Post and penguins: is this perhaps the cutest job in the world?
London - It is certainly one of the most remote jobs in the world - but perhaps also the one with the cutest neighbors. For five months, volunteers from the UK will be counting penguins in Antarctica, running the southernmost post office on earth and doing conservation work.
Two "resilient" teams have been selected for the task almost 15,000 kilometers south of London, according to the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust (UKAHT).
Specifically, it is about managing the British base in Port Lockroy on Goudier Island.
During the Antarctic summer, five men and women will count the gentoo penguin nests and their eggs and chicks in the area, as well as looking after the local museum and the thousands of postcards that are sent out every year.
On the island, which is the size of a soccer pitch, there is neither running water nor a flush toilet, but almost constant daylight and temperatures below zero. Each team member is allowed to take a small box with games, books or photos.
Site to be preserved as a time capsule
The second half of the group has an even more difficult task ahead of them. They have to fight their way to Blaiklock Island Refuge, UKAHT's smallest and most inaccessible site, which can only be reached by boat.
In "inhospitable conditions", urgent repairs need to be carried out to bring the historic buildings up to scratch. It is important to preserve the site as a time capsule, said UKAHT chief executive Camilla Nichol.
The helpers will also catalog historical artefacts and collect digital film material.