Australians plan iceberg party

A group of Australians is planning to helicopter out to an iceberg off the New Zealand coast, camp on it while they carve out an ice bar, and then stage a party - complete with a DJ who will produce a music track.

Reynold Bierman, 38, a Sydney builder, told NZPA today his team was still firming up details of the project.

Glaciologists would make a safety assessment of the potential for their chosen iceberg to suddenly split or turn turtle, he said.

A flotilla of icebergs, one estimated to be about 30m high, has been tracked drifting out of Antarctica and up past Australia's Macquarie Island, 1000km southwest of New Zealand.

They are thought to have come from the break-up of part of the Ross Sea Ice Shelf in 2000 - which also was the source of a group of icebergs which reached New Zealand three years ago.

The first batch in the latest flotilla passed the Auckland Islands, 400km south of Bluff last week.

Within the next 10 days several are expected to come close enough to the mainland for a likely site for the "ice party" to be chosen.

After carving out an "ice bar" inside the iceberg the men want to fly in party guests for several hours of music and drinks.

One member of the group, Phil Meadows, hopes to create a new entry for the Guinness book of records by producing a music track on the iceberg.

The group is negotiating to provide a live feed from the iceberg to an Australian TV channel (Channel 9) and is planning internet promotions on YouTube, MySpace and FaceBook, using a satellite phone.

It is predicting 50 million "views" via broadcasts, print and social networking websites.

The group has claimed one part of the project will be to boost awareness about climate change.

But Australian glaciologist Neal Young has cautioned against linking the appearance of the icebergs in New Zealand waters to global warming. He said the phenomenon depended as much on weather patterns and ocean currents as on the rate at which icebergs broke away from Antarctic ice shelves.

Three years ago, a flotilla of icebergs - including one 1km long - drifted to Southland's Catlins coast, with some coming as close as 25km to land for the first time since 1931.

Aviation companies ran sightseeing trips, with one Otago helicopter company charging $500 a seat for flights to the ice.

Several publicity stunts were organised, including fitting crampons on the feet of a celebrity sheep, Shrek, so that it could be shorn on an iceberg.

- NZPA