The penguins are noisy, the people fantastic - what it takes to be an Antarctic postmaster

George Clarke is returning for his third stint at Port Lockroy

It is hardly a typical round for a postie, but for five months of the year George Clarke leaves behind his partner and friends in Bristol to become a postmaster at the world’s most southerly post office – in Antarctica.

“I thought it sounded like an amazing experience – living away from home for a few months on a very small island with five other people and 1,000 penguins,” says Clarke.

He takes up his role as Port Lockroy postmaster from late October to March, during the southern hemisphere summer.

The part-time festival worker and artist says his days are spent sorting postcards, processing letters and arranging for the post to hitch a ride north on passing ships before being distributed around the world.

“The penguins are noisy and smelly. The people are fantastic,” he said. “I’ve fallen in love with the Antarctic wilderness.”

Port Lockroy is home to a colony of about 1,000 gentoo penguins

When Clarke sets off with in a team of six on Monday, it will be his third voyage to Antarctica helping the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust (UKAHT) to conserve Port Lockroy, a former British science research facility.

Unlike a regular post office, there is no fleet of vans ready to whisk the mail away.

“When we collect up all the postcards and we’ve sorted through them, we’ve bagged them up, we’ve weighed them, we then need to look to see which ships are heading north towards the Falklands,” he said.

“Then we get them on email or the radio and we say, ‘Hello, would you mind taking some postcards with you?’ And they’re always very keen to oblige.”