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https://www.nzdf.mil.nz/media-centre/news/antarctica/

17 April, 2025

Support to New Zealand’s mission in Antarctica requires one of the largest operational deployments of New Zealand Defence Force personnel anywhere in the world. These people, and the assets they bring to one of the most extreme climates on the planet, are critical to the success of Operation Antarctica each season and the continuation of the Defence Force’s 70-year legacy on the ice.

The bay sitting just outside Scott Base is normally stagnant with sea ice. But for the first time in a few years, the ice has broken away, filling the cove with deep blue water and giving Avionics Technician Sergeant Cam Sproull the rare opportunity to watch pods of orca hunting seals and penguins just metres from the water’s edge.

Sergeant Sproull is one of about 100 New Zealand Defence Force personnel who live and breathe the Antarctic environment while based at Scott Base and the American facility, McMurdo Station, for periods ranging up to six months, depending on the role. Overall, about 220 Defence Force personnel, based in Antarctica and New Zealand, make Op Antarctica possible.

Edit

 We’re down there supporting the scientific mission in New Zealand’s interests in Antarctica. 

MAJGEN Rob Krushka

Why are we in Antarctica?

Going to challenging locations and being successful is what militaries are good at. Using robust equipment, aircraft and ships, Antarctica also demands people who are skilled in operations and logistics in austere environments.

“We’ve got those highly trained people,” says Commander Joint Forces Major General Rob Krushka. “When you look at some of the operations down there, they are high-risk activities. Our people are trained for that.

“It also gives our people an opportunity to experience some of those more extreme environments. If you look at landing an aircraft on the ice, or the work our ship offload team does in harsh environments, it not only provides good training for us, but means we can contribute to the greater good for New Zealand.

“There is the strategic importance of Antarctica, from an environmental protection perspective. We’re not down there in a defence capacity, we’re down there solely supporting the scientific mission and New Zealand’s interests in Antarctica.”

The Defence Force has a memorandum of understanding with Antarctica New Zealand, the government agency responsible for carrying out New Zealand’s activities in Antarctica.

“That’s a long-standing relationship. I think we add value to the New Zealand Antarctic Programme and we definitely get value from operating in the Antarctic environment. When I was first involved in Op Antarctica we only had a small support role and that has grown over the years, so it’s really nice to see that ongoing relationship and increasing commitment,” MAJGEN Kushka said.

“We are also participants in the Joint Logistics Programme, which enables the sharing of assets and services between the United States, Italian, New Zealand and South Korean Antarctic programmes. The NZDF is a key contributor to this with provision of personnel, aircraft and HMNZS Aotearoa.”

These international partnerships are important, he said.

“Scott Base is very close to McMurdo Station and we have a really strong relationship with the United States Antarctic Program down there. It’s just another fantastic opportunity for us to add value to our partners, but also getting used to working with them and the way they do things.”

MAJGEN Krushka was posted to Antarctica in the 1995/1996 summer season.

Watch MAJGEN Rob Krushka gives his perspective on his time in Antarctica. video

MAJGEN Rob Krushka gives his perspective on his time in Antarctica.

Our relationship with Antarctica

1950s

1955 Royal New Zealand Navy vessels and the Royal New Zealand Air Force provide support for the first US Navy flights from New Zealand to Antarctica. 1956-1958 HMNZS Endeavour and the RNZAF Antarctic Flight support the Trans-Antarctic Expedition. A construction team of Army, Navy and civilian building overseers construct Scott Base, opening on 20 January 1957. 1958 HMNZS Endeavour I and HMNZS Endeavour II run supply missions to Antarctica. This continues until 1971.

1960s

1962 Scott Base becomes permanent, maintained by the New Zealand Antarctic Research Programme. 1965 First RNZAF C-130H Hercules Antarctic flight under Operation Ice Cube, the start of annual flights.

1980s

1985 RNZAF Iroquois helicopters deploy each summer for science airlift support until 2000.

1990s

1996 Antarctica New Zealand is established. 1999 HMNZS Te Kaha undertakes a Southern Ocean patrol, in support of the Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources. Late 90s RNZAF P-3K Orions start annual patrols of the Southern Ocean

2000s

2006 First P-3K Orion landed in Antarctica. 2010-2017 RNZN vessels HMNZS Wellington and HMNZS Otago undertake Southern Ocean patrols.

