KEY POINTS:
Kiwi adventurers Kevin Biggar and Jamie Fitzgerald, who are attempting to trek to the South Pole and back unaided, have a special treat lined up for Christmas Day - a tablespoon of vodka and a small piece of fudge each.
The pair are three-quarters of the way through
their world record attempt and are on schedule to reach the South Pole on New Year's Eve.
And it will be a white Christmas like no other for the former rowing champions.
"We will be doing the same on Christmas Day as previous days - just walking. We've got a couple of treats, a tablespoon of vodka and a piece of fudge," said Mr Biggar, 37, via cellphone from Antarctica.
He said they would be talking to family and friends, which was the most important thing. "We've got a little Santa we'll be hanging up and Jamie's got Jingle Bells on the iPod ... hopefully we will be dashing through the snow," said the Howick resident.
The pair, who will cover a total distance of 2200km, are dragging their supplies on sleds and averaging 25km a day. They began their trek in mid-November and hope to finish by the end of January.
Their aim is to complete the first unsupported trek to the South Pole and back and the first all-New Zealand expedition to the Pole for 50 years, and to become the first New Zealand team to reach the South Pole overland and unsupported.
At the end of each gruelling day the duo are exhausted. "We are sort of wobbling around a bit with slurred speech, but that's partly the cold as well because the cold tends to freeze your lips a bit," said Mr Biggar.
The temperature had dropped to minus 23C over the past few days. "It's been a lot of physical effort. Long, long days. But we are optimistic now as we get closer to the South Pole. We are starting to see a light at the end of the tunnel. It's such a huge task, but we are chipping away at it each day."
And what motivates them? "You either sit in your tent and freeze and die or you can walk to the Pole."
Mr Fitzgerald, 27, said they were burning more energy than they were taking in.
"For our diet we wanted as much energy per gram of food as possible. During the day our diet consists of butter, salami, chocolate, oil, a lot of nuts, but unfortunately there's just not enough of everything," said Mr Fitzgerald, who comes from Tauranga.
The men walk in shifts of 90 minutes, then have a 10-minute break.
"In each of those breaks we've become strategists on how many nuts we can have and how big a piece of salami and how many squares of chocolate.
"Some days I feel like the exercise is eating away at my muscle and fat and other days I feel pretty good. Our diet remains the same but our emotions fluctuate a little bit. But I'm sure we are losing weight."
Mr Biggar described the landscape as "rutted and burrowed" due to the wind. "The landscape often plays tricks on you. A little hill appears close but it's not close at all, it takes you three hours to get there.
"Very occasionally you get to the top of a hill and can see a vast plain, but most of the time it's like we are walking in a saucer. It's like the edges tilt up everywhere you look."
The trek, known as the Thermal-Heart NZ Antarctic Expedition, is financed through sponsors and will cost about $400,000.
