Port Fairy teacher Tracey Gray knew the icebergs in Antarctica would be big, but nothing could prepare her for the sheer size of them.
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Mrs Gray was one of 78 women chosen worldwide, to travel to Antarctica for a 20-day science education program in December.
The Homeward Bound education program included climate, biological and earth system research.
She described the experience as “spellbinding”.
“It’s a very surreal experience being there because you really get captivated by the landscape,” Mrs Gray said. “You could have looked at a hundred photos or watched documentaries but when you’re there, the size and the scale is just astounding.
“Everything is huge. You go through massive iceberg fields, they are enormous. You think they’re going to be as big as a house or a couple of storey building or something like that but they are so much bigger.
“It’s really about being in awe of that landscape, the size and the grandeur is amazing. You can’t prepare yourself for that. It’s spellbinding.
“Even though you were on a boat with 76 other female scientists, when we were out on location or on our landings, you really felt you were in an extremely remote place, viewing the most amazing wildlife and scenery.”
Mrs Gray said observing 200,000 chinstrap penguins’ life cycles and daily interactions on Deception Island on the South Shetland Islands was amazing.
“It was really fascinating to be surrounded by wildlife and be able to observe them and not be perceived as a threat. All of the creatures go about their daily worlds and you get to watch them.”
Mrs Gray’s highlight was seeing the huge volume of enormous moving icebergs at the top of the Weddell Sea, which were up to 1000 years old.
Participants completed leadership training and polar science education to learn what is happening to the planet.
Her Port Fairy Consolidated School students followed her trip via an online blog. Mrs Gray is now writing educational resources about Antarctica for Cool Australia, a national web-based curriculum platform, to share with other primary schools which will be online mid-year.