2010s

2011 Boeing 757s start flights to the ice.

2020s

2022 HMNZS Aotearoa’s first supply mission to McMurdo, the first supply run since 1971. 2025 HMNZS Aotearoa’s second supply mission to McMurdo.

Sir Edmund Hillary (right) with Captain Harry Kirkwood RN aboard HMNZS Endeavour during summer 1956/57.

To McMurdo by sea

This summer marks the first time to Antarctica for Commander Rob Welford, Commanding Officer of maritime sustainment vessel HMNZS Aotearoa, and the ship’s second mission in three years as a supply vessel.

In January 2025 Aotearoa departed Devonport Naval Base to take on 3.8 million litres of fuel at Geelong, Australia, to resupply Scott Base and McMurdo Station. Aotearoa’s first mission in 2022 also included commercial supplies, such as food, engineering equipment and domestic products.

You can’t simply start at New Zealand and head south. Past explorers have run up against the permanent ice shelf surrounding the Balleny Islands and have opted – like Captain James Ross in HMS Erebus in 1841 – to divert east to reach the 180-degree meridian.

“There’s a tried and tested route to the Ross Sea,” says Commander Welford. “The sailors of history found it by trial and error, and it’s the same route today. We go across and run down the 180 meridian, across the Antarctic circle, past Scott Island, then south-west into McMurdo.”

Journey of HMNZS Aotearoa and the Hercules C-130J from New Zealand to Antarctica, with the Point of Safe Return (PSR) shown for the Hercules.

HMNZS Aotearoa – Polar-class capability

Commissioned in 2020, at 24,000 tonnes and 173 metres long Aotearoa is the largest ship the Royal New Zealand Navy has ever operated, a title previously held by World War II cruiser HMNZS Gambia. While intended for global deployments, the ship is specially designed for polar operations. It is ice-strengthened to Polar Class 6, meaning it has a higher grade of steel plating to withstand cold temperatures, plus an extra thickness calculated to allow for corrosion/abrasion against ice.

HMNZS Aotearoa – Polar-class capability

Commissioned in 2020, at 24,000 tonnes and 173 metres long Aotearoa is the largest ship the Royal New Zealand Navy has ever operated, a title previously held by World War II cruiser HMNZS Gambia. While intended for global deployments, the ship is specially designed for polar operations. It is ice-strengthened to Polar Class 6, meaning it has a higher grade of steel plating to withstand cold temperatures, plus an extra thickness calculated to allow for corrosion/abrasion against ice.

HMNZS Aotearoa Capabilities(external link)

24,000

Tonnes (HMNZS Aotearoa weight)

More room for science

HMNZS Aotearoa is a great platform for science. That’s according to Division Chief Delivery for Defence Science and Technology (DST), Sally Garrett, who is excited about having not one but two registered New Zealand vessels heading into the Ross Sea this season. NIWA’s RV Tangaroa, an ice-strengthened deep water research vessel, will also be in the Antarctic Treaty area south of 60 degrees latitude.

We are just beginning to realise the capabilities of the ship and her crew.

Professor Ian Hawes

Both ships are completing science activities for the NZ Antarctic Science Platform (ASP), a government-funded research project that supports physical and biological science on the Ross Sea. DST has three scientists on board Aotearoa, while Tangaroa will have a 20-strong international multidisciplinary team. Aotearoa is a great platform for drone operations and deploying floating buoys and profilers that are left to drift in the Southern Ocean, Ms Garrett said. Plus there’s a lot more room.

“I remember one ship we were on where the crew couldn’t use the gym until our buoys went over the side. But three or four pallets is easy for Aotearoa – it has huge capacity to store scientific equipment. It also has speed, its voyage goes as far south as you can get by sea, and she has a very good ice-strengthened rating.

