Antarctic Journey - The Beginning | Antarctic Heritage Trust

Heritage Conservation Carpenter, Zack Bennett reflects on the past several months leading up to his first Antarctic expedition.

Sitting in pre-departure quarantine has certainly allowed time to reflect on the past several months leading up to my first Antarctic journey. Antarctica has been a dream destination of mine since childhood, that was inspired by stories of what I feel were the hardiest of explorers.

I had packaged this Antarctic dream in the same realm as going to the moon. So when I was selected for a Heritage Conservation Carpentry position that would see me living and working in the field as part of the conservation team, I was over the moon!

The journey with AHT has been increasingly inspiring – a family vibe with a hearty spoon of humour that saw quarantine pass quickly. Our flight south on the Hercules C130 was certainly an experience in itself.

Feature: Welcome to Phoenix Airfield. Right: The Hercules experience © AHT/Zack Bennett

Stepping out of the plane and seeing the view from McMurdo’s Phoenix Airfield is something that I wasn’t prepared for, even with all the footage I’d seen previously. The size and scale of the place, the white, the smiles on our cohort’s faces, the gratitude of my backside to finally be out of the Hercules seat, the most remarkable wild foreign landscape. It was moving, magical and WOW.