On October 4 we crossed the Equator.  The south-east trade was not so fresh as we had expected, and the engine had to be kept going the whole time.

At the beginning of November we came down into the west wind belt, or the “Roaring Forties,” as they are called, and from that time we ran down our easting at a great rate.  We were very lucky there, and had strong fair winds for nearly seven weeks at a stretch.  In the heavy sea we found out what it was to sail in the Fram; she rolls incessantly, and there is never a moment’s rest.  The dogs were thrown backwards and forwards over the deck, and when one of them rolled into another, it was taken as a personal insult, and a fight followed at once.  But for all that the Fram is a first-rate sea boat, and hardly ever ships any water.  If this had been otherwise, the dogs would have been far worse off than they were.

The weather in the “Foggy Fifties " varied between gales, calms, fogs, snowstorms, and other delights.  As a rule, the engine was now kept constantly ready, in case of our being so unlucky as to come too near an iceberg.  Fortunately, however, we did not meet any of these until early on the morning of January 1, 1911, when we saw some typical Antarctic bergs; that is to say, entirely tabular.  Our latitude was then a little over 60deg.  S., and we were not far off the pack.  On the 1st and 2nd we sailed southward without seeing anything but scattered bergs and a constantly increasing number of lumps of ice, which showed us we were getting near.  By 10 p.m. on the 2nd we came into slack drift-ice; the weather was foggy, and we therefore kept going as near as might be on the course to the Bay of Whales, which was destined to be our base.

A good many seals were lying on the ice-floes, and as we went forward we shot some.  As soon as the first seal was brought on board, all our dogs had their first meat meal since Madeira; they were given as much as they wanted, and ate as much as they could.  We, too, had our share of the seal, and from this time forward we had fresh seal-steak for breakfast at least every day; it tasted excellent to us, who for nearly half a year had been living on nothing but tinned meat.  With the steak whortleberries were always served, which of course helped to make it appreciated.  The biggest seal we got in the pack-ice was about 12 feet long, and weighed nearly half a ton.  A few penguins were also shot, mostly Adelie penguins; these are extraordinarily amusing, and as inquisitive as an animal can be.  When any of them saw us, they at once came nearer to get a better view of the unbidden guests.  If they became too impertinent, we did not hesitate to take them, for their flesh, especially the liver, was excellent.  The albatrosses, which had followed us through the whole of the west wind belt, had now departed, and in their place came the beautiful snowy petrels and Antarctic petrels.