173

Meters in length (HMNZS AOTEAROA)

“What we’re doing is developing a process so that each time Aotearoa goes away to Antarctica, we repeat these activities with confidence. We embark science activities that fit the capabilities of the ship, but don’t interfere with the core resupply mission.”Taskings include the trial of a radar processor that can identify ice objects within five nautical miles. The scientists take samples of water and air to assist in climate and marine diversity research, and deploy buoys with sensors to assess wave height, weather and temperature. Professor Ian Hawes, science coordinator for the ASP, said they were very excited to have the opportunity to contribute to the science mission of Aotearoa in the Ross Sea.

“We are just beginning to realise the capabilities of the ship and her crew and look forward to developing joint research endeavours over the coming years.”

With a substantial wish-list of experiments and equipment to deploy, scientists welcome the capability of a platform like HMNZS Aotearoa.

Air Force – a continuous service

It’s considered the most dangerous type of flying outside of a war zone.

“Ninety-nine per cent of the time we’re turning up to Antarctica and it’s a beautiful day and the sun is shining, but the smallest thing can set off a chain reaction – it’s a wild place,” said C-130J pilot Flight Lieutenant Tristan Nysse.

He and colleague FLTLT Cody Hughes have flown the now-retired C-130H and new C-130J Hercules aircraft to Antarctica. The critical factors during the flights are the fuel and weather. About two hours’ flight north of the frozen continent, the crew reaches the point of safe return – that is the point at which the aircraft has enough fuel to turn around and fly back to Christchurch if the weather in Antarctica takes a turn for the worst. At that point it’s about six hours’ flight into the journey.

“Our criteria is relatively strict and procedures are pretty robust,” FLTLT Hughes said. “We have a discussion about half an hour before reaching that point and we know what the conditions are. I’ve never had a 50/50 day, which helps. If the weather was on the minimum, then I might feel a bit different.”

“The new C-130J aircraft is quite nice because we have high-speed internet in-flight, which is great because we get a pretty good gauge on the weather on the way down. We’ve also got a satellite phone, like we did in the C-130H and we can ring the forecaster in Charleston, South Carolina, in the United States. In the new plane we can look at webcams as well, which is helpful,” FLTLT Hughes said.  

Aircrews now fly to the Phoenix Airfield runway, which took over from Pegasus Field in 2017 after high temperatures and excessive dust and dirt affected the airstrip.

Phoenix has the curious distinction of never being in the same place each year, FLTLT Hughes said.  

“The ice shelf is always moving. It moves about 50m a year – about a metre a week. We receive new approach plates (charts) each year and fly them in visual conditions to check for accuracy on the first flight of each season.”

50m

Ice shelf movement per year

While pilots approach the runway like any other, he said the stunning white landscape can make it difficult to gauge the land definition, in turn making it hard to determine how high the aircraft is off the ground, which is one of their biggest challenges. 

“It can really mess with your head, so we land using a combination of our instruments and looking outside. Occasionally it can be slippery – you feel the plane sliding around a little bit. The condition of the runway varies quite a lot depending on how much snow has fallen. But there’s plenty of runway – it’s 10,000 feet – so there is lots of time to stop,” he said.

The continent’s pristine environment, clean air and absence of pollution is abundantly clear to all visitors and FLTLT Nysse said looking after the precious area weighed on him. 

“We are always careful the way we taxi the aircraft – as soon as we touch down and we’re at a safe speed the flaps go up and they don’t come down again until we are rolling to take off, because they stop the silt from the engine falling onto the ice and protects that runway.”

Flights to Antarctica are a regular feature of the summer season on the ice.

A fascinating mission

The first trip to Antarctica that Flight Sergeant Mike Roberts took was in his role as an air steward on a VIP flight in 1998, where he got a close-up look at ice that’s had been around since the first humans left Africa for Asia. 

“A scientist came into the bar at Scott Base one night and he had a big block of ice he’d taken off a glacier. He said he would shout people a whisky and pop some of this ice into it. Once everyone had had a drink, he told them they were drinking whiskey with two million-year-old ice.” 

A couple of years later F/S Roberts had remustered to an air loadmaster and over the past 25 years has taken about 45 flights to the ice flying in both the C-130H Hercules and the Boeing B757 aircraft.

Edit

 Over the years I do feel like I’ve contributed to the success of the maintenance of that continent. 

F/S Mike Roberts

“I’m not sure if they still do it, but we used to do a penguin count. We’d stay for a few days and take an ecologically-qualified person down the back of the Hercules and we would fly over the penguin colonies.

