Antarctica
Antarctica - the godforsaken wintery continent that few have set foot upon while others died trying to get there. 180 million years ago, Antarctica, together with South America, Africa, Australia and New Zealand, used to be part of a continent called Gondwana. Over the years, the land masses split and Antarctica very slowly drifted from somewhere near the equator to its current location on/near the South Pole. Even in summer, Antarctica is surrounded by freshwater ice (made up of snow that has piled up and compresses) and sea ice (where the sea freezes). (Source: Antarctica cruising guide by Peter Carey and Craig Franklin) |
| Ice cliff Photo credit: Sally |
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| Iceberg |
Quest for the Antarctic Circle
Like most, I travelled to Antarctica by sea. My cruise to Antarctica, on M/S Expedition, was the second segment I have booked after my Kilimanjaro trek (and I booked both before I have reserved my rtw air tickets). Apparently, I was rather late in making the reservation - both the triple and quadruple sharing rooms were full when I first spotted this cruise (I later found out that many had booked their spots in 2011). By some stroke of luck, somebody cancelled her reservation and I got the last triple sharing slot.
From Ushuaia (Argentina), we made our way south, passing the notorious Drake Passage, which has some of the roughest seas in the world with 10m swells and strong winds.
From Ushuaia (Argentina), we made our way south, passing the notorious Drake Passage, which has some of the roughest seas in the world with 10m swells and strong winds.
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| Source: M/S Expedition |
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| Waves as seen from my porthole |
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| Not another silly pose From left: Lai, Supreet, Sally, Melissa Photo credit: L - Mary R - Sally |
Wildlife
Although the conditions in Antarctica is brutally harsh, it is far from being a barren land. We were excited over our sightings of everything from seal to penguin to whale... As we sailed south, there were a lot of movie screenings and enriching lectures by experts on marine animals, penguins and birds, geology and history of Antarctica. I found that the more we know, the more we do not know.
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| Talk by ornithologist Frank who has studied the penguins in Antarctica since 1972 |
Video: The first seal
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| Crabeater seal - don't you want to bring one home? |
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| The first penguin |
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| Kelp gull with chicks |
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Blue-eye shags or Antarctic cormorant
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| Cape petrels flying alongside our ship at Drake Passage |
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| Leopard seal |
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Leopard seal
Photo credit: Shaun
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| My camera + bino combi shot does not look too bad huh? |
Leopard seals and orcas are top predators in Antarctica. The leopard seals feed on krills, fish, squids and penguins that cross their path. They would thrash the caught penguins back and forth until when they could separate the blubber from skin, harvest the blubber and leave the rest of the carcass to birds. (Source: Guide to marine mammals of the world by Randall Reeves, Brent Stewart, Phillip Clapham, James Powell and illustrated by Pieter Folkens)
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| 3 dolphins enjoying the splash created by the bow of our ship |
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| Looking at the dolphins |
We saw a few minke and humpback whales, both baleen whales that feed on krills. 2 of them came really close to our ship, seemingly checking us out. Pretty much any whale sighting would take precedence over meals, sleeps and lectures.
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| A Minke whale appeared next to our zodiac and kept resurfacing next us |
Video:A humpback going for a dive
Listen to how the cameras next to me went mad
Antarctic Circle
We crossed the Antarctic Circle at 66°33.44′ S on Christmas. The Antarctic Circle is the northernmost latitude in the Southern Hemisphere at which a 24 hour sun-lit day (or 24-hour darkness) can take place. We would later learn from Alex's lecture that the Antarctic Circle is not a fixed line but a floating one which moves up and down the latitude, depending the position of the earth with reference to the sun.
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| More crabeater seals on ice floes as we move towards the Antarctic Circle |
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| Captain did a jiggle when we crossed Antarctic Circle as Penguin Mark looked on |
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| Midnight, as seen from my porthole |
We finally hit sea ice at 66°46.50′ S in Crystal Sound and the captain decided to turn around and let us begin our activities off the ship.
