First wave of emotion hits as we are pulling away from port… the feeling was surreal and we hadn’t even cleared the pier yet!! The buzz of excited chatter, the unknown, what was in store from here. .. and then shit!! I’m on this ship for 16 days, that’s over 2 weeks!! What the…!!??

Welcome and happy hour was put on by Chimu on the Aft deck to start the sailing off with a bang, it was actually quite a calm affair…everyone wary as the unknown was just so close we could all smell it. An Argentinian pilot safely led us out of the Beagle Chanel, just a mere 3 to 4 metre swell was promised into the night (owwww eeeee.) and then we hit it….The Swell!! So it was straight off to meet Dr Ray & Dr Lilliana who promptly helped decipher all possible sea sickness options to ease our angst. We were now happy with our few extra medications and we happily went to bed.

Day 2 – En route to first port, off course already… get ready for flexibility!!

After not a great sleep, it was an interesting night with waves of sleep so to speak… and certainly not my most favourite morning.

Our intentions were to make it to all the days planned lectures, however, with the new seasickness regime and still not coping with the waves too well, it was always going to be a challenge. Falklands history 101 to start off proceedings, as this was now our new first scheduled landing, we’re flexible, we’re on holidays, go ahead change course, easy… uh oh incoming vomit bomb!!

Well that’s cut that session short!! Dead in its tracks even.

It’s off to shower for me, send my gear to the laundry before a well-earned lie down, calm down and process the realisation of what just occurred. Flexibility a little more challenging on that front, but all ok.

Once all tidy again I manage to catch some later lectures on our Polar discoverers followed by another visit to Dr Ray to discuss more seasickness options and new medications were entertained and embraced, there was chopping and changing all over the place here!

After our day’s recap where we are briefed on tomorrow mornings first landing, we were welcomed by the Captain and our fearless expedition leader the ever so charming ‘boy wonder’ Alex (come on I’m on this vessel for 16 days!!). It’s all is starting to feel a little more calm and comfortable. Swell down to hardly a metre, certainly looking up for a good night ahead!

Day 3 – Surprise!! You’re landing on the Falklands

Yes, we have our surprise stop this morning. Only just started our expedition and already a change in course… as we came to find this is very common with South Georgia and Antarctic Peninsula itineraries, we need to be ready for anything. Exciting!!

We needed a stop at Stanley in the Falklands to pick up the correct fuel for our journey, Ushuaia had run a little low as it was the end of the season. No one was complaining on this little Sea Adventurer!! Everyone was very excited for the opportunity to explore and it was apparently Stanley’s best summer day for the season!!

It’s a very clean, cute, quirky little place of just 2000 residents (oh plus about another 3000 when you count the Army). Stanley has an interesting history on who claimed it and what country it was to belong to…all driving around in Range Rovers now to give you a clue.

The people are very friendly, they are just as excited to have an unexpected visit of 100 odd people. Some of our cruise-mates went to visit the unique wildlife commonly found here at Gypsy Cove, others walked into town from the ship. We had an intriguing cemetery visit, a scoot along their solar system walk, a dash around their unique museum, sent postcards (yes, weird) checked out a backyard whale bone display and saw many beautiful gardens, interesting sights, signs and places along the way. We finished the visit perfectly with an Admiral beer at the local pub in pure sunshine.

By 13:00 we were all back on board, everyone abuzz, and the afternoon was spent relaxing on the aft deck watching the Albatross soar behind us and dolphins chase our ship. There were a few lectures and introductions to the marine life with Jimmy.

Still can’t stomach beer or wine on board (I know ridiculous right!!) I have developed a wee fear of mixing them with those swells.

Day 4 & 5 – No land in sight, weird, and 2 days of it! 

Over these next 2 days we ate well and learned lots….it was even calm enough to brave some time in the room they call ‘the gym’!

We heard more about those brave, and slightly mad, explorers and their stories, Mawson, Gerlache, Amundsen, McNish, Scott, Wild, Nordenskjold, d’Urville and of course the great Shackleton, whose attempt to make the first land crossing of the Antarctic continent in 1914, failed but became famous for its epic story of survival. Stories not just of him and his crew at sea, but of the final days of the rescue mission, trekking across South Georgia Island searching for a whaling station where he knew they would find help and being able to facilitate the rescue of his 22 men from the crazy Point Wild.

