On Day 49 of the Walk to the South Pole, I reached the milestone of the Campbell Island at the 1,007km mark!

The Campbell Island group is the most southerly of New Zealand’s subantarctic islands, lying 700 km south of New Zealand's South Island and 270 km southeast of Auckland Island.

Campbell Island covers 11,300 ha and is the main island of the Campbell Island group. It is surrounded by a number of rocks and islets, principally, Dent Island, Folly Island, Isle de Jeanette Marie and Jacquemart Island. A small unnamed rock in the group, located 50m south from Jacquemart Island, represents the southernmost territory of New Zealand (outside of Antarctic claims).

Campbell Island is steep and rugged, rising to 569 m at Mount Honey in the south. Most of the island is surrounded by cliffs which rise to over 300 m in places on the south and western sides.

There are three harbours cutting into the eastern side of the island. Perseverance is the largest, along with unimaginatively named North East and South East Harbours. A large open bay on the North West of the island is predictably called North West Bay.

A good walking pace continues to be achieved. Someone reminded me that I am effectively walking a half marathon every day at the moment! However, I am also aware the next milestone will be Antarctica, but that is still 1,570km away! The weather recently has been very humid and hard going especially in the middle of the day. Care is being taken with sun exposure and dehydration!

[Photo Credit: Mt Honey, Campbell Island Image: Kerry Bodmin | NIWA | ©]

On Day 39 of the Walk to the South Pole, I reached the milestone of the Auckland Islands at the 800km mark!

The Auckland Islands lie 465 km south of New Zealand’s South Island port of Bluff. They are the largest of New Zealand’s subantarctic islands, with a combined area of 57,000 ha. As well as having a wide variety of plants and wildlife they also have a rich human history.

The Auckland Islands Marine Mammal Sanctuary was established in 1993. The New Zealand Subantarctic Islands Area was designated a World Heritage Site in 1998 and the Auckland Islands - Mōtū Maha Marine Reserve was established in 2003.

A good walking pace continues to be achieved and I look forward to the next milestone of the Campbell Islands at the 1,007km mark in just over 200kms time. The weather recently has been stunning if not a little warm averaging 22-27°C during the day. Care is being taken with sun exposure and dehydration!

[Photo Credit: Heritage Expeditions]

After 24 days, I am 520km on the way to the South Pole! I am heading into the deep Southern Ocean with the next reference milestone being the Auckland Islands in another 280km.

I held off on the update not only to mark the achievement of 500km which seemed like a big thing but probably is not in the overall scheme of things, but also to mark the 520km representing 10% complete.

As mentioned in previous updates, the pace of the walk is significantly ahead of schedule. This is partly to provide some contingency in the case of future delays and also to make the most of the particularly fine weather at the moment. Care is being taken with sun exposure and dehydration!

At this rate I may have to introduce a stretch goal? maybe to the South Pole and then back to Scott Base? However, I believe it is way too early to consider changing the goal at this early stage as who knows if I will be injured for any period of time or the intensity of the winter weather to come.

I look forward to the upcoming 280km ahead to reach the next milestone of the Auckland Islands! Thanks for following along on this challenge.

Wow - it's been barely two and half weeks (over 355km in 17 days!) and we have covered the latitudes of the New Zealand South Island below Christchurch. We have now passed the mainland coast and heading into the deep Southern Ocean.

Slope Point is the southernmost point on the South Island of New Zealand and is accessible via a 20 minute walk across private farmland. Once there, a yellow AA signpost shows the distance to the equator and the south pole. The views of the surrounding ocean and coastline off of the point's steep rugged cliffs are spectacular!

As mentioned in previous update, the pace of the walk is significantly ahead of schedule. This is partly to provide some contingency in the case of future delays, but there is also an element of making the most of the fine weather that seems to have improved in recent days.

I am really glad to have reached Slope Point but very aware of the 455km ahead to reach the next milestone of the Auckland Islands! Thanks for following along on this challenge.

Wow - its been 2 weeks and I am already at the first milestone "The Octagon, Dunedin". Dunedin is a special place as it is where I went to school and home of my alma mater university education!

The weather has been quite variable and some people have not been thrilled about what they received on their summer holidays while heading back to work. We have however received some awesome sunsets as shown in the photo above.!

The pace of the walk is currently averaging over 20km a day which is significantly higher than it needs to be to get to the South Pole by 31 Dec. However, this additional distance is creating a bit of a buffer as you can't be sure what future weather or illness might slow the pace. I am very keen not to have to stress too much about the overall distance walked compared with the schedule and getting a buffer is doing that nicely!

I would really like to have reached Slope Point by this time next week! Thanks for following along on this challenge.

Challenge Accepted! Today I commenced a 5200km virtual journey to the South Pole that will take upto 12 months. The last few days have been spent finalising the challenge details and approach. I have also been updating the website to record the events along the way.

The decision to depart from Christchurch Airport - and in fact outside Antarctica New Zealand is very symbolic and fitting. Christchurch is the world’s main gateway to Antarctica. Around 100 direct flights a year leave from the airport, carrying more than 5,500 passengers and 1,400 tonnes of cargo, including fresh food.

The Antarctic connection began in 1955 with Operation Deep Freeze, when eight US Air Force aircraft made the 14-hour flight from Harewood Airfield to McMurdo Station. Operation Deep Freeze continues today, and with the arrival of the International Antarctic Centre in 1992, Christchurch continues to embrace its Antarctic connection. [source: Christchurch Airport]

I am really looking forward to getting into the challenge and thanks for following along!

[Photo: U.S. Air Force photo by Sgt. Shane A. Cuomo, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons]