We are still longing for chances to explore new places and decided to experience Antarctica first hand. Francien and I embarked on an expedition ship in Ushuaia, the most southern city of the world at Cape Horn. Our ship ‘Hondius’ is a purpose-build 107 meter long ship, enabling 140 passengers to experience this ice world.
The map of our 2800 kilometer journey
Our journey started, crossing the infamous Drake Passage, known for its rough seas. It took two days to cross the 900 km ocean. In the observation lounge, our expedition team briefed us about the upcoming activities. We learned how to ensure the bio-security of this fragile environment: - each time we would disembark our ship, we had to disinfect and clean our shoes and lower legs: - zero tolerance when it came to leaving anything behind in the sea or on land: - at all times we had to keep strict minimum distances from any wildlife we encountered. We also practiced how to put on our life jackets, how to safely embark, disembark a zodiac (inflatable boat), how to dress and how to behave – all this was new to us and exciting to understand what it would take to remain safe in this unforgiving and harsh environment.
The ship rolled with 2-4 metre swells. Occasionally I was struggling to find my sea legs as I stumbled through the corridors and the lounge, always holding onto the railing with one hand. Cape Petrels and Southern Giant Petrels swept across the sea. Albatrosses glided past our windows, the sea was packed with thick clouds. Once we reached the continent, the seas calmed down. ‘Hondius’ wove a route through the drifting icebergs and brash ice. I saw a spout in the distance: my first whales. More than that! A pod of 50 humpback whales surrounded us in every direction. I stood on the deck and heard not only the sound of the spouts, but also the 'singing' of those majestic mammals. This tranquil sound across the water made these giants even more graceful. After five minutes they disappeared into the depth of the ocean. Fully taking in that moment was magical.
Albatross with a wingspan of 3 meters gliding alongside our ship
The next eight days, each morning and afternoon, two staff scout zodiacs headed to the prospective landing sites to assess any potential safety issues like hazardous snow conditions, steep slopes, unstable land ice conditions, potentially dangerous in the event of a major calving event, build up of brash ice which could jeopardize pick-up and last but not least the ever-changing weather conditions. If all conditions were safe, they un-loaded marker poles, shore barrels (with safety equipment) and the necessary gear like snowshoes and ropes on the landing site. Only then we disembarked the ship on zodiacs through two shell-doors on the lower deck. We put on 4 – 5 layers of thermo-clothing and our special boots, preparing ourselves to do snowshoeing to pinguins colonies, hiking up glaciers, kayaking between pale blue icebergs or cruising in zodiacs on the water looking for, pinguins, birds, seals, whales and simply taking in the incredible icy landscapes.
The team prepared our zodiacs for a landing
Before disembarking we had to disinfect our boots and lower legs to prevent contamination with viruses, bacteria and plant seeds
Getting from the ship onto the zodiacs
On the third evening Francien and I boarded a zodiac and we were on our way to a snow-covered outcrop for overnight camping. The glacial landscape looked terrifying. We heard ‘explosions’, the cracking of the ever-moving glaciers. We dug a 50 cm deep and 2-meter-wide hole in the thick snow to provide protection against the icy winds. Blue ice shone through the snow when we dug into it. We put our sleeping bags, sleeping pads and a bivy sack inside and curled up in our gear. Looking at the sky, we enjoyed the solitude and silence. We heard one more cracking of ice from the calving glacier only 1000 meters away. I felt how vulnerable and insignificant we were in this environment. The next morning at 5:00, our guides Carina and Saskia woke us up. Snow dusted our sleeping bags. Although the temperatures had dropped to -5 C, we were comfortably warm. Before we returned to the ‘Hondius’, we made sure all the dugout holes were closed again, to prevent pinguins falling in.
Digging a hole in the snow to put our sleeping bags in for the overnight camping. Note the blue ice shining through the snow
In the morning our sleeping bags were dusted with fresh snow. The temperature had dropped to -5 C
The team prepared a landing site so we could climb from our zodiac onto the land
One crispy cold morning Francien and I did a roped glacier trek on Hovgaard Island. Allen, our mountaineering guide roped six people to ensure anyone falling in a crevasse, a deep crack in the icesheet invisible due to the thick layer of snow, would be secured. On our snowshoes we crunched our way through the snow, up the steep glacier. The sun was intense not only because the light reflected on the bright snow, but we were underneath the hole in the earth’s ozone layer. The views from the top of the glacier were beyond anything I had seen on my many travels. We kept total silence for two minutes and that was another humbling experience amid this gigantic icy world. We descended back to our landing site and took off our gear, waiting for the zodiacs to pick us up again. However, a strong current had pushed a lot of brash ice onto our landing site. It made it difficult for the zodiacs to come close to shore. Only with the help of some additional zodiac power we could step into these remarkable strong and versatile inflatable boats.
