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Aussie adventurer breaks Antarctic record

A Gold Coast adventurer says he danced naked in Antarctica after breaking the Aussie record for the longest solo polar adventure across the continent.

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Source: AAP


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A Gold Coast adventurer taking a pink "boob-sled" across Antarctica has celebrated a record breaking feat by dancing naked around a tent.

Dr Geoff Wilson has just reached 1159.44km in his trek across the southern continent, beating the previous Australian record of 1130kms.

"I've just finished my best day yet, a run of 170.9 kilometres which has seen me reach a real milestone and set a new Australian record," the veterinarian said in a statement on Wednesday.

"I celebrated as any good Aussie would when there is no beer, and ran around the tent naked.

"I immediately regretted it and dived inside to defrost my feet."

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While Prince Harry and his team have reduced the distance they're travelling across Antarctica as part of a charity race, Dr Wilson is battling on.

He's hoping to raise $1 million for breast cancer charity the McGrath Foundation by taking the "boobsled" 3300kms across the ice.

With 1150kms left to go, the adventurer is determined to battle through aches, pains and frost bite to reach his goal.

He began the journey 28 days ago and so far has faced temperatures of minus 30C and icy winds of up to 130km/h.

But Dr Wilson says storms which forced him to spend seven out of the first 14 days inside a tent had presented the biggest challenge.

"When it's that cold, the wind is dense so it absolutely slams you and I genuinely wasn't sure if the tent would hold up but I worked feverishly to build an ice wall around it which saved me," he said.

He also lost a week's worth of food when his sled flipped and split open.

Dr Wilson began the trek on November 4 and expects the journey to take him up to 80 days.

But he admits he's got one eye on the record time for an Antarctic crossing of 64 days.

So far, his courageous efforts have raised $190,000 for the McGrath Foundation.


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