QA &

NAME RALF AUER OCCUPATION SOUTH POLE SYSTEMS ADMINISTRATOR

The tough bits?

Ralf Auer spent over two years at the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station as a winter-over experiments operator, responsible for maintaining and operating the US$300 million IceCube Neutrino Observatory. As a full time IceCube worker, Auer spends around two months of every year at the South Pole.

Can you remember the first time you saw Antarctica?

I got my first impressions from the cargo plane that flew from Christchurch to NSF’s McMurdo Station. Eventually, you get to the ice and the views are just spectacular. It’s hard to describe, but seeing this seemingly never-ending, majestic white landscape definitely left an impression on me that I will not forget. Seeing it myself for the first time was still a bit overwhelming.

What does a typical day look like?

It depends on your job. For some, that means working regular shift hours, like the kitchen staff, for others schedules can be more flexible and they can schedule their tasks more freely. I had a fair amount of flexibility in that regard and I would basically go to bed when I was tired and get up when I woke naturally. Surprisingly, this turned out to be almost exactly a 28-hour cycle, which means my schedule shifted by about four hours every day compared to my colleagues’ who had to work fixed hours.

What are the facilities like?

The station at the South Pole is surprisingly comfortable. The rooms are small, but the food is excellent. We have several hours of internet connectivity a day, a lounge with a pool table, and even a small sauna; it's easy to keep yourself occupied. I had served quite some time on Navy ships so I had a lot of experience and felt very comfortable with living in close quarters.

I had trouble falling asleep in the beginning when there is no natural day/night cycle. But after a few weeks, your body gets used to that. Some people take Vitamin D to compensate for the lack of sunlight, others have special little mood lights in their rooms that simulate the sun's spectrum. We also have a little gym and an exercise room with free weights and some cardio equipment. And even though all our food is basically canned or frozen and not fresh, it’s still pretty nutritious and our kitchen staff did an amazing job changing up the meals constantly so it never got boring.

The best bits?

The Southern Lights at the South Pole in the winter are simply amazing. There is no other place on Earth where you can see auroras so clearly and so frequently. Standing out there in the dark at -70°C watching auroras or the night sky for 15 minutes makes you feel like you're in outer space.

What about the weather?

Compared to the South Pole, the weather at McMurdo, which is on the coast, 800 miles from the South Pole on Ross Island, is really just a day at the beach. But more than experiencing a new level of cold and hostile weather, I’m more taken by the fact that I've reached a place on Earth that only very few people in the world would ever have the opportunity to visit, let alone to live for several months.

How do you cope being back home?

There is a culture shock when coming back into the ‘real world’. The strangest thing for me was when I got back to Christchurch and went to a supermarket and all of a sudden there were dozens of choices for everything. Instead of having milk out of a stainless steel jug, I now had seventeen different types of milk to choose from. My brain quickly got overloaded with stuff that I really didn't have to worry about for a long time.

Final thoughts?

One of the smartest things humanity has ever done was to protect the Antarctic through the Antarctic Treaty and to reserve it for science and research purposes only. I would hope that at some point we will understand how important preservation and conservation is and learn to appreciate our limited resources also in other parts of the world – something we're not always very good at.

21 DAY SMALL GROUP, FULLY ESCORTED JOURNEY THROUGH THIS FASCINATING LAND $6,999*

21 DAY EGYPT UNCOVERED & JORDAN WITH NILE CRUISE

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Grand sights, fascinating relics, ancient treasures and even an overnight desert stay in dreamy

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The tour was excellent. We had high quality guides, great hotels and excellent food throughout. We saw all the sights we wanted to see in Egypt and Jordan. Highly recommended.

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A premium experience through Egypt, from the Great Pyramids and Sphinx to Abu Simbel, Valley of the Kings, the Red Sea, Karnak Temple and cruising the Nile River and Lake Nasser.

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A visit to Petra, Jordan

John William Burgon Dean of Chichester and English poet