Most remote job: postal operations and counting penguins

In one of the world's most remote jobs, British volunteers will spend five months counting penguins in Antarctica, running the world's southernmost post office and carrying out conservation work. The UK Antarctic Heritage Trust (UKAHT) has announced that two “flexible” teams have been selected for the mission about 15,000 kilometers south of London.

Specifically, it concerns the management of the British base at Port Lucroy on Goodyear Island. During the Antarctic summer, five women and men in the area will count the nests of gentoo penguins as well as their eggs and chicks, in addition to looking after the museum there and the thousands of postcards that are sent out each year.

Work and the most negative conditions

The island, the size of a football field, has neither running water nor a toilet, but daylight is nearly constant and temperatures are below zero. Each team member is allowed to take a small box with toys, books or pictures.

The second half of the group has a more difficult task ahead of them. She is tasked with fighting her way to Blaiklock Island Refuge, the UKAHT's smallest and most inaccessible site, which can only be reached by boat. Urgent repairs must be carried out under “inhospitable conditions” to restore the historic buildings to their natural form.

Camilla Nicholl, chair of UKAHT, said it was important to preserve the site as a time capsule. Assistants will also be tasked with cataloging historical artifacts and collecting digital film materials.