It was proposed to sledge round Mount Melbourne to Wood Bay, and examine the neighbourhood geologically and geographically.  The sledge team found some remarkable ice structures and new and interesting glaciers.  They had, a crop of small adventures, and found sandstone rock containing fossil wood and many other excellent fossils, garnets, etc., besides which Campbell did good work surveying.  A new glacier was named after Priestley and another after Campbell.

More fossils were discovered on February 1, and a quantity of lichens, shells, worm casts, and sponge spicules were discovered in the locality of Evans Coves, to which the party returned.  On February 17 they began to look for the “Terra Nova,” but as time went on and she did not put in an appearance Campbell prepared to winter.  Pennell as we know had met with ice conditions that were insuperable, and he never got the ship within 30 miles of the coast.  Pennell, Rennick, and Bruce did all that men could do to work the “Terra Nova” through, but communication was impossible that season, and the Northern Party was left to face the rigours of a Polar winter with nothing more than four weeks’ sledging ration and 270 lb. of biscuits extra.  His companions could not have been better chosen to help Campbell through this ordeal.  The leader knew his men absolutely, and they themselves were lucky in having such a resourceful and determined officer in charge.

On March 1 Victor Campbell selected a hard snow slope for the winter home, and into this he and his men cut and burrowed until they had constructed an igloo or snow house, 13 feet by 9:  They insulated this with blocks of snow and seaweed.  A trench roofed with sealskins and snow formed the entrance, and at the sides of this passage they had their store rooms and larder.

All the time this house was under construction a party was employed killing penguins and seals, for which they kept a constant lookout.  By March 15 their larder contained 120 penguins and 11 seals.  After this date gale succeeded gale and the winter set in with a long run of bad weather.  Campbell and his companions led a very primitive existence here for six and a half months.

They only had their light summer sledging clothes to wear, and these soon became saturated with blubber:  their hair and beards grew, and they were soon recognisable only by their voices.  Some idea of their discomforts will be gleaned by a description of their diet.  Owing to their prospective journey to Cape Evans, Campbell had first to reduce the biscuit supply from eight to two biscuits a day, and then to one.