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Published: April 2nd 2009
Antarctica - Background So, Antarctica....the White Continent....the Seventh Continent, the Cold Continent (I made the last one up)....but more importantly, for me anyway, it would be my home for the next 11 days. But what can I tell you about the place to kick things off?
Well:
-Over 99%!o(MISSING)f Antarctica is covered with ice, which equates to approx 90%!o(MISSING)f world's fresh water
-It holds record for coldest (-89C) and windiest place (320km/hr) on earth (hopefully this record would still stand after my trip)
-If it's ice sheets melted, the world's oceans would rise by 60-65 metres (not good folks)
'That is all very impressive' I hear you say 'but will you get to see penguins and polar bears?'...and what's that?...you want more facts?...seriously? ok...
-Of all the Continents, it is the most isolated (no natives) and the highest average (up to 4.8km in places)
-In the summer it's twice the size of Oz....and in winter...four times the size
-There are no polar bears, that's the north pole you divvies
The Journey Begins... I arrived in Ushuaia (the port town) a day early to sort myself out...normal stuff like
getting cash, hiring stuff (they insisted on cash....only US Dollars) etc and checking out pie shops for Reevesie (I know, you owe me)......but was surprised to discover that ATMs restricted the cash I could take out. So a few calls to my bank to sort this out...'try using it again' came the reply. So I did. No use. And before I could call them back for a plan B, all communications went down in the town (apparently this is common in the most 'Southern City in the World' - an interesting, although not that helpful, bit of trivia).
Next day and more restrictions on the ATM... so another call to the bank this type the reply was 'There's nothing we can do our end....is there anything else we can help you with mr H?' - The ironic use of the word 'else' at least made me smile, but didn't solve the problem. My get out of jail free card was going to be my Argentinian cash which I could change into US Dollars. However, and it is a big 'however'....one that wasn't in any guide book or internet forum (that I had come across)....'however'..... the cambios in Argentina (for
some reason) aren't able to sell anything other than their OWN currency on a Sunday. I kid ye not.
Anyway luck was about to change and I got it sorted and was actually able to hire my Antarctic gear (phew) and I had also been bumped up not one but TWO levels and now had a 'superior cabin'. Sweet.
The Port As I headed down to the port I wasn't sure if the seasickness tablets were having side effects when I was greeted by a 6 ft 5 inch penguin wanting to shake my hand. Then came an elderly couple doing some sort of local dance on a small stage to very (and arguably unecessarily) loud music. It seemed as it Ushuaia's port had a bit of Walt Disney mixed with Blackpool about it. Nothing against WD...or Blackpool just an observation.....and not one intending to put you off coming down here....but do bring some gloves.....and US dollars..
Through passport control then and first impressions of the trip was that it was pretty decent of them to lay on a brass band for us. It then transpired that it was for another ship (I think
Penguin Swimming
They swim like this for protection against predators, and to show off (probably)a Russian research trip) on the other side of the jetty which would probably explain why the band had their backs to us.
On the ship and the 'superior' cabin was pretty decent (this was great news as it would be the longest I had slept in one place since leaving the UK). Two twin beds and an adequate bathroom, plus mine came with a 'roomy' called Bob (USA). He and I went to the deck where we met up with Jason, Katie (Eng) and Trevor McMagical (their 'action figure who goes on holidays with them, he even has facebook page...seriously and he has more 'friends' than me) and Gordon and Kathy (USA).
From the front of the ship (or the bow) we had great panoramic views of Ushuaia and were able to take in the wonderful background of the various mountains that circle the town.
Setting Sail & the Beagle Channel We set off around 18.00 amid much excitement which came with a welcome toast from expedition leader Brad Rhees (along with his Magnum PI moustache) and his team Augustin, Christian, Dany and Marcos. As there had been a few problems with trips
Penguin 'not' swimming the safe way
And paying the ultimate price (for full photo sequence see further down) to Antarctica of late (last one just 3 weeks ago which needed to be rescued by the Navy when it ran aground) they wasted no time in doing the lifeboat drill. I hoped this was just good preparation and not some insider knowledge.
Once inside we were reassured that the lifeboat - with a roof and no windows - would not only keep us dry but could withstand the roughest of seas and if it did flip over it would return to the right way up (like a weeble) meaning that we could remain safe and dry. Altho, of the 40 odd people that it catered for, I suspected such rough seas would no doubt cause a good few of them throw up...ergo..I had doubts that we would remain all 'that' dry..... in fact I'd have taken a bit of sea water over the someone else's sick any day. Despite these thoughts I kept these 'lifeboat flaws' to myself and would just spend the next 10 days hoping that the Captain didn't run aground or worse.
