Antarctica, the White Continent
A Voyage of Discovery

Imagine visiting a place you have only dared to dream about in the past - the remote, pristine and majestic frozen Continent of Antarctica. Antarctica is not an easy place to get to, but every year an increasing number of people visit this Frozen Continent, most going as a part of an organized expedition.

Cruising

In my opinion, cruising has and always will be one of the most pleasurable things to do in life. The opportunity to travel to distant lands and take in the diversity of culture and scenery from the comfort of a ship, is hard to resist! Cruising thru the spectacular icy waters of Antarctica is superb, bringing this incredible continent within reach of everyone. As we glide thru the water, the White Continent works its way into the hearts and minds of travellers young and old as we see the pristine wilderness of Antarctica for ourselves.

Antarctic cruises aren't like other more well known cruises to warmer climates with discos and dancing shows for entertainment. Cruising thru the Drake Passage - where the waters of the Atlantic, Pacific and Great Southern Oceans meet to create the Antarctic Convergence - you'll enjoy interesting lectures on the history, environment and wildlife of Antarctica by the onboard naturalists, as we set course for the Antarctic Peninsula.

We travel in the footsteps of the great explorers from the past: British whaler James Weddell (1824); British Navy’s James Ross (1840); Captain Robert Falcon Scott (1902); Ernest Shackleton (1907); Douglas Mawson (1909); Norwegian scientist Roald Amundsen (1911); and American Richard Byrd (1928-30). We see the landscape as they saw it - unchanged, remote and awe inspiring. Weather, wind, sea and ice conditions will determine our program and our final itinerary is decided by our Captain who always makes safety his first priority.

“You can't protect what you don't know."
Lars-Eric Lindblad leader of the first commercial Antarctica cruise in 1966

Hundreds of Icebergs As I was writing this article (November 2009), there was news of hundreds of icebergs that had calved from a larger iceberg (30 sq km or 11.6 sq miles in area) which had broken off the Ross Ice Shelf in 2000-2002. This larger iceberg had drifted about one quarter of the way around the Antarctic coastline and it was first sighted off Macquarie Island in early November. It is very rare to see icebergs from Macquarie Island as icebergs are not usually found in this area. Since ‘carving’, there are many icebergs varying in length from 50 metres (164 ft) to 2km (1.25 miles), drifting to the north-east in the direction of New Zealand.

There are now more than one hundred icebergs in the cluster about 350 km west of Macquarie Island.  The numbers will increase as large icebergs split into smaller sections and at the same time the smaller sections will disappear as they break-up further and melt. Some might even survive long enough that they may even get to New Zealand, as happened about 5 years ago.

Antarctica Facts and Figures

There are no indigenous people on Antarctica and the population varies from fewer than 1,000 in winter to nearly 35,800 in summer: 5,000 scientists from 27 of the countries party to the Antarctic Treaty, plus 30,765 tourists last season – 2008/2009. The surface area of Antarctica is 14 million square miles (36 million square kilometres). Antarctica surrounds the South Pole and the nearest land-mass is South America, which is over 620 miles (1,000km) from the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula.

Antarctic Treaty

Management of the Antarctic is organised through the legal framework of the Antarctic Treaty of 1959. Forty-three nations are now party to this agreement, and seven of those - the UK, Norway, Chile, France, Australia, Argentina and New Zealand - have historic claims on parts of the continent as national territory. The 1959 Antarctic Treaty preserves the status quo of the continent by neither recognizing nor rejecting the claims of these countries and by not allowing expansion in any way on the continent. Antarctica currently has no economic activity apart from offshore fishing and tourism, and these are run by other nations (i.e. not the continent of Antarctica).

Tourism in the Antarctic

Is mainly arranged by about 20 vessels carrying 45 to 280 passengers each and most ships depart from Ushuaia on the Island of Tierra del Fuego in Southern Argentina . The ships are ice strengthened and sail primarily to the Antarctic Peninsula region sometimes also including South Georgia and the Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas). There have been occasional voyages to Antarctica by larger passenger vessels (up to 960 tourists), and these conduct sightseeing cruises only - without landings. On our Antarctic trip we will go ashore in Zodiac boats, which are built just for this purpose. These inflatable outboard-powered boats are stable, safe and ideal for cruising amongst icebergs and landing in otherwise inaccessible areas. Our visits ashore are generally short (about 2-3 hours), and typically there are 1-3 landings per day with only 100 passengers at any one time allowed to be landed in any one place in Antarctica.

Our Schedule

Weather and ice, not clocks and calendars, set the schedule for our journey here. Antarctic visits are mainly concentrated at ice-free coastal zones over the Antarctic summer, the five-month period from November to March, as a bonus there is 20+ hours of daylight in high summer. The formation and movement of sea-ice outside of these times means that from March to November, Antarctica is left to the over-wintering scientific bases and their crews. In Winter, the pack ice extends over 620 miles (1,000 km) around the continent, it is almost permanently dark and temperatures can drop to as low as -90°C (-130°F)

"We should have the sense to leave just one place alone"
Sir Peter Scott Founder of the WWF and son of Robert Falcon Scott

Summer in Antarctica

November & Early December (Late Spring / Early Summer)

• Winter pack ice is starting to melt and break up. The scenery is white, clean and pristine with pack ice and giant icebergs.
• Courting season for penguins and seabirds - see spectacular courtship rituals. Seals visible sunbaking on ice flows.
• Elephant and fur seals establish their breeding territories.

Mid-December and January (Mid Summer)

• Normally Antarctica's warmest months.
• Longer days create great light conditions and fabulous photo opportunities at midnight.
• Antarctic chicks hatch.
• Receding ice allows for more exploration

 February and March (Late Summer)

• Whale sightings are at their best
• Penguin chicks start to fledge.
• Receding pack ice allows ships to explore further south.
• More fur seals in the Antarctic Peninsula

 If Antarctica is NOT on YOUR “Bucket List ’’, it should be! It is the experience of a lifetime. Two weeks is not long enough, but is a good introduction to the landscape, scenery and wildlife. I have been there 4 times and I can’t wait to go back for a fifth visit! Antarctica surpassed all my hopes, expectations and dreams - the books you read, the photos you see, NOTHING can prepare you for actually being there, in the most spiritual, beautiful landscape in the world.
Please come and join me on this incredible trip to the World’s Seventh Continent in 2011.

Best Wishes,

Helen