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| We finally hit sea ice Photo credit: Sally |
Base stations
Antarctica has no permanent population and is politically covered by 14 articles of the Antarctic Treaty acceded by 50 countries. The Antarctic Treaty was first signed in Washington on December 1959 by the twelve countries whose scientists had been active in and around Antarctica during the International Geophysical Year of 1957-58. The treaty is to ensure "the interest of all mankind that Antarctica shall continue for ever to be used exclusively for peaceful purposes and shall not become the scene or object of international discord." (Source: http://www.ats.aq/index_e.htm)
We visited 3 base stations - Vernadsky (Ukrainian), Port Lockroy (British) and Gonzalez Videla (Chilean).
The Vernadsky Research Base was where ozone depletion was first discovered. Located at Galindez Islands, there were 12 researchers studying on topics such as geomagnetism, meteorology and glaciology. (Source: http://www.antarctida.kiev.ua/english/)
On a less serious note, this base station has a famous bar where ladies can trade their bras for free top-notch vodka.
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| Bras at bar |
Port Lockroy Base A station lies in Wiencke Island and is the home to a museum and a real post office run by United Kingdom Antarctic Heritage Trust. The base station was set up in 1944 during 'Operation Tabarin' to observe wartime enemy activities in and around the Peninsula and the post office was set up to legitimise British presence. (For those who are expecting post cards from me, the post cards had to wait for the next ship departing for Argentina before being sent to the UK and distributed from a UK post office.) Post war, researches on topographic survey, geology, meteorology and botany were conducted. (Source: United Kingdom Antarctic Heritage Trust). At the time of visit, there were 4 volunteers restoring the base. Apparently, they had to compete with 100 other people, passing interviews and skill tests (such as carpentry) before making it to the team. |
| Sleighs and Port Lockroy Base A |
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| Fit for a FID. Cook book by G Cutland includes recipes such as Savoury seal heart and Casserole of penguin breasts |
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| Mr Quaker in his younger days |
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| Restoring a painting on Elizabeth Taylor |
Video: Port Lockroy
Waterboat Point was where we stepped on mainland Antarctica for the first time. The Gonzalez Videla base station was established at Waterboat Point as a base for the Chilean military to perform search and rescue. The station is named after the Chilean president who was the first head of state to visit Antarctica. (Source: Antarctica cruising guide by Peter Carey and Craig Franklin) We loved the Chileans for their hospitality and their complimentary red wine and pisco sour. ¡Muchas Gracias!
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| Gonzalez Videla base station |
Polar Plunge
The polar plunge was one of anticipated events on the ship - it offered one the chance to dip in the sea in some awfully cold weather. Many were enthusiastically discussing when and where the polar plunge would take place, to participate or not and what to wear. We finally had the chance to take the plunge at Pendulum Cove of the Deception Island towards the end of our trip and we made sure we were the first ones to board the zodiac.
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| All dressed up and ready for our polar plunge From L: Sally, Melissa, Supreet, Lai |
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| Taking the plunge at 34.7°F (1.5°C) |
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| With Brenda |
The steam in the picture was 108°F (42°C), from the volcanic activities in the area. Only the top 1cm of the sea water near the beach was hot. As I walked deeper into the sea, I could feel pins and needles travelling from my feet up my legs. I went in 3.5 times. Twice more to pose for (more) photographs and the 0.5 time was to hold Brenda's hands so she could dip her head into the water and officially finish the plunge.
74 of the guests completed the polar plunge, breaking M/S Expedition's record. For this, we got an official certification from the doctors, stating categorically we have gone mad and were utterly foolish:
Christmas and New Year
We had hot chocolate with Kahlua, turkeys and log cakes on Christmas. There were also Christmas carols and even a surprise visit by Santa from the North Pole.
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| Christmas From left: Sally (my roommate), Doug the Santa, me, Dave the Penguin Photo credit: Melissa |
For New Year, we had a black-and-white themed party with a fancy dress contest and olympics (which include competitions like who could get dressed in a life-saving uit in the shortest time) before the countdown party.
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| Warrick with the proud winners of the fancy dress contest - International Penguins Photo credit: Aaron |
Video: Olympics - who could keep a chair spinning for the longest
Source: Melissa
Champagne flowed and flares lit as we sang Auld Lang Syne to welcome the new year.
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| Rather bright night |
Video: Happy New Year!
New Year flares in lieu of fireworks on M/S Expedition
Source: www.facebook.com/gadventures
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| A toast to a wonderful new year |
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