On 15 June 1910, Wilson set sail from Cardiff on the , as chief of the scientific staff of Scott's final journey, the "Terra Nova" Expedition. After making stops in Madeira, South Trinidad, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand, the "Terra Nova" was trapped for three weeks by pack ice, and finally arrived at Cape Evans in McMurdo Sound in early January 1911. A base camp hut was built and three weeks later work began to establish the supply depots in preparation for the journey to the South Pole the following austral spring. Deteriorating weather conditions and weak, unacclimatised ponies meant that the main supply point, One Ton Depot, was laid further north of its planned location at 80°S, something that was to prove critical during the return journey from the Pole the following year.