I still don't see the connection between doing AKL-LAX and taking a DC10 way south for some VFR.
There isn't one. Which is why that although the direct cause of this accident was pilot error; not all the blame can go to Collins and some sympathy must be directed his way.
He, like all Air New Zealand pilots was trained for commercial transport ops. Extrapolating this to commercial sightseeing ops in Antarctica with only an afternoon's training defies belief. As does the perception that these flights were so routine, that the requirement for previous Antarctic experience could be done away with.
Simply put, the airline placed their crews in a situation where errors were more likely to occur. They simply weren't trained for what they were being asked to do.