Expedition Blog – Kitiona ‘Billy’ Pelasio, Ross Sea 2025
During the holidays I got a random email from one of my teachers about the Inspiring Explorers Expedition™ to the Ross Sea, telling me I should apply. I didn’t think I’d have a chance of being selected but applied anyway. Then one night my teacher rang me to say I was on the team. I was excited and a bit scared at the same time to be leaving my parents to go to a place at the bottom of the earth.
I knew it would be cold in Antarctica but didn’t really know how cold. One day in class, I was researching the temperature, and asked my teacher how cold it is there, and she said, “Cold as!”
I’m Samoan and had never seen snow before so was excited to see what it would be like.
I was the youngest member of the team and had missed the email with the Book of Faces with information about the other Inspiring Explorers™, so when I arrived at Christchurch Airport for the Team Building Weekend in November 2024, I didn’t know who I was looking for. My teammates knew who I was though, and I remember feeling the love from them straight away. I was like, who are these guys? They said, “We’re your teammates!” I felt blessed.
It was good to meet Mike Barber and Anna Clare from the Antarctic Heritage Trust too, who were chill as. Right from the start I knew I could be myself.
One of the highlights of the Team Building Weekend was getting kitted out with brand new gear for the expedition. My family shops mainly at thrift stores, so when I was taken to Macpac to get all this new stuff I felt spoiled and so grateful. It started to feel more real.
On the first week of the voyage to Antarctica, I got pretty seasick. Luckily Mike and Anna had some extra seasick pills. I remember being scared one day in the lecture theatre when the boat was rocking side to side and massive waves were hitting the window.
A unique experience on the voyage was working out in the weight room while the boat was moving. It actually felt better than exercising on an even surface.
My first encounter with Antarctic wildlife was on Macquarie Island. I was looking at the view and not really paying attention when I mistook an enormous elephant seal for a rock. Next thing it did a 360 and I thought I was going to get eaten!
Seeing our first iceberg was amazing and it was cool to enter the Antarctic Circle and see the tip of Antarctica on a map. I wanted to be one of the first to see it for real, so stayed up late.
When we got off the zodiacs to walk onto the Ice for the first time I felt heaps of stuff – cold and excited, with lots of adrenaline pumping through me. The wildlife was unreal. I saw about 40 whales, and once when we were out in a Zodiac, a killer whale came towards us then cruised right underneath our boat.
Penguins were everywhere. On the movie Happy Feet they all look clean, but up close, they stink! But they are so funny and full of energy.
Going into the historic huts and hearing the stories of the explorers was so cool. It was kind of like stepping into an ancient whare in Samoa. You just feel something. The way the Trust looks after those huts, made me think, if I leave stuff behind, I’d want it to be taken care of like that. It’s pretty cool the work they do.
I made some awesome friends on the expedition and became close to everyone, but there was one of the Inspiring Explorers, Ngawai Clendon, who became like a big sister to me. And just like a sister some days she was annoying and other days she was funny. Seriously though, Ngawai was my go-to person. She’s the best.
There were times on the expedition which were challenging and ultra-hard, but there were so many amazing things too. It has changed me a lot as a person.
Before I went to Antarctica, I was scared to speak in front of people, but on the ship, there was an auction where I had to talk in front of everyone. After doing that and being on the expedition I felt ultra-confident going back to school. Now I can confidently do speeches in front of heaps of people instead of stuttering.
The expedition has made me rethink what I might do after school. I wanted to be a mechanic, but now I’m thinking I would like to be a content creator who travels. Going to Antarctica showed me heaps of stuff, and I definitely want to do more travel. I’d love to go to Greece.
I’m so grateful to the Antarctic Heritage Trust for selecting me for the expedition, and to Mike and Anna and the other Inspiring Explorers™. Every one of them is a great person with so many unique skills.
The Trust extends sincere thanks to our Inspiring Explorers™ Fund donors including Inspiring Explorers Expedition™ Partner Heritage Expeditions and supporter Cheshire Architects for making this journey possible.
