While most Australians were enjoying a sunny day having barbecue parties and drinking beers on Australia Day, two men were braving the freezing temperatures of the Antarctic with not so much as a sausage in sight.
James Castrission and Justin Jones, two regular Aussie blokes with big dreams, started their journey to the end of the world last year. Their journey finally came to an end last Thursday after a gruelling three month adventure, braving blizzards and temperatures in the region of minus 40 degrees, all the while dragging 160 kg sleds behind them.
The adventurous pair embarked on their journey in October 2011, where they attempted to set a world record walking from the edge of the Antarctic to the South Pole and back, with nothing much in the way of transportation and assistance apart from their feet, a sled, a canoe and a couple of skis. Each carried with them everything they need to stay alive in 160kg sleds, which they dragged behind them for a total of 2270 kilometres over the course of three months.
Cas and Jonesy, as they have become known around the world didn’t just go on this extreme trip on a whim, although the pair have been on countless adventure trips before. The trip was also part of a bid to raise money to help build specialised cancer centres for young Australians fighting cancer. The expedition was used to raise awareness and funds for this cause through the ‘You Can’ campaign, by Sony Foundation. Donators were asked to ‘Sponsor a Step’ and have been updated on the whereabouts of the two adventurers every two hours on their website as they traverse the barren Antarctic plains.
Castrission, 29 and Jones, 28, will surely be glad to get back to the warm Australian summer, possibly catching up on a barbecue or two. They have lost an estimated 55kg of weight between them, and previous blog posts sent out during the trip revealed just how gruelling conditions were.
“We’re not sleeping enough, we’re not eating enough,” Cas said on a blog dated 22 January.
“We’ve lost about 55kg between us… and our hips and our bum bones are digging into the snow.”
“It’s probably been the toughest couple of weeks, couple of months of our lives.”
In 2008, the pair became the first people ever to paddle unassisted across the Tasman sea from Australia to New Zealand.
