403 Days in Antarctica

08/11/2022

After 403 days on ice, our mate and colleague Daniel Fenton is back from Antarctica.

As part of our relationship with Spark New Zealand, Daniel was tasked with helping to provide telecommunications service support at Scott Base in Antarctica New Zealand.

As a Telco Technician, Daniel likes to call it “keeping the wet piece of string connected” but his role played a much bigger part than that. Daniel’s role was to ensure the world-leading scientists and environmental protection workers on the ground, as well as the crew looking after them, could continue to communicate and remain connected with each other and the outside world, whilst also keeping each other safe.

There is no mobile coverage in Antarctica; VHF walkie talkie radios, landline telephones, paging networks and satellite technologies is what is used to keep everyone connected. Equipment also breaks easily in the cold, so, when working outside in the world’s toughest conditions, you have to make sure you are warming up before doing a job, and inevitably you get pretty good at reading the weather too, Daniel says. 

Reflecting on his time in Antarctica, Daniel says “we all had our own unique, but equally important roles on the ice, you trust your life with the people there. I’m especially proud and thankful to have got the opportunity to serve my time on ice with the Kiwi program”. On whether he would ever go back, Daniel says “not right away, but I would maybe one day, if I am allowed”. 

For now, Daniel is readjusting to being back in NZ, “when we left Antarctica it was -20, arriving in NZ it was 22 degrees Celsius, it’s so hot, I’ve had to have the aircon on full blast”. As well as reacclimatising, Daniel is loving being close to friends, family, and his two cats’ again, although he has to retrain his Ginger cat whose side of the bed is whose again.

Nau mai rā (welcome home) Daniel, ngā mihi for your service, and thank you to our mates at Spark and Antarctica NZ for the opportunity to contribute to this kaupapa of work.