“I don’t know the system they used to count them all and I don’t think they got down to the last penguin, but they were able to get an idea each season if the colonies were growing or declining in size,” he said.

The NZDF has also supported the Italian research facility Zucchelli Station, at Terra Nova Bay – about 357km away from Scott Base.

“Terra Nova is great, we love going there. The Italians treat you like VIPs and supply beautiful Italian food and heaps of parmesan cheese and really good coffee, so it’s always a highlight for the crews to get one of those trips in.

“Over the years I do feel like I’ve contributed to the success of the maintenance of that continent. All the signatories to the Antarctic Treaty are trying their hardest to keep the place as original and pristine as possible.”

When things go wrong

When aircraft break down in Antarctica, the continent’s unforgiving environment compounds issues for aviation technicians, forcing them to think outside the box. Aircraft technician Sergeant Brehan Lennie from No. 40 Squadron was on a short-haul trip to the ice at the start of the summer season last year and was settled in on the Boeing B757 flight to return home when the aircraft came to a halt.

“First of all we had an avionic indication – the pilots got a warning on their display. As they went to abort the take-off, one of the throttles jammed. So we had to launch into a fault-finding mission.”

In the end the fault was relatively straight-forward to fix, but because of the extreme cold, what should have been a small job, snow-balled.

 “What would have taken less than a day to fix back at base became a three-day job because we were in Antarctica.”

The team worked hard but temperatures reaching -30°C meant working outside for any length of time was unsustainable. The technicians worked in 15 minute phases before they started losing feeling in their fingers and they need to retreat into the plane to warm up.

-30°

working Temperatures

There were some blower carts – basically oversized hairdryers – the team was able to use and direct to the area of work, which also resulted in longer working periods and slowing the team from freezing too quickly, SGT Lennie said. Warming up after being exposed to the extreme cold was also problematic, he added. 

“When you start to thaw out a bit, if you’ve been outside for a while, it can be quite painful. We were rugged up with all the kit on that we could, including two pairs of gloves. But with the type of work we were doing, we often had to get rid of the large warm gloves to the thinner ones, and sometimes, no gloves at all for working with the small parts.

“It was definitely a memorable experience and one of the most challenging things I’ve done in my military career. It was hard to relax once the job was done though and I stayed nervous until we landed back in Christchurch – once we’d arrived it was a bit of a relief,” SGT Lennie said.

Managing the transit

The Harewood Terminal Team (HTT) based in Christchurch facilitates hundreds of passengers and cargo flights to and from Antarctica every year. While it is situated alongside RNZAF Air Movements in Christchurch, the HTT is a separate operationally deployed tri-service team. Officer Commanding HTT, Flight Lieutenant Josh Ahdar said Christchurch holds a special place in Antarctic operations.

“It is one of only five international airlift gateways in the world. The Korean, Italian, American and New Zealand Antarctic programmes all base their airlift from Christchurch.

“Being part of a team that provides significant contribution to Antarctic scientific programmes that aim to protect, value and understand one of the most unique environment on the planet is what I enjoy the most,” he said.

For air transport these programmes enlist the support of a wide range of aircraft, including the Boeing 757, C-130H and C-130J Hercules, United States Air Force C-17, Italian Air Force C-130J and the US Air National Guard L-C-130s. 

170

Flights

4,500

Passengers

2.3M

Pounds of cargo

FLTLT Adhar enjoys the variability of the role as no two days or ice seasons are the same.

“There is a lot of unpredictability and delays that affect flights to Antarctica. Often flight schedules are only as good as the moment we print them off.”

Aircrews need a high level of certainty that they can make it to the ice without a diversion before they can depart Christchurch, often meaning delays as they wait for better flying conditions. Every year the team see a different set of challenges when it comes to cargo loading and some flights are truly memorable, FLTLT Adhar said.

“The heaviest item we have ever airlifted from Christchurch were runway compaction rollers, weighing in at 87,000lbs. 

“Drill rig, cranes, CAT D8T bulldozers, articulated dump trucks, 60,000lb excavators, cargo sleds and helicopters are just a few of the types of cargo we load each season.”

