Insider: How to travel the white continent responsibly according to marine biologist and Hurtigruten’s chief scientist Verena Meraldi
Making a responsible choice begins with making sure the chosen operator is a member of the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO), and those who want to travel with a sustainable company should enquire if the operator has published a sustainability plan and if it has been vetted or measured against a recognised standard. Operators engaging in citizen science do the effort of making the carbon count.
Hurtigruten’s chief scientist Verena Meraldi shares her tips.
Meraldi recommends the following citizen science programs (available on Hurtigruten journeys)
Seabird Distribution with the Antarctic Site Inventory
Help perform small-scale surveys while at sea or on shore to help scientists understand how birds are using habitats differently, depending on their biology.
Happywhale
Track whales and photograph their unique traits (pigment patterns, scars, etc.) to submit. Happywhale can compare these photos to known individuals in whale identification catalogues.
Secchi Disk study
Participate in a global survey to help monitor changes in plankton, the foundation of our ocean’s food chain.
Polar Tag
As with Happywhale, this is all about taking images of local wildlife to help scientists collect images of animal tag re-sightings with the goal of creating a better understanding of polar life.
Antarctica has long been the ultimate destination for intrepid travellers. Does a lifelong dream live up to the promise?
I’m gazing at a cluster of 20 sapphire-blue-tinged icebergs bobbing around in tranquil seas on a brilliant sunny day in Antarctica. Battered over time by high winds and waves, these glistening white monoliths range in size from colossal skyscraper-high street blocks and angular silhouettes to a Disneyland look-alike castle.
Antarctica is definitely putting on a show today. Suddenly a humpback whale pops up as if checking us out and, when satisfied, disappears under a blanket of silver-crested waves.
Incredible wildlife
Witness penguins during an Antarctica cruise. (Credit: Unsplash/Bob Brewer)
Two hours later, we travel by Zodiac and step onto the White Continent, walking among playful penguins that are as curious about us as we are about them. Brown fluffy baby chicks huddle together for protection, reminding me of a fun kindergarten party. Nearby, hefty southern elephant seals are sunbaking and surveying us with one eye open, while the more active Antarctic fur seals frolic in the shallows.
They say nothing quite prepares you for this icy wonderland, and they are right. There’s something mystical and magical about Antarctica, a place I have always longed to visit.
See Antarctica’s ice magic up close. (Credit: Renato Granieri)
Polar explorer Roald Amundsen was spot on when he compared this beautiful untamed land to something straight from a fairytale. But it’s so much more than that.
It’s an assault on all your senses. For sight, it’s the endless white land; sound – the sharp cracking of icebergs calving; smell – wafts of pungent penguin poop known as guano. For taste, it’s the freshest air ever. And as for touch, I run my hand over the smooth snowy ice.
Learn from passionate scientists
Grytviken is a hamlet on South Georgia. (Credit: Getty/Ian Deng)
Scientist and expedition leader Marco Favero, who leads A&K expedition cruises in his summer break, ensures we don’t miss a thing. Along with researching ornithology and marine biology in South America and Antarctica, he is devoted to seabird conservation.
“Antarctica is always an adventure and I never get tired of it; there’s always something different to see,” he says.
His wife, Dr Maria Patricia Silva Rodriguez, a noted ornithologist, agrees. She is on hand with a team of experts, sharing her vast knowledge of Antarctica’s bird and wildlife on our daily excursions or up on deck.
Discover the White Continent on a PONANT EXPLORATIONS luxury expedition ship. (Credit: Renato Granieri)
Onboard lectures present the facts and figures of this vast continent in a way that makes you appreciate it even more. Passionate master storyteller Rob Caskie waves his signature walking stick as he shares harrowing tales of Antarctica’s intrepid explorers and their defiance in the face of what can only be described as impossible odds.
We learn about noted Anglo-Irish Antarctic explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton and his survival story aboard the Endurance expedition (1914–1916), where he saved his entire crew despite their ship being crushed by ice. So gripping are his tales, it’s not hard to imagine the desperation of these men and the extreme cold that seeped into their bones. I can picture the weight of heavy sodden clothes that never dry, food shortages and the need to wear nine pairs of socks. It’s in stark contrast today as we sit in a heated theatre for educational lectures on PONANT EXPLORATIONS’ elegant expedition cruiser Le Lyrial.
Walk in the footsteps of explorers
An albatross glides gracefully at sea. (Credit: Renato Granieri)
The stories are all fascinating, but it’s not until you take those first steps on this land that you glean a little of what fuelled those explorers to tackle the utmost adventure.
I love the contrast of our ports, including the isolated Falkland Islands – home to more than 4000 people and a haven for wildlife. There are five different penguin species, elephant seals, sea lions and 65 per cent of the world’s black-browed albatross population.
The Historic Dockyard Museum in the capital Stanley showcases the lives of Antarctic explorers, as well as the impact of the 1982 war.
Wondrous wildlife sets the scene on South Georgia Island. (Credit: Getty/Cheryl Ramalho)
South Georgia, the remote, mountainous British Overseas Territory in the South Atlantic, is most memorable for its millions of king penguins, fur seals and albatrosses. It’s an overwhelming sight while we witness some of their amusing antics as they slip and slide on the ice.
Animals abound on the South Atlantic island of South Georgia.
Long after I return, I reflect on so many poignant memories. One of the most unforgettable? Shackleton’s grave in the Grytviken Cemetery on South Georgia Island. It faces south, towards his beloved Antarctica, with the gravestone inscription: “I hold that a man should strive to the utmost for his life’s set prize,” a Robert Browning quote.
Tourism and conservation in Antarctica
A breathtaking ice window captured at Wilhelmina Bay on the Antarctic Peninsula. (Credit: Renato Granieri)
Although tourism to Antarctica is increasing – you can now fly in and cruise – it is strictly controlled by the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators along with Antarctic Treaty nations that restrict passenger numbers, landings and environmental impact.
It is somewhat of a conundrum, weighing up the threat of overtourism in this special part of the world with my burning passion to see this stunning natural reserve dedicated to peace and science, firsthand. But I leave convinced the rigid bio-protection protocols that are enforced, and the limit of tourist numbers, ease these concerns.
The wonder of the Antarctic, the coldest, driest, highest and windiest continent on Earth, simply leaves me in awe and ignites a burning desire to help preserve it for future generations.
The verdict
My heart beats a little faster whenever I see the names of those early explorers who opened up this vast land and endured incredible hardship. This chance to visit one of the world’s last true wilderness areas is definitely life-changing for me.
Months later, I close my eyes and recall the unsurpassed beauty and the vastness, reliving the glorious rhythm of nature that played out in front of me. There really is nowhere else quite like it in the world.
Ways to cruise Antarctica
Explore one of the most untouched territories on Earth with Abercrombie & Kent’s Antarctica.
Abercrombie & Kent’s Antarctica, South Georgia and Falklands: Holiday Voyage covers 19 days and five destinations with a maximum of 199 guests. Prices start from $36,730.
Want to travel to Antarctica solo? Do so sans single supplement on selected trips with HX Expeditions, where 20 per cent of guests are doing the same.
Environmentally conscious travellers can sail Antarctica with PONANT EXPLORATIONS aboard Le Commandant Charcot, the world’s only luxury icebreaker and first hybrid electric, LNG-powered polar exploration vessel.
Or, if you want to travel without sacrificing comfort, Silversea’s time-maxxing Antarctica Fly Cruise voyages will soon include a stay at The Cormorant at 55 South, the southernmost hotel on Earth.
