A SIDE TRIP:
Before we embarked on our voyage to Antarctica , a little side trip seemed worth our while, having flown all the way to the other side of the world.
We chose Patagonia, in Southern Chile .
Lying in isolation at the base of the South American continent, it is best visited during the southern hemisphere summer.
Mysterious Patagonia evokes images of a dream like environment, with its seemingly endless coastline peppered with sheltered coves, windswept steppe, petrified forests, towering cedars & the forbidding majesty of the Andes Mountains
Our base was a charming hotel in Puerto Natales on the shores of the Almirante Montt Gulf
We explored the Torres del Paine National Park where its mountains’ sheer vertical walls add to its stunning landscape.
Several glacial arms stretch into the park & the magnificence of its scenery is characterized by its crystalline lagoons, lakes & fiords.
With temperatures near zero, we trekked into the parks to marvel at glacial waterfalls, aquamarine lakes & much wildlife of which 2 types stood out.- the Guanaco ( looks like a brown lama) & the rhea ( a smaller cousin of the ostrich) .Flocks of pink flamingos occasionally adorn the tranquil coastal areas of the lakes at the foot of the Southern Andes. The park is also home to the elusive Puma, the Huemul & 2 species of fox.
Our introduction to penguins began here in southern Chile
The Last Great Wilderness on Earth
For centuries, Antarctica has captured the imagination of explorers, scientists & armchair travelers. Its stark landscapes, extraordinary wildlife & harsh climate only begin to suggest the wonders of this world’s least understood continent.
Although man has conquered even the utmost parts of the earth, Antarctica still remains the one place in the world that preserves intact its pristine mystery.
There are few places on earth where landscape & wildlife combine with such power.
Sure there are wicked winds & monstrous seas, but when she lets her guard down; Antarctica is tender & inviting as she was to us.
The fifth largest continent, Antarctica is the coldest, windiest & driest of them all.
1. Asia - (44,579,000 sq km)
2. Africa - (30,065,000 sq km)
3. North America - (24,256,000 sq km)
4. South America - (17,819,000 sq km)
5. Antarctica - (13,209,000 sq km)
6. Europe - (9,938,000 sq km)
7. Australia/Oceania - (7,687,000 sq km)
2. Africa - (30,065,000 sq km)
3. North America - (24,256,000 sq km)
4. South America - (17,819,000 sq km)
5. Antarctica - (13,209,000 sq km)
6. Europe - (9,938,000 sq km)
7. Australia/Oceania - (7,687,000 sq km)
Early adventurers risked everything to venture into this unknown domain. Those who survived lived to tell exciting tales of endeavor, spirit, courage & persistence including stories of unimaginable odds wrought with heart wrenching tragedies.
These brave souls, whether thrill seekers or whose desire to explore, discover, conduct scientific experiments, or profit from sealing & whaling, (for furs, whale bone, oil etc) were pioneers, but their fearless expeditions have helped to reduce much of the mystery of this Great White Continent.
For 150 years after its discovery, it remained too remote, too extreme, too dangerous & too expensive for the simple traveler like you and me.
Today the safety of modern travel is a direct consequence of the dedication of these forerunners.
Lars Eric Lindblad, called the Marco Polo of the 20th century, originated a new type of tourism, now known as expedition travel, in the 1960’s. Today his son, Sven continues his father’s legacy with his fleet of Lindblad Explorer Ships in collaboration with National Geographic, their aim to inspire people to explore & care about the planet.
As a member of the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators, Lindblad Explorer ships strongly promote environmental awareness & education on its voyages, insuring safe, responsible & environmentally sensitive tourism in the fragile ecosystem of Antarctica .
According to its codes of conduct, we even had to declare if the outer clothing we were wearing ashore i.e. Jackets, gloves, shoes, jeans or pants & hats might be carrying seeds, mud, leaves etc from a former hike elsewhere . If so, we had to get them vacuumed & shoes cleaned of mud (a service which they provided). Abiding by these guidelines, they have been successful in keeping visitor impacts to a minimum & promoting a real sense of conservation in the Antarctic.
Another guideline was that not more than a 100 tourists are allowed to land at one time where there is an animal colony so as not to disturb or affect the wildlife .
These rules were strictly followed. Only a 100 of us went ashore first while the others cruised around in zodiacs just admiring the spectacular views & watching wildlife that was in the water. It was only after some returned from shore that they exchanged places with those in the zodiacs.
Unlike the giant cruise liners with thousands of passengers sailing the oceans nowadays, our ship The National Geographic Explorer is only 330 ft long, with 5 star accommodation for 160 passengers & over a hundred crew. Its bow is reinforced to crunch through pack ice. Within the warm confines of the ship, we could watch the wildlife & the incredible scenery through large picture windows, even though it was freezing outside. We had luxurious cabins, sumptuous meals and interesting talks and video presentations by a host of naturalists on board, among them , a Pulitzer Prize winner .( National Geographic invites a global luminary on board every voyage & we were fortunate to meet Roz Savage, a plucky lady who rowed solo across the Atlantic & Pacific Oceans!)
