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The world’s most remote post office is hiring candidates with a knack for sorting, counting and a willingness to call more than 1,000 penguins their neighbours.
U.K. Antarctic Heritage Trust is seeking “hard-working, self-motivated individuals” who can stand “the smell of guano (droppings)” at the affectionately named Penguin Post office, located at Port Lockroy in the Antarctic Peninsula.
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The organization has maintained the historical site and artifacts — including a whalebone and a pencil drawn map from 1948 — with its ultimate goal being to “help current and future generations discover, understand, value and protect this precious wilderness,” according to its website.
The post office is part of a WWII-era British base on Goudier Island, near the Antarctic peninsula, about 1,100 km south of Argentina and Chile. While being the southernmost post office in the world, it still receives about 80,000 letters and post cards each year — and thousands of tourists by boat.
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The Trust is looking to fill three roles: base leader, shop manager and three general assistants. While the roles of differ, those hired be contributing equally to physically demanding tasks, bunk together and cook for the team on a rotating basis.
The physical labour involved includes “carrying 20 litre jerry cans of water, lifting and carrying 15kg boxes, digging a LOT of snow every day, cutting steps in snow/ice for safe visitor landings, unloading boats on slippery rocks,” the posting reads. The post office also functions as a gift shop and a museum, which helps raise money for the trust.
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The jobs will also require plenty of adjusting to. There is no running water on the island, meaning workers will have to rely on a bucket for a toilet and “showers are occasionally offered by passing ships.” There is also no phone or internet and plenty of isolation.
The role also requires conducting environmental assessments, including maintaining a record of gentoo penguins and their mating and nesting habits as part of a long term study on the island.
Gentoo penguins are among the fastest swimming birds, diving up to 200 meters underwater for food many times a day. They are classified as being nearly threatened, and their population is said to be in decline.
Last year, more than 647 nests and 781 eggs were counted in Port Lockroy.
The jobs pays between $2,369 to $2,947 per month, depending on the role, and lasts for six months, including a month of training prior to the expedition.
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