Heading south to Antarctica - is it for you?
In February 2016, I sailed a circumnavigation of South America and made several ports of call in the Falkland Islands, Argentina and Chile. Penguins were the order of the day most days from the Falkland’s onward, where daily encounters with penguins were the norm, along with dolphins and elephant seals.
Now, I understand that the Falkland Islands are an acquired taste and not on everyone’s holiday hot spot list, but we (the UK) did a grand job holding onto our little bastion not far from the Argentinian coast and are now the keepers of an invigorated penguin colony.
Did you know that back on 1971 there were just 31 breeding pairs of king penguin left on East Falkland? Today, there are more than 1,500 and it has become the second largest and most accessible colony of king penguins in the world.
Nothing prepares you for the noise these guys make, but a cuteness overload takes over as these majestic creatures dominate the rocky pathways, known as the "Penguin Highways", with their slightly clumsy waddle – set to topple at any time they somehow maintain their dignity as they propel themselves from land into water like a mass mutiny…to the cries of “Penguin Overboard!" It's a memory that still makes me smile.
From tiny Rock-hoppers with their spiky yellow headdress, to the gregarious surfing Gentoos (who are also really fast swimmers) and sport a Royal Ascot like fascinator white trim to their headdress. Onto the Magellan Penguins (my favourites) who are shy, territorial, full of attitude, but at the same time are really photogenic little chaps who I recall stood by the entrance to their burrows with defensive pride as I walked past them.
Of course, the Falklands is only the start of the adventure, and its not all about penguins. South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands (UK) and west to Ushuaia (Argentina) before the great adventure to Antarctica begins. Sailing the Drake Passage between the southern tip of South America, Cape Horn, an archipelago off the southernmost headland of the Tierra del Fuego in Chile, takes two days. When I sailed Cape Horn it was calm, in fact we went around several times - just because we could - and when I sailed the Drake Passage I truly felt I may happen to fall off the edge of the world at any time!
You sense that you are an explorer, from the minute your leave Ushuaia you are following in the wake of famous explorers like Nansen and Roald Amundsen from Norway and of course, Robert Scott and Shackleton from Great Britain. In fact, Hurtigruten has named their new hybrid Expedition ships after Roald Amundsen and Fridtjof Nansen – due to be delivered in May 2019 and June 2020 they are a celebration of all great polar explorers and a your open invitation to set sail and explore down under.
With today’s thermal technology, our cosy jackets, thermal underwear and factor 100 protection it’s easy to forget just what these very early 20th century explorers endured on their quest to reach the South Pole.
By contrast, we have it so easy today, all we have to do is book an Expedition Voyage and be led by experts into the Antarctic wonderland, in the warmth and comfort of small ships purpose-built for the job - responsible travel is the order of the day, let's go there and not leave a footprint!
But, who wants to go look at a pile of ice and snow on holiday anyway? The International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators, (who are the guys that ensure all Expedition ships operate to the highest standards of environmental “friendless”), reported that 38.5k people visited the southern ice-scape in 2016 rising to 44k in 2017 and set to increase over the new few years as newer Hybrid purpose built Expedition ships are brought into service
If seeing climate change first hand, and taking in the unique topography and oceanography of Antarctica is something that fires your imagination, then intermingle this with close encounters of Orcas, Arctic Turns, Elephant Seals and of course a cast of Penguins, and this could well be for you.
The 7th Continent is now easier than ever to reach in the austral summer (our winter) and it will reward you handsomely for your effort.
You will never forget the silence and the serene beauty of this place, the joy seen in the bright blue colour of a glacial ice or the thrill of crashing through an ice strewn sea on a rib boat. For me, this has to be the ultimate experience. It can be a demanding and unforgiving place at times, but it is also an extremely beautiful one too.
If you want to make a date with a Penguin or two and make some memories you will never forget; or you’d like to ask me about what it really means to be on the bottom of the world just get in touch.