These Four Women Are All Set To Run World's Remotest Post Office In Antarctica

Beating a record number of applicants, four women have been selected to run the most distant office in the world and count penguins in Antarctica.

Clare Ballantyne, Mairi Hilton, Natalie Corbett, and Lucy Bruzzone have been chosen to lead the team in charge of Goudier Island’s historic site Port Lockroy.

Port Lockroy, the post office that also used to function as a museum, shut during the Covid-19 pandemic. Recently, the U.K. Antarctic Heritage Trust announced the reopening of Port Lockroy, and four job openings including, Base leader, postmaster, store manager, and wildlife monitor. Ms Ballantyne will be working as a postmaster, Ms Hilton will be a wildlife monitor, Ms Corbett will be a shop manager and Ms Bruzzone will be joining as the base leader.

The trust said, “The team will work for five months at Goudier Island in the Antarctic Peninsula, abandoning all home comforts. The selected candidates will endure subzero conditions and without access to running water and toilets. They will have practically constant daylight since the continent has six months of brightness in the summer (October to February) and six months of darkness in the winter (March to September).”

According to CBS News, “The four candidates will live in close proximity to a colony of Gentoo Penguins, whose census is required as part of the trust’s mission to observe and safeguard the birds.”

According to the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust (UKAHT), the women will start their training this month, they’ll have to take lessons from a “penguinologist” and undergo remote first aid instruction. They will embark on their expedition at the beginning of November and remain there until March 2023.