Bill Kwok and Scott Pallett getting ready to set off alone.
Photo by
Tim Van Vuuren
Earlier this year, Moama local Bill Kwok swapped the heat of the kitchen for the frozen extremes of Antarctica.
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While he is better known in the twin towns as the head chef of Moama’s Kwok Chinese Takeaway, Mr Kwok is now the third Australian, and possibly the only Australian-born person, to have reached Antarctica’s Mt Erebus summit crater.
In January, he joined infectious disease specialist and his good friend Dr Scott Pallett on a scientific expedition to study how climate change is affecting antibiotic resistance — one of the world’s most pressing health challenges.
In the past, research in extreme environments such as Antarctica was limited because samples couldn’t be analysed on site.
During the expedition, they were able to confirm that this was now possible using novel technologies that could deliver fast results in extreme conditions.
This breakthrough could help with future research, drug discovery and monitoring biological risks in remote regions.
Preparing for the expedition took two years, during which time they honed their mountaineering skills, gathered equipment and conducted research.
With the support of Scenic Luxury Cruises, the pair departed Hobart on a 12-day voyage to East Antarctica before disembarking at Cape Evans.
Mr Kwok said the magnitude of the expedition didn’t fully set in until they were watching the ship depart.
“I remember standing at the top of Cape Evans ... and just looking at this ship sail away, and it was like, yep, we’re well and truly alone now. There’s no going back,” he said.
Bill Kwok and Scott Pallet carried 150kg of equipment and supplies by sled.
Photo by
Tim Van Vuuren
From there, the pair set out towards the active volcano Mt Erebus, hauling 150kg of necessities on sleds.
After travelling through the Barne Glacier, crossing crevasses up to 10m wide, they then ascended Mt Erebus, which was so steep at some points they had to pull their sleds up one at a time.
On January 23, they finally reached the summit at 3794m elevation.
Despite facing harsh volcanic sulphur fumes, katabatic winds, frostbite and treacherous crevasses, Mr Kwok said the greatest challenge was mental.
“Knowing that help is logistically and timing-wise quite far away (was tough). If there’s bad weather, no-one’s picking you up,” he said.
“Neither one of us felt stressed, but (it was) basically just 20 days of being on high alert.
“You train and get into that physical condition, but mentally being able to push yourself every day and being focused for so long is probably the most difficult thing.”
After 20 days of crossing dangerous terrain and trekking through the cold, including being snowed in for five days, the pair were collected by the same cruise ship on its route back to Australia.
Now back in Moama, Mr Kwok said reflecting on the journey still felt surreal to him.
Bill Kwok is back in the kitchen after returning from Antarctica.
Photo by
JORDAN TOWNROW
“It’s a bit strange to go from basically coming off the side of a volcano in Antarctica, and then a month later I’m cooking honey sauce here ... it hasn’t all sunk in yet,” he said.
“I went home, had a day to get everything unpacked from the car, and then I think two days later I was just back in the shop just cooking again.
“It was like I didn’t leave. Sometimes when I read about what we've done or look back on it, it feels like I'm reading about someone else's life.”
While travelling to Antarctica was exhilarating, Mr Kwok is now settling back into normality with his wife and twin sons, while diving back into the rhythm of the family restaurant.
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