Point Wild, a place we get the opportunity retrace the last part of the Shackleton teams journey in just a couple of days’ time.

Andrew Jackson, our Antarctic specialist, gives us more insight as to where we are headed, how far this unique place has come and who has claimed it.

We learnt more about the birds of the area from our gentle bird man, Santiago, and I discovered my favourite. The Mantled Sooty Albatross, I hope I’m lucky enough to see them in their nests when we reach South Georgia, fingers crossed.

With a bit of Albatross watching from a the Aft deck here and there, always keeping an eye out for whale blows, dolphins, seals and penguins that pass us by… a visit or three to the bridge to watch the Captain and his men at work, safely guiding us through the sea, made the days just sail on by.

Shag Rocks is our first sight of land on the late afternoon of day 5, our South Georgia landing is fast approaching. We are briefed on the protocol once on land, including the IAATO, conservation and bio regulations. Everyone is beside themselves with excitement!

Andrew Denton gives us an entertaining evening with the story of a Belgian Expedition in the late 1800s, where the explorers on board, among them De Gerlache & Amundsen, were faced with getting stuck in ice… for a couple of years of course. They were the first crew to spend a winter in that region, with constant setbacks attempting to get The Belgica out of her icy home and back to Antwerp, which they finally managed to do and learnt lots along the way ..including what maybe the first encounters with what a lack of vitamin C can do to you!!

All is well aboard, nowhere near an iceberg yet, Sea Adventurer… All ready for our first encounter with the locals on land!

Day 6 – South Georgia … Sweet, Sweet South Georgia.

Alex wakes us with his signature daily start

‘Good morning everyone… Good morning’

A greeting we welcome, almost not daring to move out of bed until we hear him, and makes us all beam from ear to ear.

It’s an early start, the sun is just peaking over the mountains and our first footsteps on Sth Georgia’s beautiful Fortuna Bay are about to become reality. This is something only 4,500 Australians have done since tourists have been allowed to go there in the last 20 years…which leaves us feeling ever SOOO privileged and lucky!!

Enter the mighty Kings… a second emotional wave takes over as we pull into shore on the Zodiacs.

Wow!!! It’s like nowhere on earth I’d ever seen!

A grey pebble beach awaits us from the most amazing coloured blue sea, flanked all around by snow-capped mountains and past the beach we see a flat lush green land of many streams flowing into the sea. Inquisitive King penguins dotted everywhere just doing their thing and not disturbed by us in any way, they have nothing to fear here. Then the super cute baby fur seals, sometimes with the barking mother fur seals, keep us alert and awake as we slowly try to come to terms with what we’re actually looking at.

Ridiculous!! Such a surreal feeling walking through this abundance of wildlife was as if we were walking through a movie set… we half expected a T. Rex or something random like goblins or trolls to appear from beyond the glacier up ahead.

It’s on this beach we land and begin retracing Shackleton’s last steps from May 1916, a slightly re worked hike due to water crossing our path that was bigger, deeper and flowing faster than first thought.

What a hike it was. Knowing you’re in the ‘bosses’ footsteps was quite mind blowing and even more eerie when Mike, Phil and Andrew read out small passages from his journal as we reached the same points Shackleton did along his not so easy path. Next wave of emotion hits whilst standing on top of the ridge looking down onto the Stromness whaling station. Shackleton stood at this exact spot just before 07:00, of course in hideous snow and blizzard conditions, where he could not see his hand in front of his face… but knowing that if a foghorn sounded at 07:00 then just below him was the whaling station they had been searching for since starting this freezing trek across the island.

They had found help and would rescue his stranded crew back in Point Wild. I can’t imagine how they would have felt as the haunting sound of the horn filled the sky!! Sends chills though me thinking back on that day.

All back on board, dizzy from the morning we’ve had, and we sail around to Grytviken while having a BBQ lunch on deck.

