Perhaps it’s the fact that Antarctica has to be earned: its isolation requires a lengthy flight—unless you happen to live in one of the gateway towns, like Stanley, Hobart, or Ushuaia—just to board the ship. Then there’s the matter of the sea itself. Even in the sturdy confidence and relative comfort of an expedition ship or icebreaker, crossing the Drake Passage south of Argentina’s Cape Horn can be a seafaring adventure in itself.
However, nothing can compare with the rewards. Antarctica’s glaciers, massive rivers of ice, crunch, grind and calve their way into the sea. Gargantuan towers of ice the size of city blocks glow in shades of pink, violet, and baby blue. Humpback whales gracefully loop through the frigid water in search of a meal of krill.
Navigate around an iceberg on a Zodiac expedition and gaze in awe as 18-foot, 4.5-ton elephant seals haul themselves out of the water and gather on icy banks as southern albatrosses soar overhead. Ready your camera for a king or royal penguin encounter in a colony of thousands upon thousands of nesting birds and their fluffy, bewildered chicks.
Antarctica is truly one of the great small-ship adventures. Leave tourist crowds—and indeed, the whole world—behind. Come see more than the tip of the iceberg: venture to terra incognita australis, the unknown southern land.
The Antarctic Peninsula is the most easily accessible part of the "White Continent", but it also has some of the most dramatic scenery and a rich variety of wildlife. The Antarctic Peninsula stretches northward towards South America. Most of the landings in the area tend to be made on offshore islands, often in the South Shetland group, but time, weather, and ice conditions permitting, an attempt will be made to allow you to set foot on the continent itself.
Besides the magnificent scenery, you can expect to see a wide variety of the native wildlife, including Gentoo, Chinstrap and Adelie Penguins, which occur in rookeries ranging from a few pairs to many thousands. Other birds to look out for are Blue-eyed Shags, Kelp Gulls, Cape Petrels, skuas, Snowy Sheathbills and Antarctic Terns.
You may see seals of several species, but should certainly see some Weddell and Crabeater Seals, and towards the end of the season, Fur Seals. Antarctica is noted for its whales, which come south during the southern summer to feed up on krill before returning north to breed.
There is always a good chance of spotting Humpback and Minke Whales, while Orcas (Killer Whales) are often seen at close range as well.
This area is of great historical interest and has been extensively explored by expeditions of several nations. You may have the chance to meet scientists working at research stations operated by various nations. You will certainly feel the same sense of excitement as the early explorers, as you keep a lookout from the bridge or other vantage points while your vessel threads her way through this mysterious and pristine region.
Among the places you may visit are aptly-named Paradise Harbor, where glaciers fill the calm waters with a vista of icebergs sculpted by wind and weather into a multitude of different shapes. Here you may set foot on the "White Continent" itself. Icebergs of another kind - massive, flat-topped tabular bergs that have calved from ice shelves - are encountered around Antarctic Sound.
At Port Lockroy you will find thriving colonies of penguins and shags and a former British scientific station that has recently been renovated and serves as a fascinating museum. Cuverville Island with its dramatic location is home to a large colony of nearly 5,000 pairs of Gentoo Penguins and other breeding birds. Many visitors find the Antarctic scenery as rewarding as the wildlife, and you will be enchanted by such beautiful waterways as the Neumayer and Lemaire Channels.
Deception Island is still considered to be an active volcano and part of the South Shetland Islands. Sailing through the narrow passage dubbed Neptune's Bellows into its huge, flooded caldera is an awesome experience. Depending on conditions you may also visit places such as Livingston Island, which support huge numbers of nesting Chinstrap and Gentoo Penguins together with numerous seabirds nesting in the cliffs.
Non-existent islands
Besides volcanoes there are several reasons for these islands' supposed existence. Many may be explained by icebergs carrying rocks and moraine sighted in dirty weather. A captain, rightly erring for safety, would report these. Some sightings were more likely the result of a bit too much rum. A few may be deliberate hoaxes: sealers always tried to keep secret the locations of good sealing discoveries and some of them may not have been adverse to sending competitors on wild goose chases. One island was probably added to embellish a book by an author who was known as 'the greatest liar in the Pacific'.
Getting rid of all these non-existent islands is a problem, and the persistence of some is phenomenal. Swains Island, ordered to be expunged from the charts in 1920, can still be found in a 1995 comprehensive world atlas produced by a well-known publisher.
For more regional information on Antartica, go to:
- Antartic Peninsula
- Bouvetoya
- Dry Valleys
- South Georgia
- Zadovski Island