Conquering the Arctic

This is part two of a series focusing on Peter Bland of Wattle Bank Farm

Introduction to Antarctica 

“ON THE vessel was a man called David Hempleman-Adams,” Peter Bland explained.

“He had done the Seven Summits and was attempting the four poles; the magnetic poles and the geographic poles. We were doing the South Magnetic Pole with him on this one…

“On Valentine’s Day, the yacht got trapped in the ice – a sheet had dropped over the side in the night with the engine going which had led to the propeller being fouled.”

Hours later subjected to the harsh Antarctic conditions the mainsail ripped; effectively the boat was a sitting duck, trapped in the ice six kilometres from Boat Harbour in Commonwealth Bay.

A few more perilous encounters and Peter consulted the ships doctor, Ollie, to see how long he would give Peter to dive over the side and cut the rope free.

“He said, ‘five minutes.’

“I went back to the navigation table and said, ‘I’m volunteering to dive over the side and cut the rope free’. David said, ‘are you serious?’ and I said, ‘I’m serious but not stupid. I want three things. I want the dive into the ice filmed, I want the international film rights to the footage (hence the documentary) and thirdly, I want you to invite me to join you to the North Magnetic Pole next year.’

“If you do this you can have whatever you want’, David replied.

“We drove the yacht in behind an iceberg, strapped the knife to my hand with electrical tape, and with no wetsuits on board I just wore my sailing suit, a dry suit; and I went over the side.”

It took three dives for Peter to swim 12-feet diagonally down.

“I was out of breath and so cold I couldn’t speak. They were going to pull me out; and I cut the rope free.

“The next day we stepped foot in Antarctica – it was amazing.”

The experience was transformational.

“A couple of very profound things happened to me that shaped my whole life.

“That very day with David beneath the southern lights, “I said, with emphasis on the word I, ‘I’m gonna be the first Australian to the North Magnetic Pole.’

“He turned to me and said, ‘is that all?’

“I gave him all my reasons and justifications – I’m a kid from the bush and I had heart surgery when I was a kid… and he said, ‘no Blue, turn your life into a cause, a cause which is bigger than you.”

That moment changed Peter’s life and led him to his endeavours ever since – adventures with a purpose. 

“Adventures with a purpose are life changing…

“I came back to Australia – I had inflamed feet and migraines, and I had a bit of frostnip from the cold, but I was so excited because I was going to the north.

“I went to England and met with David. We climbed Snowdonia with the other team members for the forthcoming trip. 

“I was so full of myself, and I come back here to Australia. I’m pulling a tyre up and down Albert Park Beach simulating what a sled would be like, and I collapsed on the beach…”

Rushed to hospital, doctors discovered Peter had an aneurysm.

“I had collapsed from pneumonia; my aorta was three times diameter and was pushing my lung across. I was very fortunate I got pneumonia and the radiologist picked it up…

“We’re sitting there with a top vascular surgeon, and he said he has to cut it out.

“‘Okay doc, can you fix it tomorrow or leave it for six months?’ He said, ‘no, why?’ and I explained I was going to be the first Australian to the pole and was leaving in March.”

Explaining the risks and fact he was not going anywhere, Peter was dejected. His hopes and dreams were pinned on being the first.

“I reached out to David in the UK, and he said two things: when the going gets tough the tough gets going, so get going and he reminded me about a conversation around good causes in your life.”

Fast forward, and a conversation with the Heart Foundation later, Peter was made the first Aussie Heart Hero.

“I was invited to give talks; one of the first I ever gave as a professional speaker was to Sandringham Primary School, encouraging kids to eat healthy and walk 30 minutes a day.

“All of a sudden, my trajectory toward polar exploration took off – because it wasn’t about me. I was raising money and awareness for the National Heart Foundation.

“We headed up to northwest Canada in March…”

Missing Hempleman-Adams’ trip, David assisted in facilitating Peter’s journey to the North Pole in 1998, 12 months later.

“We were walking in the frozen sea from Resolute Bay – it’s not the end of the earth, but they say you can see it from there.

“Carrying 80 kilos and our sleds, we’d walk about 10 nautical miles a day. We were walking through sastrugi – when ice goes vertical…”

From a prune every 15 minutes to break up the day to reciting ‘The Man from Snowy River’ or ‘Waltzing Matilda’ the days were far from an easy adventure.

With two of his teammates falling through the ice in boots and radio communications failing near the magnetic pole, thankfully realised en masse preventing the rescue plane from coming out in search, adventures were certainly had, and work arounds found.

Especially when the gun froze (it was polar bear season), the lithium batteries (supposedly proven against the cold) succumbed to the temperatures and the teams’ sleeping bags were not tested in

Antarctic conditions (as promised) when the weather dropped to minus 30 degrees and permeated the sleeping bags.

And as part of his Heart Foundation work, Peter agreed to wear a heart rate monitor.

“We didn’t get attacked by a bear, they saw us but would scamper off, nor did we have to use the flares.

“We were on the ice for 28 days, 780 kilometres trekking on the frozen sea. I got there carrying Sir Douglas Mawson’s flag; the first Australian to the South Magnetic Pole in 1909. I was the first Australian to the North Magnetic Pole in 1998…

“And the energy that I got wasn’t from the food, but the school kids around Australia measuring how many times my heart was beating; because I don’t have an aorta, I have a synthetic one…”

Corporate workshops and public speaking events filled Peter’s schedule upon his return.

“The summer of 2000, going into January 2001, Jay and I would play tennis on Thursday nights at Royal South Yarra Tennis Courts, and we’d take a chart, and plot a scheme for our next adventure.

“The next big adventure we saw was to attempt the world first crossing of the Antarctic Peninsula…”

A multi-part series on Peter Bland’s fascinating life tune in next week for part three – the Antarctic Peninsula.

And whilst some may prefer to read adventures in print, if you would prefer to join Peter on his next adventure ‘Northern Enlightenment September 2023’ head to leadershipgroup.com.au for more details on the 14-day adventure to the Arctic’s research labs and polar stations.