Expeditioners generally live in modern air-conditioned single-room ‘dongas’ (Antarctic slang for bedrooms).
Every attempt is made for expeditioners whose jobs require shift work or who have mandated periods of rest (such as pilots), to be placed in rooms where they won't be disturbed during the day.
Expeditioners are expected to be aware that some personnel sleep during the day and to keep this in mind when moving through the accommodation areas.
Casey & Mawson
At Casey and Mawson, dongas are located in a large building known as the ‘Red Shed’. This building also houses the surgery, lounge, kitchen and dining room. Due to the large influx of people over summer, some expeditioners may have to be accommodated in temporary, shared accommodation.
Davis
New living quarters were completed at Davis in 2011. The building can accommodate up to 120 people. It contains a kitchen, dining room and common areas such as lounges, cinema and a library. The lounge and dining facilities along the north and west areas of the building look over Prydz Bay and towards the Sørsdal glacier. These rooms take advantage of the northerly sun to greatly enhance natural light in the building.
Macquarie Island
At Macquarie Island, 4 accommodation buildings are located within the station compound at the northern end of the isthmus.
- Southern Aurora Donga (SAD), also known as ‘The Beach House’, is the oldest and only traditional donga. It has 18 small sleeping cubicles, bunk style beds and an ablutions block.
- Garden Cove houses 8 larger sized rooms and 2 station dark rooms. The rooms have raised bunk-style beds and windows that can be opened.
- Hasselborough House contains 11 rooms, including 2 double rooms, a laundry, drying room, toilets and showers. All windows are fixed shut.
- Cumpstons Cottage is a 2 storey pre-fabricated timber cottage containing 4 rooms. It includes the station leader’s accommodation and office and the chef’s and medical practitioner’s rooms.
