The Unlimited Child South Pole Expedition – MISSION ACCOMPLISHED

21 January 2012 – transcript of audio updates from Iain Buchan and Nzuzo Mnikathi

Iain Buchan:  We are at the South Pole after walking 19,5km today and everyone on the team is absolutely exhausted. It was a slow uphill climb that we didn’t expect. It was very tough, especially the last 4,5km. Having said that we are all elated to be here. It is the most special place on the planet. We are all so happy that we’ve finally made it. We’ve just had a chance to relax and unwind and we had a good meal at base camp. We were all really thrilled that Nzuzo was able to ski today and he did about 14km. The frostbite on his fingers and nose held up well and there’s no futher damage which is great news. He is very tired but he is very happy.

The overall trip has lasted six-and-a-half days. We were really lucky with the weather except for one day when there was a white-out and we struggled with our navigation. The rest of the time, we’ve had the most incredible weather and we’ve been told that it’s the best they’ve seen in this part of the world for many years.

Nzuzo Mnikathi:  Today has been a great day for me. Even though I really struggled, I’ve had the best day of my life skiing to the South Pole. I started off well but by half way I was really exhausted and I thought that I wasn’t going to make it but the team helped me. I’ve never had this kind of experience and I have to thank Barney, Iain, Zack, Pete and Sean Wisedale for all their help. To all the people in South Africa – you helped me make it and I just want to thank all of you.