The team is made up of 27 personnel from all three services. Eight are RNZAF Air Movement staff who post out and deploy to HTT for the summer season and fill subject matter expert roles. Personnel are posted to the HTT for the duration of the summer ice season which runs from October to March each year, the job covers multiple shifts over a 24-hour period.

Explosives and penguins don’t mix

When a New Zealand Defence Force Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) team sets up to do their work, locals are kept well away. That’s a bit harder when you’ve got thousands of penguins in the vicinity.

In late 2024 an EOD team, in support of Antarctica New Zealand and the Antarctic Heritage Trust (AHT), deployed to assess risks and identify any works required to deal with abandoned ammunition, explosives and chemicals across significant historical sites in Antarctica.

It was the first time EOD had deployed to Antarctica, which involved going to Cape Adare, Cape Evans and Cape Royds to visit all five historic huts in the Ross Dependency. Overall it took eight days to conduct the assessments. Once set up at Cape Adare the team’s primary objective was to identify historic ammunition and explosives potentially buried at the hut site, and assess chemicals left in Borchgrevink’s Hut, which had been there for more than 120 years.

Edit

They were working near the largest penguin nesting colony in the world, with approximately 750,000 pairs every season.

“In Cape Adare we conducted a search for any ammunition and explosives around the building, and the immediate area using metal detectors where we discovered various ammunition in a much-degraded state,” an EOD team member said.

“We also used x-ray equipment to confirm or deny any hazardous contents of boxes we located. This took a while due to us trying not to disturb all the nesting penguins.”

They were working near the largest penguin nesting colony in the world, with approximately 750,000 pairs every season.

“We then used non-invasive chemical analysis with the equipment we had brought from New Zealand to conduct testing of the chemicals within Borchgrevink’s hut to ascertain if there were any explosive and chemical threats.”

It was determined that abandoned chemicals and ammunition left by Borchgrevink back in 1899 at Cape Adare were in such a degraded state that there was little to no threat. The same procedures were repeated at the historic huts at Cape Evans and Cape Royds.

One of the EOD Team members said the real boss down in Antarctica is Mother Nature. It’s a challenge for the team to keep fingers and toes warm enough to maintain the required precision despite the temperature reaching below -30 C, he said.

“Since the ammunition has been outside in the environment for the last 125 years, it was often covered in and surrounded by frozen penguin guano. This made it difficult to excavate enough to identify, having to first scrape through layers of guano and old frozen penguin remains.

“Great care had to be given to the penguins living in our workspace around the huts, because if we scared them off their nests, one of the roaming skua would dive in to steal the penguin egg in seconds,” the EOD Team Leader said.

“Cape Adare was extremely isolated, so we knew if something went wrong, we were a long way from help. Usually we can work in relative peace, but at Cape Adare we were always getting yelled at by the ‘locals’ and often our equipment or pants would be nibbled if we got too close.”

The EOD Team Commander said until he was there it was hard to fully understand how relevant the work being done to preserve the five historic huts was.

“Cape Adare is the last hut to be restored so it was actually quite an honour to realise that we were a small part of the final process in the restoration of the huts.

“We were also told that we were possibly the first people to actually visit all five of the historic Antarctic explorers’ huts in one season, something some conservators from AHT hadn’t been able to do in the years they’d worked in Antarctica,” he said.

Watch Our legacy of Antarctica – from adventurers and pioneers to experts and scientists. video

Our legacy of Antarctica – from adventurers and pioneers to experts and scientists.

Personnel on the ice

Sergeant Cam Sproull

Sergeant Cam Sproull, who provided his perspective of a morning at Scott Base at the start of this feature, arrived for his six-month deployment in -40°C temperatures in September last year.

“All I wanted to do when I got there was take photos, but I hadn’t adapted to the temperature at all. It took no time at all before I was very uncomfortable and couldn’t feel my fingertips.”

His role at Scott Base is in the communications team, and monitoring field events on the ice is a far cry to working on helicopters.

“Our primary role is to maintain contact with all the field events out in various places in the Ross Island region. We will talk with them at least once a day to make sure everyone is safe. Then we pass on any requests that they may need, like food or equipment supplies – to other groups here at Scott Base who will make a plan to satisfy those requests.”

