Yeoman is leaving his post at the Otago Daily Times this week to embark on a three-week expedition to South Georgia island with the Antarctic Heritage Trust.
The 22 aspiring explorers will spend two weeks sailing around the subantarctic island to honour the 100th anniversary of Ernest Shackleton’s final expedition, aboard Quest, which began and ended on South Georgia from 1921 to 1922.
"It’s pretty cool to have both of those historic links to polar exploration, and where his final quest finished."
The ship-based expedition is timed to visit the island in early spring, at the beginning of the wildlife migration and breeding cycle for many of the island’s species.
South Georgia has a reputation for the greatest density of wildlife on Earth — with estimates of 30million breeding birds, including 7million penguins, 2million fur seals and 50% of the world’s southern elephant seals.
The crew members would cruise in Zodiac boats, visit king penguin rookeries, seal colonies and many historic sites from Shackleton’s expedition, Mr Yeoman said.
They would also visit Shackleton’s final resting place at the small cemetery in Grytviken, following his death during the Quest expedition.
Each of the 22 explorers would be divided into groups, focusing on a different project.
Mr Yeoman will be filming a documentary, alongside three other crew members, that will focus on the expedition and the stories of the crew members.
"There’s a pretty incredible team of just a really talented bunch of people who are excited ... Even if we weren’t travelling to South Georgia, just the group of people themselves is inspiring enough."
Following the expedition, he said they hoped to screen the documentary in film festivals.
Mr Yeoman said he was excited for the trip, despite a few jitters.
"It’s a stunning place with incredible scenery ... And yeah, nervous because it’s very far from everything.
"For filming a doco, you need to have everything lined up and make sure you have all the right equipment — because you can’t turn around and pop back to New Zealand to get a spare battery or whatever."
Mr Yeoman said he would play it by ear as to what came next, following the expedition.
"I would love to continue down that line of outdoor wildlife or adventure docos ... I see video as a really powerful way to tell important stories and uplift important kaupapa.
"Whether it goes down that path, or humanitarian advocacy, which I’m also passionate about, because the two don’t often overlap ... If there is an opportunity where they do, I’ll jump on that."
