The White Continent

Another adventure added.....Antarctica was on my Travel Wish-List and if I'm honest a place I didn't think I'd ever visit. Somewhere I would always dream of reaching.

My wish did come true and in 2022 we sailed on the luxury Scenic Eclipse from Ushuaia to the Antarctic Peninsula - 3 days sailing across the Drake Passage, 7 days itinerary to be advised and then 2 days sailing back to Ushuaia.

It’s hard to describe Antarctica.  It's so vast, majestic and very beautiful.

We faced all kinds of weather  whilst there which I felt made my experience complete:

High winds through the Lemaire Channel with the ship breaking through ice.

Huge snowflakes whilst walking with penguins and watching them porpoising in the water! 

Blue skies and glorious sunshine  showing off picture postcard scenery and which also meant spotting whales. One humpback rounded out and fluked it's tail about 5 metres from our zodiac! I think I stopped breathing whilst it passed by!

Sleet, rain and cold spells too.

The Discovery Team on board Scenic Eclipse were fantastic.  They took such good care of everyone getting on & off the zodiacs, ensuring we got to see wildlife and stunning scenery on our trips out and providing us with  invaluable information. We got to see it all – humpbacks & killer whales, all 4 types of seals, 3 types of penguins, two leopard sea kills with a penguin, leopard seal swimming around our zodiac!….It was just amazing and some heart-beating moments!

The hiking & trekking was something I looked forward to. You need to be able to balance and walk on snow so ski poles were provided  to make it easier. Walking on fresh snow and following penguin footprints was a treat. A high-light for me was walking amongst  penguins on Deception Island. Possibly up to 200,000 penguins! Penguins as far as the eye could see. It was a 'David Attenborough' moment.

Zodiac sight-seeing and landings were exciting with the anticipation of what we might see.  After a few hours of  fun it was great to return to the ship where there was always a Baileys Hot chocolate waiting! The culinary experience was great with a wide choice of restaurants offering Indian, Korean/Asian, Sushi and Mediterranean dining. The suites extremely comfortable with all mod-cons. There was a very relaxed & informal atmosphere on board. Expedition cruising can  truly offer both luxury & adventure.

My trip was complete when I accepted the challenge to do the Polar Plunge,  jumping into the ice-cold polar waters of the Southern Ocean!  At -1.2 degrees. Brrrrrrr and exhilarating!

Antarctica offered the Trip of a Life-time. It was epic! I will never forget the experiences we had on the Scenic Eclipse and my adventure on the Seventh Continent, it was the final continent I had left to visit.  Mission accomplished!