2024-02-29 06:50:40
A British heritage charity is advertising vacancies in Antarctica. Successful applicants will have to adapt to almost constant daylight and freezing temperatures and do without a flush toilet or running water.
The benefits of the job include adventure, whales and lots of penguins, beautiful scenery and the opportunity to support conservation efforts in one of the most remote corners of the planet, The Guardian newspaper wrote.
The UK Antarctic Heritage Trust said it is looking for “passionate adventurers ready to take on the challenge of a lifetime” for jobs that include managing the museum, post office and gift shop, as well as counting penguins. They will live and work at a base in Port Lockroy on Goudier Island, which is about the size of a football field.
The current head of the base is 33-year-old midwife Bridie Martinová-Westová. “We are nearing the end of our stay, but we still have the magic of looking out and seeing hundreds of baby penguins that are almost fully hatched, we are amazed when we see humpback whales and whales swim by,” Martinová-Westová described five months in one of the most isolated working environments on the planet. “On one side of the island we have the most majestic mountain range and on the other side a glacier with ice floes. It’s really raw nature and amazingly beautiful,” she added.
The cooking is communal, which means the food is variable. According to Martin-West, the team is lucky to have a trained pastry chef, which means one dish can be wild mushroom risotto followed by flambéed pineapple.
A typical evening might include watching movies, playing board games, or continuing the Antarctic tradition of people giving formal presentations on topics they know something about. “It’s such a nice thing to do, just to learn and see what passion someone has,” said Martin-West. All have been able to adapt, she said, including not having flush toilets or running water.
Successful applicants must be “resilient, physically fit, environmentally conscious” and ready for the challenge of spending five months so far from home, said the head of the charity, Camilla Nicholová.
Those from the UK can apply for the positions from Monday, with training starting in August ahead of the internship, which will take place from late October or November to March 2025. There will be interviews and selection before that.
According to Martinová-Westová, successful applicants will not be disappointed. “It’s been a fantastic experience. It’s very challenging, it’s a lot of work, some of which is quite physical,” she said. Everyone on the island shares a small bedroom with bunk beds, so it is especially important that they get along well. “This is also part of the interview, it’s not just about what kind of individual you are, but you can see how you function as a team,” added Martinová-Westová.