Earlier in the year, a SoldSmart.com.au staff member visited the Antarctic Peninsula. We'd like to share with you the story of that journey.
We boarded the French cruise ship l'Austral at the port town of Ushuaia. Ushuaia is situated at the southern tip of Argentina, in the Tierra Del Fuego region, which means 'Land of Fire'.
The ship l'Austral was built in 2011, and was purposely designed to travel to the polar regions. It's much smaller than other cruise ships, and only has the capacity for 264 passengers. Her sister ship, le Boreal, has an identical design.
We set off from Ushuaia in the afternoon, cruised past Cape Horn, and before long we were in the notorious Drake Passage. The Drake is well-known as one of the most turbulent water-ways in the world, which we quickly found out for ourselves. Vomit bags were liberally dotted around the ship, which were quickly snapped up by pallid seasickness victims.
We spent two days in the Drake Passage. On the third day, we finally saw land. What an amazing experience it was to first set eyes on the islands of the Antarctic Peninsula!
Although the weather was cold, cloudy, and windy, and the sea conditions were still choppy, the expedition leaders readied the Zodiacs for our first landing in the Antarctic. We were separated into groups, donned our heavy parkas, life vests, boots, and waterproof trousers, and boarded the Zodiacs for our landing on Half Moon Island.
The Zodiac ride to the island was very rough. The water was terribly choppy, and each time the Zodiac hit a wave, freezing water would splash into the boat, soaking the passengers, and chilling us all to the bone. The near-blizzard conditions whipped wind and snow into our face and eyes. Very unpleasant! We were all relieved when we finally landed on the island, but unfortunately, even on land the conditions weren't that much better. But it was worth it!
Visiting Half Moon Island was like stepping onto another planet. We'd never experienced such pristine isolation. In the freezing conditions, we were all too aware that l'Austral and the Zodiacs were our only lifeline. If anything were to go wrong, we'd be in serious trouble. Visiting this kind of place instills in one's heart a true sense of respect for the natural world.
Thousands of Chinstrap Penguins live on Half Moon Island. Chinstrap Penguins are easily identified by the unique linear marking that starts from the back of the head, and goes around the neck. Hence the term 'chinstrap'. David Attenborough never mentions this, but when you visit penguin colonies, you really do know it, because the smell is almost unbearable. Penguins love to poop everywhere. They have no sense of hygiene. Wherever you step, you're stepping in penguin poop, which is one reason we were given large, waterproof boots to wear. Penguin feces smells like a combination of fresh bird poop and rotting fish. Not pleasant in the least! But the smell aside, it was truly a privilege to be able to experience these beautiful creatures in their natural habitat.
It is amazing how such small creatures can survive in such harsh conditions. A human being, even with a thick parka, gloves, hat, waterproof equipment, could likely only survive exposed in that kind of place for perhaps a day. Even with gloves, my fingers were numb. My gloves were soaked from the waves, and I imagined that if I stayed for a few hours more, I'd eventually end up with frostnip, and eventually frostbite.
The conditions made taking photographs very difficult. Every few seconds I had to wipe the camera with my gloved hands, because the howling winds would splash snow all over the lens!
We were only on the island for about thirty minutes when a loud fog horn sounded. It was l'Austral warning us that we had to come back urgently. The expedition guides explained that the conditions were unsafe, and that if we waited much longer the seas would become too rough for the Zodiacs to safely return to the ship.
We were quickly taken back to the Zodiacs, and sped back towards the ship. The return journey was much worse than the outbound journey. The Zodiac leapt over the waves, and we had to tightly grip the side ropes to prevent ourselves from falling into the freezing waters. By now we were completely soaked. Fortunately I'd had the foresight to put my camera into two zip-lock bags!
As we approached the ship, I ran through a few quick calculations in my mind. If I were to fall into the sea, I would probably die of hypothermia within 4 or 5 minutes. Given that the nearest Zodiac was about 2 minutes away, and it would take perhaps 20 seconds for them to register any emergency message, and another 60 seconds to drag me out of the water, and a further 2 minutes to get me back to the ship, well, it's highly possible that falling into the water in these choppy, freezing seas would end up with me dying, in spite of all the people around us.
It's yet another reason to respect the power of nature, especially the Antarctic.
Fortunately, we made it back to the ship without anything untoward happening. We went through quarantine, the disinfection station, removed our soaked gloves and parkas, and went to enjoy a hot cup of hot chocolate and copious quantities of French pastry. What a wonderful first day in Antarctica!
The next installment - journey to Port Lockrory, Lemaire Channel!
We boarded the French cruise ship l'Austral at the port town of Ushuaia. Ushuaia is situated at the southern tip of Argentina, in the Tierra Del Fuego region, which means 'Land of Fire'.
