Last Remaining Wilderness On Earth?
If ever there was an edge to the Earth it would be Antarctica; the final great wilderness of the world. Antarctica is the seventh barely discovered continent and it is arguable there is no better adventure. Trips to the world’s southernmost landmass are understandably few and far between, but Swoop Patagonia are one service who can arrange expeditions to see this unique region of ice and mystery.
Swoop Patagonia’s South Pole Crossing is an expedition aboard the Russian Arctic vessel Vavilov that embarks from Ushuaia, South America’s southernmost city, and then charts a course due south. Navigating through the Beagle Channel you travel in the footsteps of some of the world’s most influential explorers; Charles Darwin aboard the HMS Beagle on his voyage that changed the scientific world, Magellan aboard the Trinidad, the first man to circumnavigate the globe, and Captain Scott who made Britain’s first, ultimately tragic voyage to the South Pole. Your voyage charts a journey 66 degrees south to explore the Antarctic Circle itself.
Fauna
Antarctica is famed for some remarkable creatures and holds even more surprises. Penguins are some of the Antarctic Peninsula’s most charismatic residents, exposed rock surfaces regularly providing rookeries to wonderful rafts of Adelie Penguins and the most southern colony of Gentoo Penguin.
The Antarctic also has seals in abundance; Weddel, Leopard, Crabeater, as well as the most bizarrely impressive of them all, the huge Southern Elephant Seal.
Over the eight days travellers spend on the Antarctic Circle in inflatable Zodiac crafts, you are highly likely to experience the entire richness of Antarctica’s incredible menagerie.
The luckiest explorer might even experience one of nature’s most incredible sights; gentle and majestic Humpback whales dining on krill in these rich waters. The seas around the Antarctic Circle can also be home to magical Minke whales and Orcas.
Sights
A South Pole Crossing Adventure will also allow you to see a landmass so vast and void of life that the Antarctic Ice Shelf is officially recorded to be the biggest and coldest desert on earth. Aboard the Vavilov take a trip through the waters aboard inflatable Zodiac crafts. Travellers will navigate epic ice flows and glaciers, as well as ‘tabular’ icebergs, that break away from the continent’s ice shelf, an occurrence that is both common and overpoweringly awe inspiring.
Landing sites include Neko Harbour, Wilhelmina Bay, Petermann Island and the Yalours. At these locations travellers can even choose to stay and camp for the night, providing the opportunity for even further exploration of the world’s most foreign landmass and even see the barely believable sight of a sunset over the South Pole.
Little needs to be said about the awesome experience of the South Pole. Images of titanic tabular iceberg flows and fearsome orca whales slicing through the ocean waves are more evocative than a thousand words. A voyage to the southernmost edge of existence is a personally transforming experience that few can boast of. In this ever-shrinking world, where the lesser known map regions have all been filled in, Antarctica remains the world’s final wilderness and greatest adventure.
This guest post was written by Swoop Patagonia who specialise in holidays in Patagonia, and cruises to Antartica
