Adelaide writer Sally Hunter ventures into an Antarctic wonderland.
It was the apparent purity of Antarctica which compelled me to go there. It spoke to my heart and my intuition. And Antarctica’s need for protection drew out my nurturing instincts. Like a mother drawn to her child, I had to go.
 Icebergs are blue because extreme pressure drives out 'whitening' gases.
I flew first to Buenos Aires and then to Ushuaia at the southernmost tip of Argentina. Here, the Andes mountains were spectacular, but I left them, in the bitterly cold wind, to board a cruise ship.
The first thing that happened on board was a safety drill for evacuating the boat if need be. Since then, a passenger ship has hit an iceberg and threatened to sink. This meant that all the passengers and crew had to take to the lifeboats and wait in the freezing ocean to be picked up.
The boat I was on was double-hulled for protection against the ice, although the doctor on board was specially trained in emergency procedures.
Many passengers were seasick while crossing Drake’s passage, which took two days. However, the trip was worth it. An ethereal landscape enchanted us on the first day at the Antarctic Peninsula.
 The intrepid Sally Hunter
The icebergs around us all had different textures - dappled, smooth, striated, corrugated, fissured, or were in the form of stalectites. A number were lit up from within or from underneath, by pale blue light, which sometimes spread to the water around them. There were all sorts of shapes.
We saw a group of penguins on top of an iceberg and, one by one, they walked and slid down the ice slope and dropped off the edge into the water. We also saw three Minke whales, one of which splashed around under an iceberg. A seal was more interested in us than in eating a nearby penguin.
 A curious local
The main ship was very well heated for us to return to, and hot cocoa was very welcome. Gourmet food and wine was served on board. We could see the mountains, ice cliffs and bergs from the windows of our cabins and the social room, so we could never forget that we were surrounded by ice.
Most cruises to Antarctica leave from Ushuaia as ours did. Flights come in regularly from Buenos Aires.
Prices for a room on board vary but are not cheap. You should budget for about $10,000, plus the connecting flights. Kayaking is extra.
I went with Peregrine Travel, and I would certainly recommend them as they looked after us all the way, there and back, with transfers and accommodation.
Recently, an air service has commenced from Australia to the Antarctic for scientific personnel. If this service is opened up to journalists and tourists, it will make the journey much more accessible. This is especially so because it will eliminate seasickness.
|
