The Penguin Post Office in Antarctica is seeking residents from the United Kingdom, and charity manager Katie Shaw is eager to go there.
Applications are open to work at the famous “Penguin Post Office” in Antarctica.
Successful applicants should be “self-motivated,” “empathetic,” and willing to shower every two weeks.
The shop in Port Lockroy is the southernmost post office in the world and often smells of penguin feces. Every year, the Antarctic Heritage Trust receives a flood of applications for the positions. This year, there are three positions available, and they are only open to residents of the United Kingdom.
In addition to processing up to 80,000 letters and postcards per year, staff must manage the store and welcome about 18,000 cruise tourists who stop by.
One applicant, charity manager Katie Shaw from Manchester, wants to go so badly that she has tattooed a geographically accurate map of Antarctica on one leg and a portrait of explorer Ernest Shackleton on the other.
“I’ve always wanted to be a marine biologist in Antarctica,” said Ms. Shaw. “Academically, it didn’t work out, but I’ve always found the wildlife, landscape, and exploration there fascinating. The continent is so important for the environment and feels like a place we haven’t completely messed up yet. Every year, it seems less likely that we’ll be able to enjoy and appreciate it.”
Successful applicants must possess a range of skills. Staff must sort mail, sell stamps, maintain buildings, and operate the gift shop. They must be comfortable with simple living conditions and content with their own company. The application form warns people about hygiene questions:
“We have no running water on the island, so the washing facilities are very basic. Water is collected in containers from visiting ships. There are no shower facilities in Port Lockroy, so it is expected that staff will be comfortable with these limited washing facilities but still maintain high hygiene standards. Visiting ships offer showers approximately once a week, but in bad weather, you could go up to two weeks without visitors or a shower.”
Staff also have to count the approximately 1,500 gentoo penguins living in a colony in Port Lockroy.
Traveling to Antarctica is expensive. Ms. Shaw estimates that it would cost more than her annual mortgage payment to take a two-week cruise to the region.
There are also concerns that the growing tourism industry in Antarctica is harming the fragile ecosystem. Antarctic tourists even cause penguin species to change their reproductive and social behavior, according to the International Union for Conservation of Nature.
This makes the position at the post office even more attractive to applicants.
“There are only three ways to truly visit Antarctica: working at a research base, elite tourism, or applying for the post office,” said Ms. Shaw.
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