Travels With Palin

Pole To Pole: Bitter End (3x8)

: 09, 1992

Despite being unable to reach Antarctica via the Agulhas, all is not lost for Palin. A travel adventure company is able to take Palin to the South Pole from their base in Chile. This means Palin must turn his back on the 30 degrees east meridian. Travelling by aeroplane from Cape Town to Santiago via Rio de Janeiro, he checks out an unusual rendition of "Happy Birthday to You" from the Presidential Palace where the infamous 1973 coup took place. After having lunch at a fish market with his guide while listening to a panflute player, he is off to Punta Arenas, the southernmost city in South America. From there he waits anxiously for the weather conditions to allow the trip to Antarctica. Finally, after a couple of days, Palin and the others fly on a 1953-built Douglas DC-6 plane to a base camp at Patriot Hills. While there, he again has to wait for the OK to go to the South Pole. Finally, after a day, he makes a final flight to the Amundsen-Scott South Pole Station and then, at 2:00 am New Zealand time on 4 December 1991, Palin sets foot on the South Pole. He joined a select group of people who have visited both the North and South Poles. He went through many ups and downs on this journey, but as Palin put it, "I'm glad we did it this way."