Antarctica - The last continent!

Men Wanted

For hazardous journey. Small wages, bitter cold, long months of complete darkness, constant danger, safe return doubtful.

Honour and recognition in case of success.

 There is some debate as to whether Ernest Shackleton really did post this advertisement in 1913 as he sought to crew his ill fated Endurance expedition to the South Pole but it’s a good story anyway.

Thankfully it's no longer a requirement to risk one's life when travelling on an expedition to the great white continent.

 Our expedition left from Montevideo, Uruguay and after visiting the Falkland Islands we turned east towards the sub Antarctic island of South Georgia which played a pivotal role in the famous rescue of Shackleton's crew.

 For a week we travelled along the island's sheltered east coast stopping at the former whaling station of Grytviken, a poignant reminder of the islands past. The whalers cemetery here is also Shackleton's final resting place and we paid our respects with a toast to his name. As a Kerryman I have to mention my fellow Kingdom native Tom Crean who was one of the five men Shackleton selected to travel with him to South Georgia on their audacious rescue mission. A replica of the fragile vessel they used is in the South Georgia museum.

 South Georgia however is mostly famous for it's wildlife and scenery. Known as the Serengeti of the south it's beaches are packed with fur seals and elephant seals contesting each other for every square inch of beach while hundreds of thousands of penguins set up breeding colonies against a backdrop of jagged mountain tops and glaciers.

 There are no docks here so setting foot on the island requires jumping in to zodiacs which ferried us from ship to shore. There are strict regulations when visiting so before every landing expedition staff would find a safe landing zone and set out a path for us to walk to cause no disruption to the wildlife.

 As our zodiacs pulled up on the beach we would jump out and wade through the surf to our landing zone to be greeted by male elephant seals challenging each other for prime real estate, fur seals nursing their pups and king penguins winding their way through the scrum to go on fishing expeditions for their chicks. It's a wildlife enthusiasts paradise.

 After South Georgia we turned south west to Antarctica. Over the next few days we made good progress in to the headwind, waves crashed, whales breached, albatross and a variety of seabirds escorted us on our way before finally we got our first glimpse of Antarctica at Elephant Island. It was here that Shackleton, Crean and company left the rest of the crew to wait it out as they sailed to South Georgia for help. Miraculously, all of the crew were to survive their ordeal.

 Setting foot on the great white continent is never guaranteed as the weather conditions will ultimately have their say. Our first foray in to the fjords of the Antarctic peninsula were unsuccessful, we did get in to the zodiacs at Charcot Bay however visibility was poor and we made do with the surreal experience of getting within touching distance of the icebergs drifting throughout the bay.

 As we docked in a nearby fjord that night, standing on the deck with a drink in hand, the never setting sun started to poke through the clouds and spirits started to raise. Sure enough the following morning the expedition staff radioed back from their scouting mission. They had found a landing spot and conditions were safe.

 The excitement on our eight person zodiac was tangible as we journeyed away from the ship, not a breath of wind in the air, not a ripple on the water's surface except for the ones we were making as we weaved our way through the icebergs, carefully avoiding the gentoo penguins as they effortlessly bobbed and weaved their way on their own expeditions.

Suddenly as we rounded an iceberg the shore came in to view and our expedition leader Jonathan, beaming from ear to ear, was there waiting to welcome us to Antarctica with a colony of gentoo penguins perfectly situated on the snowy slopes above him.

It was an unforgettable view to match an unforgettable moment. Finally, I was about to set foot on the last continent!

 Are you dreaming of setting foot on Antarctica? All you have to do is get in touch and we can turn that dream in to a reality.