Each Naturalist specialized in his or her own field, be it history, geology, penguins, marine life, whales or photography. This team of experienced naturalists would prepare us for our daily visits ashore, be on hand to escort us ashore, accompany us in groups to educate us on what we saw, & when we returned onboard, they would also recap our experiences of the day with the animals, sea, and ice or land conditions.
Our ship also had an open bridge policy. We could go onto the bridge at any time of the day or night, study their maps & instruments, or chat with the captain and ask as many questions as you wanted. After all we were going to be a family for the next 11 days.
Our ship also had an open bridge policy. We could go onto the bridge at any time of the day or night, study their maps & instruments, or chat with the captain and ask as many questions as you wanted. After all we were going to be a family for the next 11 days.
We thus began our voyage from the southernmost city of the S. American continent, Ushuaia. We were going south past the Antarctic Circle & back to Ushuaia, covering 4,200 km.
As part of our cruise package, we were each given a bright red parka (a waterproof & sufficiently insulated jacket to withstand the -0* to -10*C temp that was expected), pre-ordered to our size. We were also instructed to bring a pair of Wellington
The key to our land expeditions were a fleet of zodiacs. These sturdy French made rubber inflatable boats are widely recognized as the safest & versatile small boat afloat, 19 ft long, powered by outboard engines & capable of carrying 12-14 adults with ease.
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| with parkas and boots-ready to explore Antarctica |
Armed with our parkas & rubber boots, the zodiacs took us ashore safely under any conditions be they rocky or icy, snowy or windy. We just had to step into 6 to 10 inches of water before we walked ashore.
In areas where there was no wildlife on shore to observe, the ship would drop anchor in a sheltered & scenic bay just so that we could cruise around in the zodiac absorbing the dramatic scenery. We were so spoilt that they even had a ‘Hot Chocolate’ Zodiac cruising around offering us a hot drink!!
The Antarctic Continent is shaped somewhat like a giant stingray with a ‘tail’ that extends up to the Southern tip of the S. American continent, separated by the notorious
The rest of the Antarctic continent is mostly within the Antarctic Circle & centered by the South Pole. Over millions of years, it is smothered by compacted ice & snow that is 3 miles deep, but in some coastal areas, jagged mountain peaks project through this thick iceshelf.
Occasionally enormous pieces of shelf ice break loose & drift for years (called tabular bergs) before melting. They are known to be as large as the size of France
Icebergs on the other hand break off from glaciers that reach the sea. During our expeditions ashore we often heard the crack & thunderous roar of icebergs as they fell into the sea. Once, very near our ship, a floating giant iceberg ‘imploded’ as it had melted to a point where it cracked into two & completely overturned to find its new level of gravitational balance, creating a huge wave that washed ashore as we watched in awe!
The cold, dry & windy conditions of the Antarctic inhibit life on this isolated continent.
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| all kinds of icebergs |
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| works of art iceberg |
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| imploded icebergs washed ashore |
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| antarctic wilderness |
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| iceberg the size of football fields |
But life abounds in the seas around it. A combination of low temperature currents plus the amount of daylight & darkness is ideal for the development of swarms of shrimp-like ‘krill’ population, squid & arctic fish. The krill is the primary food for virtually ALL the animals in the Antarctic – the penguins, birds, seals & whales. The squid however is the favorite of some seals, whales, large fish & sea birds.
With so much bounty in the oceans for these animals, it is no wonder the penguin population has thrived. We made several landings to observe the different species that abound in the Antarctic. There were the Gentoo, the Adelie, the Chinstrap & the Macaroni. They delighted us with their antics as they fed their young or dived into the water in search of food, or as they waddled along their penguin ‘highways’ in the snow.
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| penguins by the millions |
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| mother penguin feeding her young |
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| traffic on penguin highway |
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| low traffic on penguin highway |
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| penguins guarding their babies |
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| a penguin molting |
Many species of birds also thrive & nest in the rocky outcrops of the
Petrels, cormorants, kelp gulls, terns & sheathbills were among the birds that we were fortunate to observe from the ship & shore. A favorite pastime was to watch the wandering albatross in the open sea, often in the
Another common sight was seals. They lay basking on the icebergs, were seen diving in & out of the sea or lay sleeping on the rocks at most of our expeditions ashore. We were warned to look out for them as they looked like big rocks or boulders if sleeping! I almost nudged one myself as I walked by it !
The common crab eater seals shone like silver in the sun, as their fur dried out. There are an estimated 14 million of them making them the 3rd largest population in the world after humans & rats ! You could not miss them -they were just about on every other low iceberg we saw.
The fur seals were hunted to extinction for their fur in the 19th century but a small colony survived & made a tremendous comeback. It was easy to recognize them with their thick fur.
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| crab eater seals |
Leopard seals as it name suggests are predaceous & the only species of the Antarctic seal that eats penguins as a large part of their diet. We were rewarded with many sightings of these too.
Penguins are terrified of them. They wait for ages, before they dive into the water to feed in case a leopard seal awaits !
