Antarctica East 2026

Jan 28-29: Last days

As my final memory of this wonderful adventure ( and being a dog lover ) , I would like to introduce you to Stay, a fibreglass dog belonging to Guide Dogs Tasmania.  Stay was ”dognapped” from the streets of Hobart in 1992. Stay’s arrival in Antarctica coincided with the departure of the last of the huskies from the environmentally protected continent and she was quickly adopted as a replacement mascot.

Since then Stay has been on many adventures. She’s travelled around Antarctica on helicopters, aeroplanes, skidoos, Haggs, quad bikes, tractors and utes. She’s been a wintering expeditioner at every Australian base, and at Macquarie Island, and has visited the Antarctic bases and ships of many other countries. 

Given the name Stay, it quickly became a challenge for expeditioners from other stations to try and ‘dognap’ her and then boast of the heist by radio or by sending photos of her in her new home. She fits into an Australia Post bag and that’s one of the ways she’s been sent from one place to another.

She lost a leg during one of her kidnapping and one of the expedition carpenters crafted a beautiful prosthetic wooden leg for her. 

The battered fibreglass dog was on the final voyage of the icebreaker Aurora Australis back to Hobart and then found her way to Europe. Somehow she magically appeared in the Netherlands and made the maiden voyage on the new Australian icebreaker RSV Nuyina.

A few years later, while on Macquarie Island, Stay disappeared and despite multiple searches, hasn’t been seen since. It was a loss for the expeditioner community and for the guide dog charity itself, which has received nearly $3,000 in donations over the years from expeditioners in penance for stealing her in the first place.

Guide Dogs Tasmania said they were open to providing a replacement. 

“While we don’t condone the unauthorised relocation of our beloved collection dogs, Stay has undeniably brought joy, excitement and positivity to expeditioners, all while raising valuable funds for Guide Dogs Tasmania, for which we are immensely grateful,” Anna Presser, chief executive of Guide Dogs Tasmania said. 

Meet Stay 2

Thanks for coming on the journey with me. I loved reading all your comments. And for those who are wondering which photo won the photo competition, here it is…