Well we’re back in Ushuaia after the most amazing trip to
Antarctica. It’s almost impossible to
describe in words except for WOW, but we’ll do our best!
Stage one is crossing the Drake Passage – 1000km between
Argentina and Antarctica and the first item on the packing list - motion
sickness tablets! Our crossing lasted
67.5 hours (longer than it should have been) as we experienced 6-8m seas and 92-102km
winds (keeping most people in their cabins).
The Bridge on the boat is open to the passengers and that
makes for a pretty special viewing spot, up there along with the captain and
his crew. The crew are amazing and
obviously very adept to getting around a moving ship. Prior to arriving in
Antarctica we had lectures/learning sessions on the penguins and seals we might
see and a bio-security session that covers the rules for Antarctica, what you
can and can’t do – effectively leave only footprints and take only memories. We also received instructions on how to get
on and off the zodiac boats for landings were issued our rubber boots and our
life jackets and then one final bio check which was to vacuum all our outer
gear – bags, pants, jackets and gloves to ensure that no seeds/grass or other
unwanted organisms make it onto the ice.
As mentioned it’s hard to describe the first time you
stand on the Continent. We walked up over a small snow mound that revealed the
most amazing sight – icebergs, penguins, mountains, snow and glaciers all in
one vista and 1000 times better than any picture can capture.
From here the ship navigates various channels and we
disembark twice a day for either a landing or a Zodiac cruise. The cruising also
included breaking through two ice shelves, the second one being at least 2
metres thick and 400 metres wide. The
ship has the highest ice breaking classification although the thick ice stopped
us twice and we had to back out and approach from a different angle.
The deeper south we go the better the views, the immense
size of the mountains and glaciers surrounding us is nothing short of amazing
and often find ourselves totally surrounded by giant glaciers that are easily
5-6 times the height of the ship (which is ~7 stories high and 92m long).
The deeper south we go the more ice, the temperatures are
reasonably constant around 2 degrees with the variable being the wind chill.
On our way back north we visited a couple of the Shetland
Islands, the first being Deception Island.
Here at Whalers Bay there is a well preserved old, and famous, whaling
station.
Antarctica in review:
Antarctic Continent – all land mass and ice shelves 60 degrees South
More ice and glaciers than you can ever imagine… 84% of the worlds ice
We have seen / done:
Three types of ice – Sea, Glacier and ice shelves
Four species of penguin – Gentoo, Adelie, Chinstrap and Macaroni
Four species of seal – Leopard, Crabeater, Weddell and Elephant
Three specials of whale – Minky, Humpback and Orca
Many species of bird including Albatross, Giant Petrel, Skuas,
Antarctic Swallows and Blue eyed shags.
Eight landings – two on the Antarctic Continent and the other 6 on
Islands within the Peninsula
Three zodiac cruises
Each day was amazing, and at the end of those days we couldn’t imagine
that they would get any better – and they did.
Best moment – first landing on
the Continent and walking over the hill to the most amazing vista
Worst moment – crossing the Drake
Passage in the first 24 hours (6-8m waves) and seasickness
Most special – Neko harbour
and its serenity
Most surprising – the ship sailing
through and breaking a 2m thick, 400m wide ice shelf
Weird moment – having to transfer
zodiacs in the middle of Andvord Bay after the fuel line broke
Simply just WOW...