That evening after our first meal on the ship we settled down to watch a movie on Shackleton's voyage to the Antarctic
in the days before gore-tex and windproof fleeces. Man they had it hard.
March 9th - The First Full Sea Day After breakfast we had a few lectures and I found out that the Drake Passage was not only the roughest body of water in the world, but also the Geographics of why this was the case (nice) and that we would be on it for a full 2.5 days...you what?
That night the seas were rough and I didn't fall asleep for ages. The continual rocking of the boat meant that you really needed to fall asleep during the 'split second' that the boat was horizontal (mid rock) and then not wake up as your head hit the wall or the bedside table, on the port or the starboard side (left and right for all you non sea faring folk).. But on the plus side, as I lay awake til around 4am (concentrating on not being sick) at least I knew the Geographics as to why it was happening....
March 10th - Second Day at Sea Cape Horn was relatively calm and after breakfast it was time for
Hovering Over Our Boat...
is it a bird? is it a plane?..is it a...you what? oh. It is actually a bird...oh, ok.. a lecture by Christian (the resident Ornithologist)..and as you'd expect I learnt a bit about the birds in these parts....Did you know that penguins can dive up to 500m, yeah without equalising or having to do a safety stop at 3metres on the way back up....impressive...and albatrosses are more than just cliched analogies used by football managers, oh yes...they also have a wing span of up to 3.5 metres (man, imagine that flapping around your nec.....) and live at sea, only going to land to raise chicks. Again, impressive. Or mad. Either way we were excited as we went on deck to watch these 'things' glide past the boat effortlessly and we tried to take photos whilst trying to not fall overboard..
That afternoon I, along with a few others managed to catch up a bit of sleep in the lounge. A photo of which I believe is floating around somewhere on facebook. Technology eh.
March 11th - First Landings The BIG day then!.....the day we had all been waiting for... not only was the evening movie 'Happy Feet', but today was the day of the first landing....which began by seeing the zodiacs (purpose built
Macaroni Penguins (in the middle)
'Yeah, I fell for the Fancy Dress gag too' dinghy boats) being lowered onto the calm Antarctic waters in preparation for our short trip to Hannah Point. But why is it called 'Hannah Point'?...I've no idea and it's probably not important...
1. Hannah point, Livingstone island The was an air of excitement as we headed ashore and then bang....first impressions...'Whoah penguins!!...and lots of them'...and then quiet amazement at where we actually were...Antarctica...the seventh continent....the coldness, the clean air, the remoteness...the steady land. Amid the thousands of Gentoo and hundreds of Chinstraps penguins we also saw a few Macaronis. Amazing as this was (and it really was) after about 15 mins this was shattered by the reality that the place really did hum of penguin sh*t. (possibly not something you'd hear David Attenborough comment on).
Further round the bay we came across for a load of (not sure if this is the correct terminology) Elephant Seals. Like a load of Jabba the Huts they were, lying on top of each other....barking, rolling around, fighting...and in the background there were two bumping into each other like Sumo wrestlers.. It was a phenomenal spectacle (esp as I've never been to a Sumo wrestling match).
We also
Volcanic Crater
Deception Island stumbled across evidence of former life in the shape of some whale bones and some fossils..altho as the lecture for the latter was in Spanish I moved on. And on towards the sea where there were thousands of blocks of ice lining the shore (like you would get seaweed or crisp packets on a British beach...).so another a photo opportunity beckoned...
2. Telephon bay, Deception Island Our second landing was in an area of volcanic activity. The volcano that we were due to climb was the youngest in the area but ominously the one that had erupted most recently '67, '69 and '70 and been doing precious little else since (a bit like Leeds Utd). The views inside the crater were amazing and the sort of views that you would expect to have to hike a few hours to see but we only had to hike 20 mins. (Altho we did have to endure the Drake Passage to get to this point tho).
3. Pendulum cove, Deception Island Then it was time to go swimming in the Antarctic. Yeah that's right, and it wasn't a stunt for Comic Relief (altho if I'd
been better organised it could have been) but due to some steam coming from a fault line or something the water were much warmer. So with this in mind I ran towards the sea and discovered that whilst the water was warm at the 'edge' of the sea it quickly got diluted by the icy water from 2cm inwards. So send your donations to 'Comic Relie...' hmmmm
March 12th - Second Day of Landings 4. Cuverville This was a cool little island with lots of Gentoo penguins and their chicks. As the chicks aren't scared of humans (most penguins aren't but chick less so) they would come up, check you out and if you were lucky, sit on your lap. On the zodiac cruise back to the boat we went via a maze of icebergs which were amazing (see pics).
