Electrical engineer shares his experience working in Antarctica for 3 years

CapeTalk's Lester Kiewit speaks to Lodrick Hlungwane, an electrical engineer from Limpopo who spent three consecutive years living and working at the South African National Antarctic Expedition’s SANAE IV base in Antarctica.

Listen below:

A team of nine South African scientists are working in Antarctica at the SANAE IV research station until December to study the climate.

However, earlier in March, it was reported that these scientists' mission had gone awry. The group can't leave the ship while the research is in progress due to the weather conditions.

With an average winter temperature (which is fast approaching) at the base of minus 23 degrees Celsius, and wind speeds reaching up to 217km/h, the weather makes it almost impossible to leave the base.

Recently, a group of South African researchers called for help after one of them allegedly attacked and threatened to kill another, while reports of sexual harassment also surfaced.

Dion George, the Minister of Forestry, Fisheries and the Environment also weighed in on the matter, saying that the threatening incident stemmed from a verbal altercation between two team members over a task that needed to be completed.

George explains that the situation escalated, eventually resulting in a physical assault and confirmed that there was an allegation of sexual harassment.

The department responded swiftly, with a team of psychologists and experts addressing the matter "right at the very outset," George said.

George further notes that the person involved in both the assault and harassment underwent an additional psychological evaluation "very willingly."

While advanced technology makes channels communication with the rest of the world possible, being isolated from the rest of the world makes for a more than challenging work environment, notes Kiewit.

Hlungwane says he applied to the Department of Environmental Affairs and got selected after an interview process, before being selected and spending three years working at the SANAE IV base.

"Just like any job, you go through the job description... it is written that you will be isolated with no possibility of coming or going should anything happen while you're stationed there. Because you're interested in the job, you might do research about Antarctica, you will find that there's a certain season where it's just daylight, where it's just night without daylight and a time where there's daylight and night like here in South Africa... but if you're like me, from Limpopo, where your average temperature throughout the year goes from 37°C to 38°C, it becomes tricky because you haven't felt minus degrees..."

- Lodrick Hlungwane, Electrical Engineer

"When I got selected, there were no psychological tests, it was just medical. I went straight to the ship but if they hire you, you could fly in to Cape Town and spend some time to integrate with other team members, but I didn't have time to integrate with the other team members."

- Lodrick Hlungwane, Electrical Engineer

Initially, 15 months was Hlungwane's working time, but he ended up working at the research station for three years.

During this time, Hlungwane says he understood that there was no way to evacuate, even for a loved one's funeral.

"When I left home, I understood what the job spec meant, and that nothing could be done even if a close relative passed away, and I explained it to my family that once I take that ship and go to Antarctica, there's no chances of coming back."

- Lodrick Hlungwane, Electrical Engineer

The crew has access to 24-hour medical services.

If someone is not coping with the isolation mentally, struggling with feelings of homesickness, or has a mental break to the point of becoming a danger to their colleagues, there are 24-hour resources on the research station, says Hlungwane.

"Psychologically, we were not prepared, we did not write any tests to check if we were ready to stay in those conditions, but today obviously they have all those in place to make sure all the team members go through the tests to make sure the team members are fit to be there."

- Lodrick Hlungwane, Electrical Engineer

"But just like any other workplace, you have disagreements with office colleagues... but there's a support base there where a doctor will be checking up on you, if you are struggling with something, there's a 24-hour hospital open there and one of the team members is a doctor who deals with the psychological part of things."

- Lodrick Hlungwane, Electrical Engineer

"It also comes down to teamwork... it's a team of nine, if they are trapped in an isolated area like that, you don't want anything to turn into violence, so whoever is giving problems amongst the nine, the eight will stand firm against that one particular person, because you are in an isolated area and anything can happen if you don't work as a team. Teamwork is everything, you can't do everything on your own... once those people don't work together, it becomes a problem."

- Lodrick Hlungwane, Electrical Engineer

"What worked for me is engagement... you have to engage with people, but in an isolated environment like that, if you keep to yourself, then it becomes a very big problem. I was a people's person... Friday, Saturday, Sunday, I was mostly with the team. The base is very big, you're not only in your room alone, the base is equipped with everything - there's a gym, bar, cinema, a games room."

- Lodrick Hlungwane, Electrical Engineer

Scroll up to the audio player to listen to the full conversation.