Roped glacier hiking with our guide leading the way
This glacier was steep and the snow partly iced, so we climbed in a zig-zag pattern
On top of the glacier. The silence and views will remain memories forever
Leaving the ship for another cruise on our zodiacs
On yet another sunny day without much wind, Francien and I paddled in our kayak along the towering glaciers in Paradise Harbour. A massive glacier stood 2 km wide and 40 meters high, gradually pushing its way into the sea. In the far distance we saw a number of avalanches thundering down. Penguin's swam alongside our kayak.
The water temperature was -1 C. Falling into this water would give you not more than 5 minutes to get out!
When we did not go on shore, we cruised slowly and gently in the ice seas. We ploughed through thin icefloes and could hear the ice melt and crash, which had a certain mystery. We came close to Weddell, Fur and Crabeater Seals laying on icefloes. Thousands of Gento, Chinstrap and Adele Penguins wherever we went. We saw them walking up onto hills along the water. They knew these were the spots on which the snow would melt first, exposing bare rocks. On those they built their nests. It is a comical scene of busy penguin's, mating, sleeping and making a lot of noise. It was springtime and this ice world was slowly melting. Thousands of small and large icebergs formed spectacular sculptures, no two were the same. This old ice is pale blue and with the sun reflecting on them, it makes for incredibly beautiful views.
Speaking of incredible experiences: One afternoon on the zodiac we saw two sleeping Humpback Whales. As we gently approached them, they woke up and slowly submerged. They kept surfacing around our tiny boat. I heard the burst of air each time they broke the surface. Suddenly one 14 – 17-meter-long whale gently surfaced again just meters in front of our zodiac, rising and rising and looking like it would collide with us. Some passengers got a fright, even crying and screaming. Only 20 meters away from our zodiac it gently swam underneath us and it disappeared into the deep. I must admit, my heartbeat went up a bit! Moments like these again were reminders of our fragility in this harsh continent.
This humpback whale dived underneath our zodiac less than 20 meters away
Sometimes the blue sky made way for polar snowfall. The ‘Hondius’ quickly covered with snow and ice and it was not safe to embark onto a zodiac. One afternoon it was impossible to disembark from the ship due to katabatic winds at our planned landing site. Icebergs and sea ice much more than what Toni, our captain, had anticipated. Antarctica was in charge, and Antarctica controlled what we did. We moved slowly through pancake sea ice, avoiding up to 15-meter-high icebergs. Our plans for the next couple of days depended on the ever-changing ice situation. We observed the bridge staff how they navigated through the ice, which is not like setting a course, it is more like zigzagging around (and also through) the ice, in order to get to a certain point. Turquoise-coloured icebergs drifted around, each telling its own story: Were they part of an iceshelf or a tide glacier? Have they been in the water for a long time or have they tumbled a lot already? Tidelines, cupules and firn lines could explain all this.
The weather did change very fast
Leopard Seal
GPS 12.00 Position: 64°49’S / 063°31’W Wind: NE3 Sea State: Calm Weather: Sunny Air Temp: +1°C Sea Temp: +0.5°C
This iceberg had just tipped
We spent many hours on that bridge and one afternoon we were treated to yet another magical moment: Through our binoculars we saw a pod of 15-20 Orca’s (killer whales) hunting down the calf of a Humpback Whale cow. The whale kept surfacing, helping the young to breath while the Orca’s were encircling them. Three Orca’s were ‘spy-hopping’ - raising their heads vertically above the water and then slipping back below the water's surface. Ashleigh, our marine mammal scientist, explained this seldomly observed behaviour in great detail, leaving many of us bewildered and humbled.
Francien and I spent many interesting hours on the bridge of the Hondius
These two weeks have taken us on a remarkable journey to the Antarctic Peninsula, the South Shetlands, and the vast Southern Ocean in between. Adventure was the very nature of this expedition. We saw a wreck of an old whaling ship, visited an abandoned research station and explored an old glacier airstrip. We saw seals, smelled the pinguins and admired albatrosses. We spotted 200 whales: Fin Whales, Right Whales, Orcas, and foremost Humpback Whales. We experienced an incredible ice world. This journey showed us how varied and numerous life is in this remote and inhospitable corner of our Planet Earth. It’s wild, unpredictable, and can change at any moment. It’s dangerous. The unpredictability of the voyage was yet another part of what made it so special – we were fully at the mercy of the ice, the wind and the wildlife. Each day, while there was always a plan laid out for us, we never knew what was going to happen.
Every hobby has its tribe: on this trip we were accompanied by an expert expedition team and well-travelled fellow passengers. We all forgot what day it was, we had no Internet access to speak of, enjoyed nature and were curious to learn more about it. Everyone had her/his personal highlight and we all disembarked the ‘Hondius’ back in Ushuaia still trying to get our heads around what we had all experienced. But we all learned one thing: we are insignificant in this inhospitable part of the world.
One great by-product of travel: while having a good time, you are exposed to things which make you think. This continent made us think! Even our best shots won’t remotely convey its beauty, scale and power. There are so few places on the planet where you can go and experience life at it was lived for thousands of years. Antarctica, the seventh continent never inhabited by humans, is one of them. Thank you!