Greg Mortimer

Arrival gate five-minute Q&A: Interviewing Cindy and Jeremy Gough

WHO // Greg Mortimer

WHY // Mortimer has climbed, among others, Mt Everest, K2 andAnnapurna. He also started Aurora Expeditions in Sydney as a small company dedicated to taking small groups of people to wild regions of the world.

Experience every Australian MUST have? Mawson’s Hut in Commonwealth Bay, on the coast of East Antarctica, roughly due south of Adelaide. Here you can get a sense of the power of real wilderness and the noble efforts of man, and feel the fragility of your own body and get a humbling sense of nature.

Best travel tip you’ve ever heard? Mike McDowell, who is a very good mate and mentor, said to me: “Go and hire an icebreaker and start taking people to Antarctica.”

Worst person ever dealt with on a cruise? Easy one: Mr Kobacker. Standing on the helicopter deck of an icebreaker, I have a frightful memory of him sending cigar-stained globs of saliva in my face as he threatened to sue me for not letting him get on the helicopter. He was standing a few inches from me as the snow dumped onto the heli-deck and the wind increased to gale force, but he was still blue with anger at not being allowed to fly. I guess he didn’t understand flying would be suicidal, but he did make my life hell for about 18 days thereafter. I have very great faith in the fundamental good in human nature, but he was a shocker.

Person you wish you could invite on a cruise? John Howard. I’d like to take him to Antarctica(maybe a one-way ticket) and show him what we risk losing if we don’t act soon on climate change.