South Africa's SANAE-IV base is located on the top of the
Vesleskarvet (Norwegian for "little barren mountain")
nunatak in Queen Maud Land, Antarctica. This outcrop of rock is
about 200km from the edge of the ice shelf.
South Africa has had a permanent presence in Antarctica since
1959 when it took over the Norwegian base. This became SANAE-I. It
was followed by SANAE-II and SANAE-III, all of which were
constructed on the ice shelf. The latter was decommisioned during
the summer of 1994, at which time it was buried deep beneath the
snow.
The vista from the SANAE-IV base consists of snow and ice
stretching to the distant horizon, regularly penetrated by mountain
peaks. The base itself consists of three linked blocks, each of
which has two levels. The length of the base is 176m. The entire
base stands on stilts 4m above the rocky surface.
The over-wintering team at the base is usually comprised of the
following:
- medical doctor,
- scientists,
- meteorologist,
- electrical engineer,
- electronic engineer,
- mechanical engineer,
- diesel mechanics.
These intrepid folk spend the entire year at the base. Every summer
a horde of additional people converge on the base for the take over
(new team replacing the old).