Antarctic tractors roll into town
The Antarctic tractors rolled slowly into Christchurch Airport yesterday, close to the end of their epic drive from Auckland’s Piha Beach to Mt Cook in the South Island.
The three tractor drivers averaged 80 kilometres a day, and are ‘‘exactly on schedule’’ to reach Mt Cook as planned, said driver, mechanic and old tractor buff Brian Blyth.
Expedition South is a monthlong effort undertaken by the Antarctic Trust to raise funds to save Sir Edmund Hillary’s hut in Antarctica.
The tractor drivers are attempting to travel the same distance – 2012km – that Hillary and his team travelled from Scott Base to the South Pole in 1957-58.
Two of the tractors, now 60 years old, are the same Ferguson TE-20 models Hillary used. These two were bought off Trade Me and refurbished. The third was a modern Massey Ferguson lent by the company and fitted with the latest tractor tech.
The Fergusons were surprisingly small and left the drivers exposed to the weather.
Massey Ferguson NZ general manager Peter Scott was pleased by how small town New Zealand embraced the expedition. People came out to greet the tractor drivers and yarn about the trip and tractors. Folks were encouraged to donate a $5 note, the one featuring Sir Ed and, until recently, his tractor.
Yesterday’s drive was a minor jaunt from Hornby to the airport ahead of a big fundraising event in the evening.
‘‘There’s been a great response to what they did with these amazing tractors,’’ Hillary’s son, Peter Hillary, said. He launched the expedition in Auckland in late August and was in Christchurch for the fundraiser.
The tractor drive aims to help raise the $1 million needed to save Hillary’s Hut, which was the first building constructed at Scott Base, and preserve it for the next 25 years. About $20,000 has been raised from the tractor drive so far.