Polly Vacher leaves Argentina after a month-long wait for good weather

Polly Vacher, 59, from Drayton, near Abingdon, Oxfordshire, touched down at a research station having completed the eight-hour flight from Argentina.

Next she flies to New Zealand, Australia, Asia and the Middle East, arriving back in Britain in March.

The trip is an attempt to raise money for Flying Scholarships for the Disabled, a charity that provides flight training to the disabled.

Mrs Vacher began her voyage on 6 May from Birmingham International Airport where Prince Charles was on hand to see her off.

Prince Charles wished her luck at the start of her solo flight in May

She arrived in Antarctica after spending more than a month waiting in Ushuaia, Argentina, for good weather.

The pilot could make the 16-hour flight over Antarctica to the American-run McMurdo research base as early as Thursday.

Susie Dunbar, a World Wings spokeswoman, told BBC News Online they were hoping Mrs Vacher would land in Australia in time for Christmas before returning to Britain in early March.

Mrs Vacher has already entered the record books by becoming the first person to fly a single-engine plane around the world via Australia and the Pacific.

The retired music teacher is using the same Piper Dakota for this 35,000-mile record attempt.