Edit

 It took no time at all before I was very uncomfortable and couldn’t feel my fingertips. 

SGT Cam Sproull

While the team operates the communication equipment 24/7, it is also put to work doing stock take audits, washing linen, printing notices and flight schedules, and making daily PA announcements with weather updates, new information, birthdays on base and telling a joke or two. During overnight shifts, they look after air conditioning units, hot water cylinders and generators to ensure Scott Base stays warm.

“We call them ‘mouse rounds’, because we’re like little mice scurrying around checking things. There’re also lots of outside buildings and containers we check in the evenings.

“At the start of the season when we were checking them we were rugged up with jackets, face masks, goggles and boots because it was so cold. It would take a while to get kitted up. But in the height of summer you’d be in a hoodie, shorts and crocs.” 

SGT Sproull’s deployment has been amazing, with days packed full of activities.

“I’ve been lucky enough to fly out to the Dry Valleys on mainland Antarctica, to help pack up a campsite that was the base for Italian and New Zealand scientists researching the area’s geology. Not everyone gets a chance to go out there, so that was a privilege.”

In October SGT Sproull looked upon the last sunset before the summer season saw 24 hours of daylight.

“It set about 2am, so there was a good group of us who went outin the middle of the night and watched the last sunset of the season.”

Sergeant Brian Jane

Sergeant Brian Jane, Royal New Zealand Army Logistics Regiment, is part of the NZ Army’s biggest contribution to Operation Antarctica over the last 50 years – logistics support. It’s made up of a long list list of trades – light engineering teams, carpenters, plumbers, ship-offload teams, emergency responders, drivers, plant operators, electricians, communicators, mechanics and administration staff.

In SGT Jane’s case, it’s managing a transport section on the ice. The transport team is responsible for the movement of freight and shipping containers around McMurdo Station as well as the most important key effort of the summer season, the ship offload. 

“Once the ship arrives the entire base splits into day and night shifts. Shift hours for most are from 6am-6pm or 6pm-6am.

Edit

 When you wake up in the morning prior to shift, its daylight. When you are getting ready for bed, its daylight. 

SGT Brian Jane

“I’m the day shift transport section commander and am responsible for ensuring the shift runs as smoothly as possible in a transport logistical manner,” he said.

The team operate left-hand drive, nine-speed Road Ranger freightliner Cascadia tractor units with 40-foot trailers for offloading cargo from the ships. Driving in the snow is no issue.

“Thankfully the snow doesn’t really affect the driving, as it doesn’t settle on the road, the roads are all gravel.”

During this season there were two ships to be unloaded.

“The first ship took us about seven days to unload before re-loading all the old containers that are required to return to New Zealand and United States. Then it was HMNZS Aotearoa conducting a bulk refuel to the base,” he said.

The most challenging part of Antarctica for SGT Jane had to adjust to the 24 hours of daylight. 

“The body clock has been pretty off with getting into a routine but mentally you have to tell yourself that it’s time for bed otherwise you find yourself still wide awake late at night despite knowing that you are up early for a shift the next morning,” he said.

Leading Aircraftman Pieter Lelieveld

Edit

 I’m going to have to call you back in about 10 minutes, we’ve just got an Emperor penguin on the runway that we have to shoo away. 

LAC Pieter Lelieveld

Leading Aircraftman Pieter Lelieveld, emergency responder, takes the call for his interview but needs a moment. Dealing with errant penguins isn’t a typical role for a firefighter, but it’s all part of the job for LAC Lelieveld, in Antarctica. With the penguin safely away from any aircraft coming into land on the Williams airfield, LAC Lelieveld was at pains to say that while approaching any wildlife in Antarctica is restricted, firefighters have permission to move them along from the runway.

“It’s definitely not something I trained for before coming down, but it’s one of the perks of being down here – we are the only ones who can get them off the runway if a plane is coming in.”

Emergency Responders spend much of their time monitoring flights coming and going from the ice runway, but also more conventional work like responding to fire alarms, medical events and any fires that break out at McMurdo Station and Scott Base. Based at United States’ McMurdo Station, the team works primarily with aircraft from the United States Air National Guard and Air Force. Emergencies with the aircraft sometimes happen and LAC Lelieveld said they hit differently in the extreme environment.

