Meet The Four Women Selected To Run The World’s Most Remote Post Office In Antarctica

Would you give up the comforts of home to live in one of the most remote areas in the world? It may sound strange, but the opportunity to work for the world’s most remote post office in Antarctica is competitive and sees up to thousands of applicants every season.

The post office is part of a historic site called Port Lockroy on Goudier Island.

The UK Antarctic Heritage Trust notes that Port Lockroy on Goudier Island was the “first continuously occupied British base to establish year round British presence in Antarctica.” It was established on February 11, 1944, and has been occupied ever since.

Each year, a small group of carefully selected hirees journeys the 9,000 miles to Port Lockroy to run the post office and oversee the penguin colony on the island for a period of five months. The group must live in simple accommodations on a tiny island without running water or flushing toilets.

This season’s selected candidates were finally announced! According to the Oxford Mail, the new team is compromised of Clare Ballantyne, Mairi Hilton, Natalie Corbett and Lucy Bruzzone.

Clare Ballantyne just completed a master’s degree in earth science at Oxford University, according to the outlet, and she will be in charge of handling the thousands of pieces of mail that are sent to the island each year. “I’m most looking forward to stepping on to Goudier Island and taking in the cacophony and pungent smell of the penguins, the backdrop of the glaciers and Fief mountains – and being able to call it home for the next few months,” the 23-year-old said.

The Daily Mail reports that Mairi Hilton, a conservation biologist, will be in charge of wildlife monitoring, as well as helping with operations in the post office, gift shop, and museum.

The Oxford Mail added that 31-year-old Natalie Corbett is eagerly awaiting the opportunity. She said, “Who wouldn’t want to spend five months working on an island filled with penguins in one of the most remote places on the planet? I’ll be leaving behind my husband, George, who I only married in June so I’m treating this like my solo honeymoon.”

As for Lucy Bruzzone, she’ll act as the base leader, managing the team and co-ordinating all ship visits to the island.

You can learn more about the job and the work they’ll be doing in the video below, which features an interview with Bruzzone:

Protecting penguins, monitoring the environment and … organising the post!

Lucy Bruzzone is one of just four women chosen out of 4,000 to work on Port Lockroy – Antarctica in a very unique expedition.#KayBurley FC pic.twitter.com/qYp5a0XziP

— Kay Burley (@KayBurley) October 4, 2022

According to the Oxford Mail, the four women were among 6,000 people who applied to the roles, which were advertised by the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust.

USA Today reports that, in addition to their duties running the post office, the group is also responsible for counting the penguins and other wildlife on the island.

The numbers they gather will be submitted to the British Antarctic Survey at the end of their employment.