Global warming

Antarctica: “like a crisp autumn day in Queenstown”

Radio New Zealand laughs off the truth

You could almost have missed it.

At the beginning of his chat-show for the educated, Jim Mora usually asks his guests what they've been up to.

One of his guests yesterday was journalist Finlay MacDonald. He described his family trip to Europe and then you can hear the impatence to move on. Then it comes: “Aren't you going to ask me about my trip to Antarctica?”

Findlay says he had been down to visit Scott Base and the ice core drilling program and was writing some articles about his time there.

How was it? It was hard, Finlay said to find the words to express the awesomeness of the place. “We know all about it – 'cold and white'” opines Mora.

“You're hard to impress, you two. Actually it wasn't.

Then Findlay comes out with what he clearly wanted to communicate: well no it wasn't. The temperatures were above zero, up to 6F. The runway was slushy and the Hercules had sleds on.

Antarctica felt like “a crisp, autumn day in Queenstown”

Clearly, there was important information that Finlay MacDonald wanted to convey and Jim Mora and the team was not of a mind to let him do this – so the whole affair was laughed off and they moved on to 'more important affairs' – like cars and warrants-of-fitness.

It is worthwhile listening to the first couple of minutes of the programme.

Don't bother with the rest.