“It might be a minor thing like a rudder not performing how it should, but down here that could matter more when it takes off or lands, just because it’s on an ice runway.”

People starting their firefighter career may not realise they could get the opportunity to work in such an unusual environment, he said.

“Out at the airfields we don’t have water in our trucks, just foam, because the water would freeze. We make do with what we have. It was a learning experience on how to use it to its best effect. At home we have foam and water and it mixes together to be more effective.” 

Getting used to the cold was the biggest challenge for LAC Lelieveld, but it wasn’t just people who suffered from the low temperatures.

“Even the vehicles don’t like the cold. There’s not much we can do about that though, if the vehicles don’t start we get a heater next to it and hope for the best,” he laughed.  

“I feel privileged to be working down here and supporting the scientific research programmes. Even though my role as a firefighter is small, I know I’m directly helping. Nothing could really happen down here without us because regulations state there has to be firefighters present whenever an aircraft comes in and nothing would happen down here without the planes.

“People wouldn’t traverse the pole every year and they wouldn’t go to the middle of nowhere to set up camps without us being here. It’s a vital but less-known role for us to be down here. It’s cool to know we’ve contributed to that.”

Lance Corporal Alice Jensen

Based at McMurdo Station, Lance Corporal Alice Jensen is no stranger to the yearly ship-offload in Antarctica; this is her third rotation to the ice as a cargo handling specialist. The work she does plays a key and pivotal role in the ship-offload.

“When the containers are being craned off the ship we stabilise them with tag lines (ropes attached to the corner of the containers) and control their rotation on their descent.

“Once they hit the ground we undo all the slings attached to the crane, and then for loading the ship it’s just the same process but in reverse,” she said.

Edit

 The pizza here is honestly the best in the world. 

LCPL Alice Jenson

“The day-to-day pace changes depending on what is coming off the ship, the 20ft containers are quick and easy but there are some complicated ones on board that take a little longer, such as vehicles,” she said.

There are some challenges while in Antarctica, such as getting used to the different style of how other nations operate – it can take a few days to align.

“The biggest culture shock has been fitting in with an American base and how they operate. Weight is in pounds not kilograms and left-hand drive vehicles.

She said the opportunity to make and meet friends from around the world makes it well worth being in the cold.

“You never get bored down here, there is so much going on from sightseeing, activities, walks and getting to explore the environment and see penguins and seals.”  

And the best thing about the ice, apart from the opportunity to work in one of the harshest environments in the world, the pizza at McMurdo Station.

“The pizza here is honestly the best in the world.”

Antarctica New Zealand

Antarctic New Zealand’s chief executive, Professor Jordy Hendrikx, an internationally recognised, interdisciplinary cryosphere/snow scientist, reflects on what has been a full and busy season – 330 people travelling to the ice between September and February. Scott Base’s population peaked at 115, a rise in a previous capacity of 80 bunks.

Antarctica New Zealand is based at the international Antarctic programmes’ campus, next door to the International Antarctic Centre on Orchard Road, Christchurch. The agency works year-round to support world-leading science and environmental protection. A big part of it running smoothly is the close relationship between Antarctica New Zealand and the New Zealand Defence Force, Professor Hendrikx said. 

115

Scott Base’s peak population

“Every year we work with the NZDF, alongside international partners such as the United States Antarctic Program, to provide the logistics underpinning science and conservation efforts. That cooperation is critical to New Zealand’s reputation as a world leader in Antarctic science operations.

“New Zealand scientists work with international partners to study how climate change affects Antarctica and the Southern Ocean, and how these changes impact New Zealand and the world. Even though Antarctica is far away, the Southern Ocean and the atmosphere connect it closely to New Zealand.

“As we move into the future, the strong partnership between Antarctica New Zealand and NZDF will continue. The introduction of new capabilities, such as the C-130J Hercules and HMNZS Aotearoa enhances New Zealand’s contribution to the Joint Logistics Pool and Antarctic operations.

“Our partnership with NZDF will only continue to grow as we continue to tackle the challenges of climate change, support cutting-edge science, and preserve Antarctica for future generations.”

