The silence is deafening, the scale overwhelming and the kaleidoscope of
“whites,” hypnotic. Antarctica exceeded all my expectations …. and then some
more.
Our 10 day G Adventure conference trip was enlightening, educational
& an enormous amount of fun. Much to our delight, the Antarctic sea was
bursting with marine life. Penguins galore, seals of all varieties and whales
enjoying the last of the summer before they began their migration north were
just a few of the wildlife we were able to view in their natural habitat.
There is nothing quite like rounding a bend to see thousands of penguins
scattered across the snow & ice, some as still as statues as they gather
all their effort for the catastrophic malt of their summer coats in preparation
for the winter months ahead. Others playing games or tobogganing on their
stomachs down a snowy slope looked like a group of children getting into
mischief. The penguin chics, were so inquisitive that they would often venture
right up to us as they waited for their parents to return with more krill
parcels to satisfy their endless demand for food.
Watching the majesty of the whales thrusting their huge aviation like tail fins into the air (often at close range) as they take their deep dives was exhilarating. They would disappear leaving only their wet breath of cold air like a geyser rising from the sea.
We became quite expert at spotting the difference between a leopard seal (spotted fur), a crab eating seal (pale grey in colour) and a fur seal (visible ears). Often luxuriating on a slab of ice floating in the middle of the sea, the seals looked like they were recovering from a heavy night – checking us out as much as we were them, they were natural performers for our cameras.
Watching the majesty of the whales thrusting their huge aviation like tail fins into the air (often at close range) as they take their deep dives was exhilarating. They would disappear leaving only their wet breath of cold air like a geyser rising from the sea.
We became quite expert at spotting the difference between a leopard seal (spotted fur), a crab eating seal (pale grey in colour) and a fur seal (visible ears). Often luxuriating on a slab of ice floating in the middle of the sea, the seals looked like they were recovering from a heavy night – checking us out as much as we were them, they were natural performers for our cameras.
We have a huge appreciation of the fortitude of the Polar explorers -
Scott, Amundsen, Creen & Shackleton - heroic adventurers in the true sense
of the word. The immense bravery they displayed to venture into unknown
territory with such extreme weather conditions – without the thermal jackets,
neoprene boots and technical gear we wore which still left us feeling cold at
times. 100years ago these great explorers saw largely the same things I saw
last week - a statement that can't really be made about anywhere else on the
planet.
I went to Antarctica wanting to see abundant sea life, but I left being
in awe of the mammoth ice, snow, icebergs & glacial structures – there is a
majesty & serenity that speaks volumes to the soul. They were immense,
dwarfing our zodiacs with their volume. It is truly an incredible region of our
planet and my overwhelming feeling during our expedition was one of immense
gratitude that I was able to witness it myself.
