ANTARCTIC POSTAL JOBS ON OFFER: MUST LOVE PENGUINS
The world's most remote post office is hiring candidates with a knack for sorting, counting and a willingness to call more than 1,000 penguins their neighbours.
U.K. Antarctic Heritage Trust is seeking “hard-working, self-motivated individuals” who can stand “the smell of guano (droppings)” at the affectionately named Penguin Post office, located at Port Lockroy in the Antarctic Peninsula.
The organization has maintained the historical site and artifacts — including a whalebone and a pencil drawn map from 1948 — with its ultimate goal being to “help current and future generations discover, understand, value and protect this precious wilderness,” according to its website.
The post office is part of a Second World War-era British base on Goudier Island, near the Antarctic Peninsula, about 1,100 km south of
Argentina and Chile. While being the southernmost post office in the world, it still receives about 80,000 letters and post cards each year.
The Trust is looking to fill three roles: base leader, shop manager and three general assistants. While the roles differ, those hired will be contributing equally to physically demanding tasks, bunk together and cook for the team on a rotating basis.
The physical labour involved
includes “carrying 20 litre jerry cans of water, lifting and carrying 15kg boxes, digging a LOT of snow every
day, cutting steps in snow/ ice for safe visitor landings, unloading boats on slippery rocks,” the posting reads.
The post office also functions as a gift shop and a museum, which helps raise money for the trust. The jobs will also require plenty of adjusting to. There is no running water on the island, meaning workers will have to rely on a bucket for a toilet and “showers are occasionally offered by passing ships.”
The role also requires conducting environmental assessments, including maintaining a record of gentoo penguins and their mating and nesting habits as part of a long-term study on the island.
The jobs pays between $2,369 to $2,947 per month, depending on the role, and lasts for six months, including a month of training before the expedition.