"Guess where we are?"

Position: 90° 00 00S, 000° 00 00W

We arrived at the South Pole, after 11 days and 222km at 7pm GMT (4pm our time), to a wonderful reception. We've already had a cup of tea and I feel a million dollars.

How was your last day?

It's been very cold today, with a cold wind. The weather has perked up since yesterday, it's been much clearer and sunny.

We started an hour early today, we were up at 5am and on the move at 8am so were walking for eight hours.

What did you most want to eat or drink when you reached the Pole?

I would most like to drink green tea, and to eat a bowl of fresh fruit.

What was your best and worst moment of the whole expedition?

The high of the journey was the fact that I reckon I am the world record holder, at age 58, to have walked 222km at 4000m above sea level, at an average temperature of -30°C, completely unsupported and to have got here over 11 days in pretty good time AND to have absolutely no malfunctions in my body whatsoever. Every bit of my body; my bowels, my prostate, my legs, my arms. I have no frostbite, apart from a few nips on my fingers.

So that must be the most remarkable highlight that anybody could achieve! I can't believe that anybody in the world has managed to achieve what I have, so I feel absolutely elated about that.

There weren't actually any low points, in the sense that it was just an extraordinary experience.

We had some really bad weather days and we had some bad times like the stove didn't work one day...but really there were no low points! We had a really enjoyable time. We were in a rhythm, apparently Conrad will award me the scouts badge for tent erection but I failed on my knot tying badge!

But otherwise, everything has worked absolutely perfectly and I think we've worked brilliantly as a team together.

How long have you been able to see the Pole?

Aah now there's a question!

Last night, I got out of the tent after we'd set everything up (in order to do what one has to do!) and I said to Conrad "good Lord, there's something coming towards me" and he said "oh it looks like some kite surfers".

It was way, way off in the distance and I thought 'he's telling me a bunch  of porkies' because there was a great big black thing at the end of it which wasn't moving. But anyway, I let him go along with it.

Basically, we have actually been able to see the Pole station since 20 km away which is basically where we camped last night, and then we've been able to see it on and off today as the cloud has come in and gone out, all the way through the day. But it's taken us all day to walk from last night's camp to the Pole...that's the enormity of the place we're at!

How do you feel?

As we walked into [South Pole] camp I said to Conrad: this is extraordinary, to have spent 11 days at -30°C, completing a marathon a day and dragging a sledge, and then to arrive here mentally and physically absolutely in peak of condition, is incredible.

I mean I don't feel tired, I don't feel mentally exhausted. its just amazing and I think its a combination of Conrad's perfect planning, perfect guiding, perfect organisation of the food...and just general discipline and management of routine every day which has worked extremely well.

So, here I am... I don't feel as if I've done anything for the last 11 days and yet I know I've been through the most unbelievable ordeal.

Conrad reckons only about 24 people have actually walked the last two degrees, and about a further 200 people have walked from the coast to the Pole, so I'm in a very small group of humanity anyway.



I have to say an enormous thank you to everyone who has supported the trip, it has been a seriously amazing experience and your messages have kept me going.