The adventure to the South Pole....
Well, to be completely honest, the adventure was moreso concentrated on Antarctica’s peninsula rather than the actual South Pole. Nevertheless, we made it to the White Continent!
Pre-Adventure
Mental and physical preparation for this trip started a couple months prior to leaving (not good for last minute packers). As the Antarctic truly has zero commercial activities, you cannot simply pop by a convenience store or mall to buy your necessities. Pack everything! Items to cross of the list, early on, included a physical examination and sign off by a medical practitioner (to assert you are physically fit to do this expedition), vaccinations (if any), and a passport check.
Just a quick comment on the passport check – neither Argentina nor Antarctica require specific passport validity (ex. 6 months validity) for a Canadian passport but double check with your cruise operator as they may have their own requirements. As for visa requirements, Antarctica requires nothing but Argentina requires a “REPROCITY Fee” of ~ $92USD for any Canadian, American or Australian passport holders. Make sure to keep that piece of paper with you handy even after successful entry into Argentina as the cruise operator will require you to submit a copy to them upon embarkation.
Background
For anyone interested in partaking in an Antractic adventure in the near future, here is just some information to help your decision making process! As Antarctica remains “ungoverned”, you cannot simply board a plane and land on the White Continent unless you are a researcher or scientist. For tourist purposes, the only feasible (feel free to correct me if I’m wrong) access is via Sea. As such, Ushuia is an extremely popular starting point as it is the most southern point in the world.
There are multiple cruise lines that you can take. We splurged and went with the French company’s Ponant (Le Lyrial).
My last comment, before getting into the specifics, is to remain flexible. This “cruise” is an expedition cruise as such the map originally planned for your trip can easily change within seconds due to either weather, ice shifting, animal behaviours, etc. Our itinerary was completely changed as our Captain noted the ice was particularly favourable as such he wanted to try going as South as possible (passed the Antarctica circle). A first for many of his crew and for this ship – yes, I was nervous.
Also, you must be ready to get up and go at a moment’s notice. Be it 6AM or in the middle of dinner, be ready to drop everything and anything, put your gear on and get onto the bridge (or even a zodiac). As the Captain put it, you have the rest of your life to recuperate.
The Map
The entire trip takes about 14 days with the cruise being 11 days / 10 nights. Of this, only approximately 5 days is spent on the White Continent. Due to its extremely remote location, the majority of your time is spent travelling to/from Antarctica. Is it worth it, you ask? Well, that’s completely up to you to decide!
We started our trip from Vancouver, BC (Canada) and traveled over 24 hours to get to Buenos Aires, Argentina. We stayed the night in Buenos Aires before taking a ~ 3 hour chartered flight (this should be included by your cruise package) from Buenos Aires to Ushuia.
From Ushuaia, the boat will take ~ 2 days to pass through the Drake Passage. While travelling through the Polar Front, your ability to withstand feeling sea sick will definitely be tested as the waters are notoriously rough as the area is where the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans meet. There are an abundance of remedies you can adopt to minimize feeling ill: pills, patches, wristlets, gravol, etc. I was quite fortunate with just using a patch and feeling perfectly fine. Others did not fare so well.
By Day 3, the waters are much calmer as you approach the Antarctic Peninsula. The original itinerary was as follows:
Day 4: Neko Harbour & Paradise Bay
Day 5: Pleneau Island & Port Charcot
Day 6: Port Lockroy
Day 7: Deception Island
Day 8: The Weddell Sea
As mentioned above, you must be flexible with your itinerary as nothing is set in stone. Our particular trip was significantly altered given that the Captain felt it was possible to push the ship further south than originally planned. As such, our itinerary became the following:
Day 4: Detaille Island (past the Antarctic Circle) & Ice Hunting
Day 5: Pleneau Island & Port Lockroy
Day 6: Whale Searching near Melchior & Neko Harbour
Day 7: Paradise Bay & Cuverville
Day 8: Deception Island & Elephant Island
The Itinerary
Day 4: Detaille Island (past the Antarctic Circle) & Ice Hunting
Our trip was extra special as the captain of our ship decided to venture more south than usual as a result of "favourable" weather. Lucky for us, this allowed us to check out Detaille Island. Perhaps it was because we were truly in the Antarctic Circle but our first moments in Antarctica were not very pleasant. Freezing cold with chilling winds and snow coming from all directions, it was truly a South Pole experience. It was nearly impossible to see anything let alone keeping one's eyes open long enough to admire the view. But from a far, I could spot a few black spots. With my lens, I was able to get a better look, and realized we were surrounded by hundreds of penguins! It was a very cool moment (although by day 8, the sight of a penguin became rather ordinary and uneventful)
Later that day, the capital decided we would go "ice hunting". What does that mean? Basically, seeking out massive ice sheets which gave us awesome views from our cabins of wild life playing just a hundred metres away but also stunning views of ice in all its glory. The absolute silence and calming views made for a perfect afternoon. To wrap up the day, we geared up, hopped on a zodiac and had some champagne on a massive floating piece of ice. The guide excitedly announce, before rushing us back to the ship, that for the first time in our lives we were "nowhere".
