Antarctic Contemplation

Since returning from our Expedition to Antarctica I have had time to contemplate the journey and what it meant to me:

I feel such privilege at having been able to see even a small glimpse into the life cycles of the amazing animals and birds that call this vast inhospitable area home. We have had flocks of Antarctic Petrel, Skuas and more swooping and diving around the ship. I am delighted at having been able to see penguin chicks and their delightful antics as they prepare for a fully fledged life on ice and at sea. I discovered a strange affinity for the ever curious and comical Adelie Penguins. We did manage to see several Emperor Penguins although our timing was wrong to be able to see any of the breeding cycle that occurs in winter entirely on the ice. We have seen many different seal species – including the rarely sighted Ross Seal – and whales. The absolutely unforgettable experience of seeing a pod of orca/killer whales making their way through a channel in the ice and then out through the floes to the open sea to be topped off with amazing leaps all around our ship – I may not have been able to capture great photographic footage but it will be etched in my memory forever.

We have seen the vast magnificent grandeur of Antarctica in calm, clear seas and with blue sunny skies looking out a the endless chain of the Transantarctic mountains and the glaciers coming down to meet the Ross sea. We have travelled to the southernmost navigable point of the world and experienced -10C (+ 33C wind chill) temperatures (and I personally am grateful it was not as cold as others have endured). We have experienced the bizarreness of going out for excursions under the midnight sun and 24 hour daylight. We have celebrated in front of the Ross Ice Shelf – great cliffs of ice towering up out of the sea – and seen the strangely alien geometric tabular ice bergs that have spawned off the ice shelf. We have had a barbeque on deck in front of Mt Erebus in all her glory with puffs of steam emerging from her tip.

We have stood on land on the Antarctic continent and its islands, following in the footsteps of the great explorers before us. Like them we have experienced the vast range of weather conditions that this area brings, with such rapid changes from sun to driving snow, relative calm to strong icy cold southerlies (and a storm in the southern ocean), and of course the ice. We have experienced the magic of seeing the first iceberg, seeing giant tabular icebergs all around, being surrounded in ice and seeing fresh ice forming in front of our eyes, being in 90% heavy ice covered sea and wondering if we would become stuck in the ice. We have seen how quickly the ocean currents can move the ice and how spectacularly a southerly wind change can almost completely empty out the ice from McMurdo Sound – so full we could not progress through to virtually gone within a few hours.

We have built a great respect for our amazing crew (and all the explorers beforehand) for their ability to read this crazy environment and to guide us through in safety and to give us such unforgettable adventures. We are so privileged to have seen and experienced what so few people ever will. And will remain eternally grateful that our adventure was so much more comfortable than it was for the early explorers who paved the way.

On this journey we pledged to advocate for Antarctica and to share our experiences with others in the hope that they will also want to protect this fantastic place for generations to come. I hope that this blog will go a small way to meeting that hope.

Since returning from Antarctica, I have joined both the Antarctic Heritage Trust and the New Zealand Antarctic Society and enjoyed some events. These organisations are a great avenue to being able to participate in discussions about Antarctic Strategy, connect with others who have a similar fascination with the area, access to opportunities for friends and family to experience it for themselves, magazine and newsletters, and of course the opportunity to hear of others’ experience through seminars and webinars.  I’ve also purchased a bottle of Shackleton Whisky as a portion of sales go to support the Antarctic Heritage Trust – it seemed like the least I could do!

 

Itinerary :
Day 1-2: Meeting and Departure
Day 3: The Snares 
Day 4: Auckland Islands – Enderby Island
Day 5: At Sea
Day 6: Macquarie Island
Day 7: Macquarie Island
Day 8: At Sea
Day 9: At Sea
Day 10: At Sea
Day 11: At Sea
Day 12: Cape Adare, Antarctica
Day 13: Possession Islands
Day 14: At Sea, Coulman Island
Day 15: At Sea
Day 16: At Sea
Day 17: At Sea, Ross Ice Shelf
Day 18: Cape Bird/McMurdo Sound
Day 19: Cape Bird/McMurdo Sound
Day 20: Cape Evans/Cape Royds
Day 21: At Sea
Day 22: At Sea
Day 23: At Sea
Day 24: At Sea
Day 25: At Sea
Day 26: At Sea/Campbell Island
Day 27: Final Day at Sea

Antarctic Contemplation