The key to Polar navigation is calculating the position of the sun at known times of the day, unless you have satellites overhead that, through triangulation, send signals to a portable electronic device called a GPS unit.

Navigating their way to the South Pole was a demanding task often made difficult by the weather conditions. Responsibility for navigation lay initially with Lieutenant Evans and after the return of the final support party, Lieutenant Bowers. Conventional Naval methods of navigation were used. Scott attended a lecture by Hinks in 1909 on how to navigate to the South Pole. He ignored this advice. The equipment used for navigation was: 4-inch theodolite chronometer watches sundial liquid compass hypsometer aneroid sledgemeters No sextant or artificial horizon was taken. The theodolite was the key instrument for identifying the expedition's position on the earth's surface. The theodolite and its tripod weighed 14 lbs. and were specially designed for polar conditions. Sun sightings were the basis of the theodolite readings which generally were taken in the morning and at noon. At noon, when the sun was at its highest point overhead, the theodolite would measure its steepest angle. The chronometer watches became important for recording the timing of the noon sun as well as other sightings and two watches were carried. They were wound twice a day and the final night-time call before sleep was "wind watches". At one stage it was discovered that one watch had lost 26 minutes. The sledgemeters gave a measurement for distance covered but there were problems with their accuracy on the Beardmore Glacier and the Polar Plateau where they struck rough terrain. Two instruments were helpful for establishing the direction of a day's journeying. The bowl compass could be used further from Cape Evans (and so magnetic South) but there were often significant variations with consecutive readings. This meant that the appropriate compass direction had to be regularly recalculated. A sundial designed by Scott and made out of three-ply wood was useful and could determine the time if the meridian was known. At other times the navigator used shadows, direction of the sastrugi and cloud patches for direction purposes. Using these to set the course for the day contributed to snow-blindness because the navigator had to strain to keep them in view. Once measurements from the instruments had been made there were a range of mathematical calculations to be made. These would have taken at least half an hour and were done in the tents. "Sledging tables" were carried to help with the calculations. These included tables for refraction and parallax correction. Mistakes were occasionally made but picked up by checking. Altitude was measured by a hypsometer and aneroid. The hypsometer established altitude by measuring temperature. A fall in temperature as the party climbed was matched to a corresponding rise in elevation. (the temperature decline with altitude (= the adiabatic lapse rate) is approximately 1° C per 300m). Unfortunately the thermometer in the hypsometer broke during the glacial ascent. On the Barrier an advance party led the way leaving snow cairns as markers for the main party following. Navigation on the return journey was made easier by the use of these cairns. Depots were marked by cairns with a black flag on a bamboo pole.

Eric, Peter and Jon are all seasoned navigators, experienced in route selection amongst crevassed terrain and skilled in the use of map and compass and Global Positioning Systems. Eric was the principal navigator during his expeditions across two of the world's largest icecaps. GPS The GPS will serve as the primary navigation instrument. A second GPS will be carried as a spare. The Garmin 12XL handheld GPS is widely regarded as the best hand-held available, and is recommended by the Australian surveying body - AUSLIG. A number of the GPS's functions will be utilised. Create a Route Storing projected waypoints will create a route to the Pole. The Route will give pre-expedition information on Total Distance and Bearings. Position Fix To determine the current position of the team. Following a Route - The GPS will navigate to each projected waypoint (depot), giving information such as Current Position, Distance to Waypoint, Time to Waypoint, Bearing (magnetic) to Waypoint, Speed Over Ground. Marking Positions - Actual waypoint positions (depots) will be entered en route, and projected waypoints will be modified or deleted. Up to 500 waypoints can be stored. A comprehensive route up the glacier will be stored in the event of low visibility on the return journey. TracBack - This function reverses the outward route ensuring that an accurate return route is followed.