Explore Hillary’s Hut - Antarctica in VR

Join us and step inside Sir Ed’s Antarctic hut and find out what life was like living in the world’s most extreme environment as these men furthered science and exploration.

About the VR Experience

There will be two VR stations setup. One VR station will be for 'walk-ups'. You are welcome to show up and try it. The other VR station will be for 'booked sessions'. If you are coming in especially for the experience, we recommend you book a specific time slot by registering for a ticket to reserve a specific time.

The experience takes about 10 minutes and there are hygiene protocols in place, ensuring sets are cleaned between each user.

About the project

Antarctic Heritage Trust invites you to explore Sir Edmund Hillary’s Antarctic hut through a new, ground-breaking virtual reality experience. In partnership with Auckland University of Technology (AUT) the Trust has developed this virtual reality experience to celebrate New Zealand’s first presence in Antarctica.

Once the scan data was collected in Antarctica it took more than 4000 hours of development to create this unique VR experience. This large scale project brings Antarctica to people in a way never seen before. Auckland-based VR company Staples VR helped bring the project to life. 

Hillary’s Hut was initially used as a base for the party of 23 men engaged in exploration and important scientific research as part of the Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition (TAE) and the New Zealand party of the International Geophysical Year (IGY).

Hillary’s Hut Antarctica – Virtual Reality Experience is proudly sponsored by Ryman Healthcare (Principal Sponsor) and Dulux New Zealand.

View the project webpage for more information.