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| leopard seal awaits |
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| leopard seal |
Largest of the seal family is the elephant seal. The male grows to 20 ft. in length & weighs 3,600kg or 4 tons! Females are 12ft & 900 kg or 1 ton. We spotted them sleeping together in batches of 20 – 50. Undisturbed by us, they just yawned & farted when they saw us. They are no danger to the penguins as they feed only on krill, fish & squid. Because of its size, this seal too was hunted for its oil in the 19th century ( 1 male yielded 100 gallons of high quality oil) but has recovered in great numbers since then.
The most exciting part of our sightings was whales. As soon as it was announced on board that they were in the area, we would don our jackets & rush to the decks. The naturalists immediately dispatched a zodiac to follow the whales & conduct their experiments. The captain would steer the ship like a car, following the whales so that we could get the best photos & glimpses of them. We chanced upon a family of almost 20 Type A killer whales.
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| elephant seals |
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| killer whales |
They are the top predator of the Antarctic. Their life span is 50-60 years for the male & 80 years for the female. They eat penguins, seals, fish & even sharks in warmer waters. Families usually plan their kill. They survey a seal, tire it, then bite it, suck out the flesh & leave the skin.
Such is the way the ecosystem works.
Our voyage took us across the Antarctic Circle (66*33’) to a point further south near Adelaide Island called the Gullet. There were so many icebergs here that our captain decided to give us a thrill as he slowed the ship gently down to a stop by crunching into an iceberg !
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| crunching into an iceberg to park |
To our delight, a lone emperor penguin was sighted on a flat sheet of ice nearby. All zodiacs were immediately lowered, & clad in our red jackets, we were all cruising around the Gullet, admiring the icescape & landscape while the lone emperor penguin held court! He just stood there, sometimes pranced around while we got our best shots.
He was obviously miles away from his colony & was lost. We could only hope he found his way back to his colony.
This was our turning point, our furthest point south (67* 10’), & the temperature was only 3* C!! Throughout our voyage, the temperatures never went below 0*C. Twice we awoke to a snow covered deck indicating that it snowed during the night. There were blue skies everyday & the sun shone brightly, creating perfect conditions for our landings & sightings. Even the notorious Drake Passage became the Drake Lake
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| lone emperor penguin |
The captain & naturalists however told us they had seen worse !
A different kind of expedition ashore was to 2 British Stations.
Inside rusted cans of food, equipment, clothes, medication & supplies remain untouched for the last 50 years until the team of three starts cleaning & preserving what they can.
They will stay only till the summer ends, & continue their work after the harsh winter is over.
Port Lockroy was used as an anchorage by whalers in the 19th & early 20th century.
A massive skeleton of a whale on the beach is a silent reminder of their fate.
Established as a base by the British in 1944, It ceased operations in 1964 and was taken over by the Gentoo penguin population ! Recently restored in 1996, it is now operated by the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust & open to visitors during the summer as a well preserved museum .The museum has souvenirs for sale as well as a post office, proceeds of which go its conservation.
Today many countries have sophisticated research stations around the Antarctic Continent. There are 1000 to 2000 scientists & support teams at any given time conducting experiments in varied subjects of studying the continent.
For us, Antarctica was the ultimate destination. Yet rapidly changing ice conditions
make it a challenging environment in which to travel. But the National Geographic Staff
have the most experience & knowledge which translates into an exceptionally rewarding, in-depth exploration that is safe & exciting. They took maximum advantage of the natural conditions placing emphasis on flexibility so that no two expeditions are ever the same.
They scouted for new landing sites & delayed plans to follow whales instead. Unplanned moments like those left us exhilarated. Our voyage was not a mere drive by. We saw the continent from many angles. One day we bent over the bow to watch the ship crunch through thick pack ice, & the next we were kayaking amid towering icebergs under a bright sun or gleefully sliding on our backs down a snowy hill.
Yes, we kayaked in the Antarctic. We can’t believe it ourselves. We learnt how climate change affected the penguin population & got tips from a Nat Geo photographer on how to capture the best photographs. Their undersea specialists showed us a video from a dive during our voyage, & we saw images taken 1000 feet below the surface using their ROV. In other words we saw parts of the Earth never filmed before.
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| they actually came around with hot chocolate to keep us going while kayaking ! |
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| crunching thick pack ice |
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| kayaking in the antarctic |
Yes, we kayaked in the Antarctic. We can’t believe it ourselves. We learnt how climate change affected the penguin population & got tips from a Nat Geo photographer on how to capture the best photographs. Their undersea specialists showed us a video from a dive during our voyage, & we saw images taken 1000 feet below the surface using their ROV. In other words we saw parts of the Earth never filmed before.
The whole voyage was a humbling experience. Considering what hardship early pioneers & explorers endured, our expedition was in contrast, luxurious & comfortable. We are thankful for our blessings.
We hope you enjoyed reading about our experiences.
I am also attaching a video & photographs.
May you too experience the glorious wonders of nature.
Shirin n Moiz