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| Ushuaia is situated at the southern tip of Argentina |
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| Ushuaia as seen from the port |
The ship l'Austral was built in 2011, and was purposely designed to travel to the polar regions. It's much smaller than other cruise ships, and only has the capacity for 264 passengers. Her sister ship, le Boreal, has an identical design.
 |
| The French cruise ship l'Austral. Her sister ship, le Boreal, is in the background |
We set off from Ushuaia in the afternoon, cruised past Cape Horn, and before long we were in the notorious Drake Passage. The Drake is well-known as one of the most turbulent water-ways in the world, which we quickly found out for ourselves. Vomit bags were liberally dotted around the ship, which were quickly snapped up by pallid seasickness victims.
 |
| Vomit bags dotted around the ship for seasickness victims |
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| The ship's onboard map, showing our current location in the Drake Passage |
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| Choppy seas in the Drake Passage |
We spent two days in the Drake Passage. On the third day, we finally saw land. What an amazing experience it was to first set eyes on the islands of the Antarctic Peninsula!
 |
| Half Moon Island - Antarctic Peninsula |
Although the weather was cold, cloudy, and windy, and the sea conditions were still choppy, the expedition leaders readied the Zodiacs for our first landing in the Antarctic. We were separated into groups, donned our heavy parkas, life vests, boots, and waterproof trousers, and boarded the Zodiacs for our landing on Half Moon Island.
The Zodiac ride to the island was very rough. The water was terribly choppy, and each time the Zodiac hit a wave, freezing water would splash into the boat, soaking the passengers, and chilling us all to the bone. The near-blizzard conditions whipped wind and snow into our face and eyes. Very unpleasant! We were all relieved when we finally landed on the island, but unfortunately, even on land the conditions weren't that much better. But it was worth it!
 |
| Freezing conditions on Half Moon Island |
 |
| Half Moon Island - an old whaling boat |
Visiting Half Moon Island was like stepping onto another planet. We'd never experienced such pristine isolation. In the freezing conditions, we were all too aware that l'Austral and the Zodiacs were our only lifeline. If anything were to go wrong, we'd be in serious trouble. Visiting this kind of place instills in one's heart a true sense of respect for the natural world.
Thousands of Chinstrap Penguins live on Half Moon Island. Chinstrap Penguins are easily identified by the unique linear marking that starts from the back of the head, and goes around the neck. Hence the term 'chinstrap'. David Attenborough never mentions this, but when you visit penguin colonies, you really do know it, because the smell is almost unbearable. Penguins love to poop everywhere. They have no sense of hygiene. Wherever you step, you're stepping in penguin poop, which is one reason we were given large, waterproof boots to wear. Penguin feces smells like a combination of fresh bird poop and rotting fish. Not pleasant in the least! But the smell aside, it was truly a privilege to be able to experience these beautiful creatures in their natural habitat.
 |
| Chinstrap Penguin on Half Moon Island |
 |
| Chinstrap Penguins on Half Moon Island |
It is amazing how such small creatures can survive in such harsh conditions. A human being, even with a thick parka, gloves, hat, waterproof equipment, could likely only survive exposed in that kind of place for perhaps a day. Even with gloves, my fingers were numb. My gloves were soaked from the waves, and I imagined that if I stayed for a few hours more, I'd eventually end up with frostnip, and eventually frostbite.
The conditions made taking photographs very difficult. Every few seconds I had to wipe the camera with my gloved hands, because the howling winds would splash snow all over the lens!
We were only on the island for about thirty minutes when a loud fog horn sounded. It was l'Austral warning us that we had to come back urgently. The expedition guides explained that the conditions were unsafe, and that if we waited much longer the seas would become too rough for the Zodiacs to safely return to the ship.
We were quickly taken back to the Zodiacs, and sped back towards the ship. The return journey was much worse than the outbound journey. The Zodiac leapt over the waves, and we had to tightly grip the side ropes to prevent ourselves from falling into the freezing waters. By now we were completely soaked. Fortunately I'd had the foresight to put my camera into two zip-lock bags!
As we approached the ship, I ran through a few quick calculations in my mind. If I were to fall into the sea, I would probably die of hypothermia within 4 or 5 minutes. Given that the nearest Zodiac was about 2 minutes away, and it would take perhaps 20 seconds for them to register any emergency message, and another 60 seconds to drag me out of the water, and a further 2 minutes to get me back to the ship, well, it's highly possible that falling into the water in these choppy, freezing seas would end up with me dying, in spite of all the people around us.
It's yet another reason to respect the power of nature, especially the Antarctic.
 |
| Zodiacs in the sheltered bay of Half Moon Island |
Fortunately, we made it back to the ship without anything untoward happening. We went through quarantine, the disinfection station, removed our soaked gloves and parkas, and went to enjoy a hot cup of hot chocolate and copious quantities of French pastry. What a wonderful first day in Antarctica!
The next installment - journey to Port Lockrory, Lemaire Channel!
1 comment:
Sounds like the beginnings of a great adventure. Thanks for sharing.
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