On the edge of the extreme...
Source : KUTLWANO
Author : Ndingililo Gaoswediwe
Location : GABORONE
Event : Travel
While many would dismiss these as just scenes from popular American mainstream movies, in fact they are real life occurrences in the Antarctica - the earth`s southernmost continent, on average regarded as the coldest, windiest and driest. In one of the incidents that occurred this January, three Canadians died when their plane crashed on Antarctic Mountain.
As if that was not enough, the bodies would never be recovered until October the earliest. “Conditions on the frozen continent here are too dangerous for an immediate recovery operation with the plane`s cockpit embedded in snow and ice at a height of 3 900 meters,” reads a statement from the AAD website. Despite the bloodcurdling incidents where majority of the bodies are never recovered, Kutlwano columnist, Lillian Moremi, has dared to hit the road to the Antarctica. In fact, she will be the first Motswana to set foot in Antarctica and the second woman from Southern Africa after South Africa`s Kylie O`Donoghue who went there in 2009.
“…don`t worry about “what if”, God is amazing and if I go there and die, I would die happy,” said the 28-year-old Moremi in an interview with Kutlwano on the eve of her journey.
The slim pint sized confident Moremi said she was less nervous because there had never been fatalities recorded during the past International Antarctic Expeditions (IAE) led by Robert Swan and his team of Antarctic and leadership experts. Moremi said she was prepared to take a calculated risk to Antarctica. Describing herself a passionate leader, she said she was excited about the experience. Her convinction was that such challenges served as a platform to meet the world`s great leaders hence it would not have been easy for her parents to discourage her from undertaking the trip.
With a grin, she said her parents knew how stubborn she could be in pursuit of her dream of becoming a great leader.
Moremi who described herself as her mum`s best friend said her family was supportive. Hard work and commitment in her job at Ducere Foundation where she works as a coordinator earned her the opportunity to visit Antarctica after she was spotted by her Australian boss. Ducere Foundation sponsored her with P240 000.
She appreciated the support, adding that other companies should follow suit for the development of youth who were today and tomorrow`s leaders.
Moremi who also does guidance and motivational talks said the expedition had the dual purpose of educating the participants in environmental issues and sustainability as well as leadership, teamwork and action.
Moremi, who comes last in a family of four girls and two boys, will have an opportunity to explore the extraordinary and harsh Antarctic environment. The unique Antarctic experience aims to build personal leadership skills, inspire change and create committed global educational and environmental ambassadors. ENDS
FACTS ABOUT ANTARCTICA
The coldest, windiest, and driest continent, Antarctica contains 90 per cent of all of the ice on the planet in an area just under one and a half times the size of the United States. About 98 per cent of Antarctica is covered by ice that averages at least 1.6 km in thickness.
The temperature in Antarctica has reached −89 °C. If you throw boiling water into the air in Antarctica, it will instantly vaporize. Most of the particles will turn into steam while others are instantly converted to small pieces of ice. Melting Antarctica`s ice sheets would raise oceans around the world by 60 to 65 meters. There are no trees or bushes. Vegetation on the continent is composed of mosses, lichen, and algae. Penguins, whales, and seals live in and around Antarctica, as do fish and krill.
Antarctica is Earth`s southernmost continent, containing the geographic South Pole. It is situated in the Antarctic region of the Southern Hemisphere, almost entirely south of the Antarctic Circle, and is surrounded by the Southern Ocean. At 14.0 million km2, it is the fifth-largest continent in area after Asia, Africa, North America, and South America.
There are no permanent human residents but anywhere from 1000 to 5000 people reside throughout the year at the research stations scattered across the continent. Only cold-adapted organisms survive here, including many types of algae, animals (for example mites, nematodes, penguins, seals and tardigrades), bacteria, fungi, plants, and protista.
Catherine Mikkelson, the wife of a Norwegian whaling captain, became the first woman to visit Antarctica in 1935. As part of its effort to claim a portion of Antarctica, Argentina sent a pregnant woman to the continent. In January 1979, Emile Marco Palma became the first child born in on the southernmost continent. Source: Wikepedia & Live Science websites. ENDS
Teaser:
Kutlwano columnist dares the Antarctica!
SOME PEOPLE ARE JUST TOO DARING. IMAGINE GETTING KILLED BY A LOW FLYING AIRCRAFT. EVEN WORSE, DROWNING WHEN YOUR BOAT CAPSIZES OR LOSING IT WHEN A SEA ICE BREAKS; FALLING FROM A CLIFF; A CREVASSE FALL OR AN ATTACK FROM A LEOPARD SEAL WHILE SNORKELING. IT`s HARD TO IMAGINE, BUT POSSIBLE!
