If you think it has been cold in Otago lately, spare a thought for Blake McDonald and Peter O'Sullivan.
The Dunedin builders are at Scott Base as part of a three-month Apprent-ICE programme, supporting the major reconfiguration of the Hillary Field Centre.
The duo arrived in the chilly climes in mid-January and were supposed to return on April 18, but they have since decided to stay on, well into the depths of the Antarctic winter.
Mr McDonald (21) and Mr O'Sullivan (23) said they wanted to stay so they could complete stage one of the project, which involved demolition and reconfiguration of the internal space within the 1400sq m two-storey centre warehouse.
The $4 million project will be completed over the next two construction seasons.
Their work has included laying 7500 paving blocks for the floor, putting up new walls, framing with steel studs, putting up plasterboard sheets and installing five upstairs triple-glazed windows in a PVC frame.
''Pallet after pallet of frozen Gib board just keeps on rolling out of the containers for us to put in the walls and ceilings,'' Mr McDonald said.
''It's great to see things taking shape and beginning to see what the Hillary Field Centre will finally look like after it's complete.''
Mr O'Sullivan said the weather had been extremely cold. Temperatures at Scott Base had plummeted to -48degC in recent weeks.
He said it made for an ''interesting time'' working in a massive uninsulated hangar on the edge of the sea ice.
''We're working inside, with multiple layers of clothing, insulated overalls and boots, and even then, if you're not working near the heater, you're still in pain.
''Now that we're pretty much in 24-hour darkness, the work can get pretty tiring.
''We're currently focusing on indoor work, such as wall lining, hanging doors and joinery.
''With no TV here, we do a lot of walking in our spare time. There is so much to see.''
The duo were selected for the trip of a lifetime as a result of their successes in training for the profession.
Mr McDonald was first in class in the 2012 Otago Polytechnic level 4 carpentry programme, and Mr O'Sullivan was 2013 Southern region master builder apprentice of the year.
Initially, only one person was supposed to be selected for the Apprent-ICE programme, but the calibre of the large number of applicants was so high, the opportunity was extended to two people.
