Today got off to early start when, as we worked in the computer room after breakfast, we heard the bulldozer go rumbling past. We'd previously organized for it to come out to the AASTINO today and lift SUMMIT back onto the roof, but hadn’t expected it to be quite this early. The lift went very smoothly – it's amazing how a machine capable of flattening a house can be operated with such delicacy and finesse that a sensitive scientific instrument can be positioned within millimeters when required.

SUMMIT is now merrily operating at its new wavelength of 200 microns. The very first observations reveal nothing spectacular (a tau of 4.7 for the cogniscenti) but we don't expect the really fantastic conditions to occur until winter time.

Shortly before lunch the Twin Otter arrived, carrying various dignitaries including the Italian ambassador to New Zealand. In preparation for their arrival we tidied and cleaned the AASTINO, and it now looks better than ever before. Unfortunately the VIPs never quite got around to visiting us. However, Inger and Simon, two ice-coring folk from the EPICA team, paid us a social visit just before dinner. Although they were too polite to mention how tidy and neat the AASTINO looked, I'm sure it was the chief topic of their conversation well into the evening.

Another piece of good news today was the arrival of a new Iridium SIM card that the NSF will lend us. This replaces the one that through a communications mix-up became "invalid". We are extremely grateful to the NSF for their support of our experiment: if we had to pay commercial rates to use Iridium for our data link we would rapidly become exceedingly impoverished.

However the best news is that Suze and Jon will now be permitted to stay another two weeks, returning home on the icebreaker l'Astrolabe. This is an enormous relief. Next Thursday, which was our scheduled departure date, is looming all too rapidly and we have all been stretched to the limit to try to get things ready. In these situations mistakes are invariably made (usually by me) that can put the entire project at risk. The extra time will allow us to be far more careful and rigorous in our preparations. I'll have to leave on Thursday anyway, to get back to a series of scheduled meetings at UNSW. However, I will be very comfortable in the knowledge that the AASTINO will be in safe hands.
- John