5. Neko Harbour This landing started off with more gentoos and a few dead ones being eaten by Skuas. There were lots of penguins messing bout along the shore line which made for some more great photos.. It was then a short glacier walk for views over
the cove. The views were great and included a small avalanche over the ice wall into the deep blue sea below.
Friday 13th (oooh) - Third Day of Landings 6. Pleneau Island The first landing of the day wasn't actually a proper landing but a zodiac cruise. This was similar to the iceberg maze at Cuverville but longer, more spectacular and we saw Leopard Seals this time. The icebergs were truly amazing and some looked like they could have been hand carved (altho they hadn't). Some of the Leopard Seals were just sleeping on the icebergs whilst some were in the water and one started following the boat. As they can be highly dangerous, Christian (our zodiac driver), decided to speed away and shake the one off that was following us, like the Dukes Of Hazzard would do to Rosscoe or Boss Hogg. It worked... Yeeeeh-haaa!
Back on the boat and it was time for a big fat bar-be-que - This was no ordinary barbq tho, whole ribs and spines got chucked on and were then cut up by the cleaver wielding Chef...all with a backdrop of icebergs and the
deepest blue water as well....perfect.... It transpired that this was just a taster and we got it served up properly n the dining room...for those still hungry that was..
7. Petermann Island and Lemaire Channel Another landing and another penguin sighting, this time the 'Adelie'. This landing will be remembered for the coloured snow of the penguin walkways, an amazing colourful mix of yellow, brown and red. This made a great photo, I mean poo, wee and blood mixed snow had never looked so good but you just had to remember to not eat any of this stuff . Back on the boat and more great views of the Lemaire Channel and some whale sightings thrown in for good measure.
March 14th - Fourth Day of Landings 8. Paradise Bay Another zodiac cruise and this time on the hit list were whales. So we cruised around (not like that)....waiting in silence (still, not like that) all scouring the water for signs or sounds of the things... and our luck was in we saw Minkes and Humpbacks. I even got a video clip of the tail coming out
Shipwreck from 1915
The "Guv'nor" (not really) of the water. The blustery conditions conditions also meant we saw another avalanche. Sorry if I'm getting a bit blase now.
9. Enterprise Island Next up another zodiac cruise around Foyn Harbour to see the shipwreck 'Gouvernoren I' which was burnt there in back in1915. It is still in relatively good condition considering the area and conditions.
The evening meal was jazzed up by our table playing Dragon's Den during which I was chuffed to get funding (from Katie) however convincing Francis (Eng) and Bob was a different matter. The tough panel meant Jason and his 'Bunk Baths' had no chance and predictably went home empty handed..
That night was the roughest yet and despite going to bed at 10.30 all I had achieved by 02.30 was to not fall out of my bed and take a few vid clips of things in the cabin being thrown all over the place. This wasn't even the Drake Passage.
March 15th - Final Day of Landings The walk through the lounge to breakfast looked like the place had been ransacked with chairs and tables strewn all over the place and the dining
Whale
Iceberg Alley room was only half full which probably meant most people were not up for a hearty breakfast.
10. Half Moon Island, South Shetland Islands
Our final landing saw Fur Seals in abundance....and some aggressive ones. So Augustin (Expedition Leader No 2) showed us how to stand our ground when confronted (see pic). We also saw baby elephant seals however it was the weather (really windy and cold) that gave yuo the feeling of remoteness like none other of the landings.
The Journey Back Despite the previous rough night, the Drake Passage was kind to us over the next 2 days and the only event was me showing bored punters how to do the Rubik's cube. There was a surprisingly number of people interested when I got it out (the cube)....and by the time we landed back in ush a good 6 or 7 people could finish the thing. So the trip was definitely money well spent for them then.
I hope you enjoy looking at the pics on this blog and my thanks goes to those whose photos I have used in addition to my own and they are (drum roll): Francis (Eng),
Seals
At Iceberg Alley Charles (Fra) and Bernd (Ger). There are 2 more pages of photos...so...fill your boots ladies and gents.....not Gentoos, (sorry a Penguin gag). I´ll sign off now then...
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Magical Trevor
non-member comment
it's always magic when you're with Trevor...
Great right up dude, take care, and don't go anywhere I wouldn't go wearing just a tiny pair of black shorts....