'Fantastic opportunity' to have penguin colony as neighbours

A woman from County Down is joining a team being deployed to Antarctica as part of a project to restore an historic science facility.

Carole McCullough will be based on Goudier Island, which is about the size of a football pitch, for five months along with seven other volunteers.

The facility, which is more than 80 years old, needs significant repairs due to its age and environmental factors such as increased rainfall, water flow and snow loading, the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust (UKAHT) has said.

"I usually run every day so I will miss that but I will just open the door and look at the beautiful surroundings and our local neighbours are a massive penguin colony, so that will be fantastic," the Royal Air Force veteran said.

This is the second year of the UKAHT's three-year mission to protect the historic base.

The team will make the 9000 mile long trip at the end of October.

First aid training, a sea survival course and talks on penguinology are all essential parts of the training for the eight-person team.

The crew will be carrying out repair work as well as running the world's most southern post office, museum and gift shop.

They will also install up to six beams on the roof and 30 steel and timber props in the floor to help it withstand increased precipitation and snow.

The base is in the most southern continent and is there to protect Britain's first permanent scientific base from the effects of climate change

Base A Port Lockroy on Goudier Island was originally established in 1944 as part of a secret wartime mission to establish a presence on the continent.

Today Port Lockroy is a designated heritage site but due to its age and the pressures of climate change, it is in need of some significant repairs.

The crew will also be monitoring the colony of more than a thousand Gentoo penguins that live on the island

McCullough decided to apply for the position to "work at the UK's most remote post office in Antarctica" after hearing about it on the news.

She said the "more I read, the more I thought this is the most fantastic opportunity".

"To work for a charity in the Antarctica is fantastic and we are supporting that link from the past to the present day, making sure the heritage is still there for future generations," she said.

The crew will share a bunk room and withstand no running water or flushing toilets, while working in almost constant daylight and sub-zero conditions.

The UKAHT said that chocolate, packet soup and mini-watercolour sets will make up much of the team's entertainment during their five-month stay.

"I love chocolate so I made sure I sent some over. We will be there over my birthday and Christmas so I have a few presents also," McCullough told BBC News NI.

The team will also be sent to another base called Wordie House, which is the site of the only continuous record of the climate there since the 1940s.

It is still used to record climate changes today.