Laura Andrews was one of three young explorers in the 2022 Antarctic Heritage Trust’s Inspiring Explorers Expedition™.  The expedition skiied  1000kms to the Geographic South Pole to celebrate 150 years since the birth of legendary polar explorer Roald Amundsen.

Laura is currently a firefighter and medical first responder by day, working for Auckland Airport Emergency Services.   She started her career volunteering with the Waipu Fire Station.  For Laura speaking at the dinner was an excuse to come home and reconnect with locals.  Having grown up, educated at Bream Bay College and playing sport locally meant that Laura was a familiar face.

It was an honour to hear about the Antarctic Heritage Trust expedition to the South Pole.  With four others explorers Laura trekked for 50 days from the Ronne Ice Shelf to the pole. Laura described how carefully they had to plan for the journey and how cautious they needed to be about avoiding even small injuries in that hostile environment. They couldn’t push themselves too hard, as this would produce sweat, which would freeze inside their nine layers of clothing.

Laura said she had never been the fastest, the strongest or the best in any of her sporting activities but “I always turned up and always gave it a go.”  She thrives on pushing her physical and mental boundaries. She is a big believer in the ‘anything is possible with a bit of hard work’ philosophy, and feels inspired by previous explorers.

If you have always wondered if you should give something a try then maybe take inspiration from Laura's life.  Always remember to step out of your comfort zone and you may just find you are on the adventure of a lifetime.