Archive for category: Media Releases

Four young New Zealanders, including William Pike who lost his leg during the 2007 eruption of Mount Ruapehu, have just returned from successfully summiting Mt Scott, in Antarctica.

Pike was with film-maker Simon Lucas, Royal New Zealand Air Force officer Sylvie Admore and Newshub journalist Isobel Ewing.

The group was hand-picked from approximately 100 applicants for the Antarctic Heritage Trust’s second Inspiring Explorers’ Expedition, led by the Trust’s executive director Nigel Watson.

Nigel Watson says the trip’s biggest challenge on the guided ascent was route finding because of the poor visibility on the lower reaches of Mt Scott.“There was extensive crevassed country. Mt Scott itself is a beautiful peak, set in the most awe-inspiring vista. The team spent 24 hours completing the adventure and remained in good spirits throughout.”

The group travelled to and from Antarctica onboard the 117-metre vessel One Ocean Navigator,which is owned and operated by expedition partner One Ocean Expeditions.

The Inspiring Explorers’ initiative is about encouraging young people to connect with Antarctica’s history and the spirit of exploration. Mt Scott is named after Captain Robert Falcon Scott whose Antarctic legacy the Trust cares for.

“All of our participants will be working hard to share the story of their Antarctic adventure both online and in person –we hope this inspires other Kiwis to make the most of exploring this fantastic world we live in,” says Nigel Watson.

 

The Antarctic Heritage Trust New Zealand’s Inspiring Explorers Expedition, an international centenary expedition to honour the legacy of the early Antarctic explorers, successfully crossed South Georgia Island.

The expedition,which took place 16-30 October 2015, was a new initiative for the Antarctic Heritage Trust New Zealand with the aim of inspiring explorers. The expedition followed in the footsteps of Ernest Shackleton (UK/ IRE), Tom Crean (IRE) and Frank Worsley (NZ).

The Antarctic Heritage Trust New Zealand chose three young explorers, Tom MacTavish (NZ), Sinéad Hunt (IRE) and James Blake (UK/NZ) to nominally represent the original expedition members’ nationalities.

The Antarctic Heritage Trust New Zealand’s Executive Director, Nigel Watson led the expedition accompanied by two professional guides from One Ocean Expeditions. Sharing the expedition is a key part of the experience for the three young explorers. The expedition was tracked via YB tracker https://my.yb.tl/aht2015 and posted on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Antarctic.Heritage.Trust.

All three young explorers plan to share their experiences further. The expedition team disembarked ship at King Haakon Bay and crossed South Georgia on skis retracing the original route in a multi-day traverse of the Island before re-joining the ship at Stromness.

The original expedition undertaken by Shackleton, Crean and New Zealander Frank Worsley was the final 36 hour act of desperation and bravado to raise the alarm to rescue the crew of Shackleton’s Endurance expedition marooned on Elephant Island.

Walking up hill

The world’s most extreme conservation project has saved three historic buildings and thousands of artefacts once used by Captain Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton.

The milestone was reached this Antarctic summer after a decade of extensive conservation work by the Antarctic Heritage Trust (New Zealand).

Over the life of the project 62 specialists from 11 countries have undertaken cutting edge heritage conservation unprecedented in its scale and complexity in the polar regions, to conserve Scott’s and Shackleton’s Antarctic legacy.

The three heroic-era buildings and their artefact collections were in danger of loss after a century of extreme environmental conditions. To combat this, and in a world-first, the Antarctic Heritage Trust has been working year round in Antarctica with the support of Antarctica New Zealand.

Working from purpose-built conservation laboratories, artefact conservators, have meticulously conserved 18,202 individual artefacts including food supplies, clothing, equipment and personal items left behind in the historic huts. Heritage carpenters have repaired and weatherproofed Scott’s huts at Cape Evans and Hut Point and Shackleton’s hut at Cape Royds, improving environmental conditions.

During the conservation work previously undiscovered artefacts have been found including most famously crates of Scotch whisky and brandy at Shackleton’s historic base, unseen photographs and a notebook from Scott’s historic hut at Cape Evans.

While ongoing maintenance of the buildings and artefacts from Scott’s and Shackleton’s bases remain a priority, the Antarctic Heritage Trust will now begin conservation work on the first building on the continent at Cape Adare and, upon securing funding, the original building, built for the Trans-Antarctic Expedition of 1955-58, at New Zealand’s Scott Base.

“The dedication of the conservation teams and the passion for the legacy that they are saving has been the key to the project’s success.We are particularly grateful for the support of the New Zealand Government and supporters worldwide. With ongoing care these sites will stand for current and future generations,”said Nigel Watson, Antarctic Heritage Trust’s Executive Director