PS: We saw a emperor penguin. Apparently it had lost its group as that particular specie is usually on the opposite side of the continent at that time of the year. Sad but still cool to see him/her.
Day 5: Pleneau Island & Port Lockroy
Waking up the next morning was the most peaceful moment of my life. Can you imagine waking up to a view of the morning sun reflecting off the calm icy waters and stepping out to your balcony to take a breath of amazingly fresh air? Day 5 was the first time we finally got to really explore landside and I was in penguin heaven! There were literally hundreds of penguins everywhere, some only a few metres away. The rule was that you had to stay 5 feet away but if they approached you, you just need to stop moving and let them do their thing. Some of those penguins were NOT shy!
We also got to check out Port Lockroy which was a British research station up until 1996 when it became a museum and the only operating post office on the continent. Yes, I mailed myself a postcard. Had to!
Day 6: Whale Searching near Melchior & Neko Harbour
One of my least favorite moments of the trip was getting impromptu 6am wakeup calls from the Captain that went something along the lines of... "Bonjour.... we've just spotted some rare whale pods. Get up!" 5 minutes later, "We strongly recommend you to get up NOW. This is a once in a lifetime opportunity"... and maybe 30 seconds after that "We mean it. Get up!". Anyways, it was still very cool watching all the pods going abouts their merry way, feeding, swimming and hanging out.
Later that day, we reached Neko Harbour. Hiking just a few steps in full snow gear felt like a full body workout. By the time I reached the top, I did not need my red parka and was pretty much in my t-shirt. Nonetheless the view was stunning and the number of penguin colonies made for a great afternoon of "penguin watching". Apparently, the success rate of penguin hatching is not that great as first time parents would either lose sight of their egg or mess up on the co-parenting schedule and accidentally leave the egg unattended (and frozen).
Day 7: Paradise Bay & Cuverville
Day 7 was cut short as the weather was not working out for us. Apparently we brought the rain from Vancouver. In any case, we got a chance to take the zodiac out in the morning and drive around the bay. We got up close and personal with a few adorable seals while they snoozed on their ice sheet. Definitely a once in a lifetime view.
Day 8: Deception Island & Elephant Island
As we made our way back north towards Ushuaia, our last stop was to Deception Island & Elephant Island. Deception Island was pretty neat - This island is the caldera of an active volcano and previously held a whaling station. Elephant Island was also an interesting sight with endless rows of elephant seals (hence, the name). Their smell made it a little easier to say goodbye.
Summary
Overall, this trip was a once in a lifetime opportunity and I am so glad we did it. Who knows what the conditions will be like 10-20 years from now given all the global warming issues. The overall trip cost was insanely expensive ($10k USD for the cruise alone pp). Granted we spent all our honeymoon fund on this trip, it was still worth it! There are alternative companies that can take you there for far cheaper but I'd be cautious to check their terms & conditions. Many say they go to Antarctica but you are pretty much seeing everything from a window (as oppose to actually stepping foot onto land). Other companies may also do it very cheaply but run a higher chance of running into issues. Trust me, you do not want to be stranded in the middle of nowhere with moving sheets of ice and unpredictable weather. If you're going to go for it, spend the money and have a fabulous time.
Tips
Give yourself enough time in Argentina as there is high probability your checked luggage might get lost. It will be summertime in Argentina so you will not be very lucky in finding winter gear. Alternatively, pack as much into your carry-on as possible
Be prepared for any weather – as it is summer in the Antarctica it can be as warm as +5 degrees celcius but with wind chills it can get quite cold. Our attire for the daily excursions included thermal underwear + fleece layer + waterproof layer. Waterproof boots and parka were provided by the cruise. Sunglasses + toque is also recommended.