5 is a British Antarctic research station. The main buildings of the station stand on tall stilts that are raised occasionally to keep the buildings from being buried beneath the snow and ice. The base has a staff of 16 in the winter and around 70 in the summer.

I sent this cover and another down there in December of 2009 and you can see it was just cancelled two months ago. I must have missed the end of the 09/10 season. There was nothing on the back of this envelope. The other cover from Halley looks pretty much like this one.

New TAAF stamp for 2011

A new TAAF stamp to be issued 1 April 2011 - Osiris: Southern Patrol. This is a reprint of a 2006 issue, this time with a face value of 0.60€

Preseve the Polar Regions and Glaciers beyond 2009

Just when you thought it was over... At the end of 2009, India issued what I thought would be the last issue of this series. But in November of 2010, Uzbekistan issued a single stamp with the crystal logo on it. And then early in 2011, Serbia issued a small stamp sheet with a pair of stamps also baring the crystal logo. The most recent (that I have seen) is this pair of stamps from Belarus. issued on 11 February 2011. What I like most about these stamps isn't so much the stamp issue itself, but the phlatelic website for the Repiblic of Belarus. Some detailed information about these stamps can be found there.

Neumayer Station

This letter came back to me from The Alfred Wegener Institute of Polar and Marine Research in Bremerhaven, Germany. It was sent down to Neumayer Station III where the stamp in the left corner was applied (or so I was told). It was cancelled aboard the research icebreaker RV Polarstern before coming back to me through 'regular' postal channels.

Neumayer III is a modern research base and has only been in operation for a couple of years. It sits on the Ekström Ice Shelf which is moving towards the ocean at a rate of 200m per year. Six meter tall hydraulic stilts keep the base above the accumulating snow. Here is a webcam shot of the Neumayer III.

SANAE - South Africa

The South African National Antarctic Expedition (SANAE) operates a base on the Antarctic Peninsula, currently SANAE IV. Summer population can reach 100 and the overwinter staff numbers about 10. The program is serviced by the S.A. Agulhas. Even though this cover was brought down to SANAE by Agulhas and the cancel says "Antarctica - Waterfront", I'm quite certain it was really cancelled in Cape Town. Agulhas is scheduled for retirement in the Spring of 2012.

TAAF Cover - Ile Tromelin

Chilean Base Bernardo O'Higgins

This was cancelled at O'Higgins on 7 November 2010 and again at Frei Base on 22 November 2010.  O'Higgins is an older base, located at the tip of the Antarctic peninsula. It is a year round base with a winter staff of about 16. The German Aerospace Center has a receiving station here to pick up data sent from satellite sensors over the Antarctic region. You can find some good webcam image here

Dumont d'Urville again...

Another letter back from TAAF the other day. This one I sent down near the end of 2009. It was cancelled 25 February 2010 and just got back to me this past week.

TAAF Cover - Dumont d'Urville Station

I mailed this around August or September of 2009. It was postmarked on 7 Feb 2010 and got back to me yesterday: 13 Jan 2011. How's that for a delay. It must have missed the last of the outgoing trips at the end of the 2009/10 season and had to overwinter at the base, waiting until the 2010/11 season to finally be mailed out.