Antarctica: On Your Bucket List

Antarctica is one of those bucket list destinations that many dream about but few get to experience.  For one thing, it’s expensive and getting there takes a commitment of time, a spirit of adventure, and a willingness to endure seasickness should the dreaded Drake Passage act-up during your journey.

Is it worth it?  For me, yes.  Penguins make me happy and spending hours watching them waddle around in their permanent tuxedos was worth the trouble of getting there. The White Continent is home to albatross, whales, seals, and those adorable penguins that live surrounded by icebergs and snow. It’s remote, fascinating, and otherworldly.

But what is it really like to visit? If you’re seriously considering it, here are 6 things you should know.

1. It’s a Long Journey to the Bottom of the Earth

If you’re traveling from the US, most likely you’ll depart from South America. We arrived in Buenos Aires a few days before our scheduled departure to be sure we didn’t run into any delays that would interfere with our Antarctica adventure.  From there, we boarded a 4 hour charter flight to Ushuaia – the southernmost town in the world and the departure point for most Antarctica expeditions.

Departing from Ushuaia, we sailed through the Beagle Channel where the waters of the South Atlantic and the Pacific Oceans meet. The channel is a natural boundary between the neighboring countries of Argentina and Chile. From the channel we headed into the dreaded Drake Passage.

Separating South America from Antarctica, the waters of the Drake Passage are known to be the roughest in the world, with waves reaching as high as 33 feet in severe weather. We were fairly lucky with a passing that ranked approximately 5 on a scale of 1 to 10 in terms of difficulty.  Others haven’t been so lucky.  The key to managing it is to be prepared with an array of sea sickness combatants just in case.  The journey across Drake Passage takes approximately 2 days but everything is subject to the conditions at the time of crossing.

2. Size Matters—And Bigger Isn’t Better

There are numerous companies cruising to Antarctica, but if you want to actually set foot on the continent, you’ll want to choose an expedition over a cruise. A small to mid-sized ice strengthened vessel is your best bet and companies like National Geographic, Hurtigruten and Quark Expeditions are all good options.  For our expedition, we chose Quark.  Our ship had about 180 passengers onboard along with a fabulous expedition team comprised of environmentalists, historians, scientists, and photographers.  We even had Penguin Lifelines Scientists from Oxford on board – isn’t that an awesome title?

The ship becomes your home for your expedition. Our home aboard Quark’s M/V Ocean Endeavour offered comfortable accommodations, delicious meals, afternoon tea, wine tastings, numerous lectures, a fitness center, full service spa, and entertainment.  And with less than 200 passengers, you really get to know your shipmates.

3. Everything is Subject to Change—But Everything is Special

No amount of planning can guarantee which experiences will be available for your expedition. Everything is subject to change based on weather, ice, whatever the seas want to whip up, and the wildlife you discover along the way. But that’s part of the adventure.

The captain and expedition leaders are constantly observing surrounding conditions to determine which way to go and which landings are safe enough for exploration. Once anchored in a harbor, the landings are scouted by expedition leaders before anyone is allowed to step foot on the continent.  If an area is deemed unsafe, you move on to another harbor.  But don’t worry, there are plenty to choose from – it’s a big continent!

4. Exploring the Frozen Continent—this is how it works

Generally, an expedition will provide opportunities for everyone to land on the continent. Our ship was divided into four groups – Albatross, Leopard, Minke and Gentoo. Each day we’d wait for our group (the Gentoos) to be called to disembark.  Then we would head down to the mudroom, don our bright yellow Quark Expedition parkas, life jackets and Muck boots then board the Zodiac cruisers.

Explorations included an hour or so on land and an hour of Zodiac cruising. We were greeted with blue skies, sunshine and temperatures around 35 degrees Fahrenheit as we took our first steps on the continent.  We hiked around the land and watched the penguins traveling up and down the “penguin highways” from their nests to the water.

Aboard the zodiacs we cruised through iceberg galleries, watched seals lounging on the snow and ice, and scouted for whales which occasionally delighted us with an appearance. At times we just sat silently taking in the grandeur of all that surrounded us.

5. Want more icy experiences? Try camping or the Polar Plunge

Quark Expeditions offers the option to camp on the continent. I thought about it—but then I thought about the warm bed in my cabin, the bathroom just steps away, and the wine in the ship’s bar.  A couple of my shipmates reported back to me—and they had mixed reviews.  Scott, a 40 something teacher from Syracuse, New York, had a panic attack from the three layered cocoon style sleeping bag and seriously considered injuring himself so that he could be rescued and taken back to the ship.  Mike, a 50 something consultant from Houston, Texas, was able to get a little sleep in between appreciating the serenity of the night sky and the eerie sounds of the glaciers shifting around.  Of course neither of them wanted to do it again.  But, hey, they did it.

The Polar Plunge is an entire other level of insanity where people jump off the ship from the Zodiac bridge into the icy waters of the Antarctic Ocean.   Obviously they aren’t in the water long – but our expedition had over 40 frosty participants.

6. Every trip is unique

No matter what, you’ll get a different story from anyone and everyone who has visited Antarctica. Landings are determined based on weather, timing of your visit and land conditions.  We visited in January after all the fuzzy little baby penguins had arrived.  Watching the parent penguins feed their hatchlings is something I will never forget.  Someone visiting earlier or later in the season will have another wonder to experience.

On day two in Antarctica we were on track to pass through the Lemaire Channel into Pleneau Bay, a narrow passage separating Booth Island from the Antarctic continent. At its narrowest, the channel is less than 800 meters wide with towering peaks overhead – and it’s generally full of icebergs and sea ice.  Our ship was going to attempt to break through the ice and, if successful, we’d be the first to accomplish this in the season.

As the captain nudged the sheet of ice, it began to crack in several directions. Seals that had spent the last months lounging on the ice sheets began to roll into the water to move out of the ship’s path.  Penguins waddled away from the cracks and hopped one by one into a single file line forming a true march of the penguins moment.

No one else will ever experience that. It was a moment—like so many other moments in Antarctica—that cannot be repeated.  But don’t worry, if you go to Antarctica, you will experience something equally remarkable.