_________________________

Words:

Andrew Bonallack

Rebecca Quilliam

Charlene Williamson

Photography:

SGT Maria Eves

LAC Andy Jenkins

SGT Vanessa Parker

F/S Sam Shepherd

SGT Sean Spivey

Video team:

Les Dawson

Elliot Lim

Marc Weakley

Marketing:

Bradley Saunders-Garner

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Wednesday, 16 April 2025, 6:12 pm
Press Release: Waitangi Treaty Grounds

The Waitangi Treaty Grounds are pleased to announce our latest exhibition, Operation Grapple – We Were There, open from 18 April – 6 July 2025. Photographer Denise Baynham was moved to create an exhibition highlighting the stories of 19 Operation Grapple veterans. This insightful exhibition combines portrait photographs of the veterans in the own homes accompanied by their stories told in their own words.

Operation Grapple was a series of thermonuclear/hydrogen weapons tests conceived and conducted by the British government in the South Pacific Ocean, at Malden Island and Kiritimati. Operation Grapple began in May of 1957 and concluded in September 1958, with nine tests being held in total.

The Royal New Zealand Navy provided a survey ship, the HMNZS Lachlan to carry out a survey of both Islands, as well as frigates, the HMNZS Pukaki and Rotoiti for the detonations. Pukaki was present in all 9 tests, while Rotoiti was present during the first four.

Over the course of these tests a total of 551 New Zealand naval personnel manned these ships. Their duties consisted of witnessing the detonation of the nuclear devices and collecting weather data as close as 37 kilometres to ground zero. The largest of the detonations, Grapple Y was hundreds of times larger than the Hiroshima bomb dropped on Japan.

Curator Owen Taituha says “This exhibition presents an exciting opportunity to hero the previously unsung stories of some of our country’s brave veterans. Operation Grapple provides a unique insight into the personal experiences and lived history of these men. It is an honour to be able to display this exhibition as part of the Waitangi Treaty Grounds Anzac commemorations.”

These portraits honour and recognise these veterans. This is their story.

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The New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) and the New Zealand Customs Service have unveiled and named two new state-of-the-art Bluebottle uncrewed surface vessels (USVs) to help combat transnational serious and organised crime.

15 April, 2025

The two agencies have acquired the USVs to further enhance New Zealand’s ability to patrol and protect its maritime interests and security. 

Minister of Customs Casey Costello, alongside Defence and Customs officials, attended a naming ceremony at Devonport Naval Base this afternoon. The USVs are named Tahi and Rua.

Built by Sydney-based Ocius Technologies, the USVs were purchased following a successful seven-month trial last year. During the trial a USV played a critical role in an operation to recover a steel box with 7kg of cocaine hidden on the hull of a commercial vessel heading to Auckland.

The 7.4-metre USVs use solar, wind or wave motion to power its monitoring systems and propulsion. It has a top speed of five knots and can operate at sea for a significant period of time before returning to shore.  Its sensors include radar, electro-optic and infrared cameras.

Customs Deputy Chief Executive Operations Jamie Bamford says organised crime groups exploit the Pacific to smuggle drugs to New Zealand, and this additional capability helps counter that threat and protect our coastline. 

“New Zealand’s maritime border faces growing threats from transnational serious and organised crime groups as they continue to focus on exploiting New Zealand and undermining the integrity of the international supply chain and trade routes.  

“By investing in new technology that enhances our ability to monitor New Zealand’s vast maritime environment, and can operate at sea for extended periods, USVs represent a, practical, cost-effective and future-ready capability to help protect New Zealand’s interests. 

“These vessels enable Defence and Customs to monitor in real time. This live intelligence strengthens our ability to better understand situations and enforcement requirements and enable faster decision-making. This allows Customs, Defence and our agency partners to respond more effectively.”

The two USVs, Tahi and Rua.

NZDF Maritime Component Commander, Commodore Shane Arndell, says the USVs are an important part of the Defence Force’s move towards smarter, more sustainable surveillance methods. 

“From the outset, the success of the USV trials has come down to strong cooperation across agencies. The technology gives us a clearer maritime picture and helps improve safety and security in challenging environments.

“The addition of Tahi and Rua to the fleet will extend our reach and maintain a persistent watch over our waters and further afield.”

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