We get to land again and explore this last operational whaling station, actually closed in 1965 as there were just no whales left!! There were massive orange structures standing tall above us that held the whale’s carcasses, huge vats that held the blubber one after the other all rusting away with the history of the place that is now used as a research station. Wrecks of whaling ships and hideously oversized chains line the shore. A church manly constructed in Norway and put together on site stands proud at the back of the station, right next to the remains of the ski jump the whalers constructed to pass the time in between work.

Wow it is difficult to imagine what that was like!!

Before we leave Grytviken the whole expedition crew greet us at the whalers cemetery with cups of whiskey for everyone, to toast the boss at his grave site, this is Shackleton’s final resting place, with his right hand man Frank Wilde by his side.

What an awesome, awesome day!!

Tonight we eat South Georgian Reindeer to commemorate the eradication of reindeer from the island in protection of the wildlife… I know seems harsh, but it’s for the greater good I promise.

Day 7 – Cruising down the cost of South Georgia into Drygalski Fjord

Out if this world!

Super early start again, landing at St Andrews bay for sunrise, OMG!! We thought we had seen penguins yesterday…oh my we had seen nothing, this colony is massive!! Zodiacs landed us literally into a sea of king penguins, it was like stepping into a postcard, as we walked up into these inquisitive waddling folk. Stop … emotional moment, breathe.. take it in and walk on….all while trying not to hassle the cute/feisty baby fur seals.

Again trying to come to terms with what we saw all around as we walked up to a ridge. Beyond that ridge as far as eye could see were king penguins in the thousands!!! Tens of thousands!! Still can’t get over the amount, we could not see land for the penguins!! Mind blowing and again like lots we have seen already, near impossible to put into words.

Back on board for late breakfast, and then out again at 11:30 am for another landing, this time at Gold Harbour. Gentoo penguins and bigger fur seals & few elephant seals added to the wild life on land for this stop, as Giant Southern Petrels constantly soaring along the coastline for any feeding opportunity that may present its self … and then I got to see them…the beautiful Mantled Sooty Albatross.

Nesting up the hill and giving us a spectacular display as their baby chicks were learning to fly!! They had so much character, big, almost cartoon like eyes, such a smart looking animal. My absolute favourite bird!

Lunch is served, a little rest and mental chatter about the morning’s activities before for yet another zodiac landing of the day. SO lucky!!

Cooper Bay gave us a Macaroni colony to write home about… pee ewww are they stinky and mucky, however still very cute!! A steep climb through agitated fur seals to get to top then again, an amazing view from their home on top of the cliff.

We farewell our smelly friends and not long after we are back on board and there it was….my first whale!!

Apparently he was a humpback, from our description to Jimmy the Whale whisperer, we were both WAY too excited to actually take a photo of it!! He was so close to the port side of the ship…small fin, amazing tail with such a beautiful shape and two white blotches on his underside, and he waved at us as he disappeared beneath the freezing water. Was SOOO exciting!! Even did a jumping ‘we saw a whale tail’ dance.

The next tick off the list was the sighting of our first iceberg, looked as big as a small country! The iceberg was spotted en route to our sailing in Drygalski Fjord. Wowsers, what a spectacular and super windy little spot that was! The crew just knew how to deal with the wind (as they always did) and filled us up with hot chocolate & Baileys, it was the perfect accompaniment to warm us up against this stunning icy background. We even got to see a small glacier carve as we turned around to head further south and leave this amazing location of South Georgia.

Alex thought we would attempt a bit of star gazing tonight but this fast became a wave chaser night, massive crashes off the bow into the darkness of the night. Oh dear….we are in for a rocky night, here comes the swell again as we head back to the open sea!!

South Georgia you were a wonderful host and we miss you already… thank you for the most amazing memories!! I’m actually speechless!!

Day 8 – Farewell to sweet, sweet South Georgia, back at sea…

By the time Alex’s soothing tones woke us this morning, we were on the Scotia Sea heading southward, en route to Elephant Island and ‘Point Wild’.

Waves had kept up overnight, so lots of people were MIA….it was very quiet at meal times, lectures and no one was out on deck. The waves reached swells of up to 8mtr, winds around 25 to 30 knot (approx. 50km on land) and to top it off we also had snow on and off!!

I spent some time on the bridge watching the massive waves crash over the bow, it was like a roller coaster feeling in the belly.

We went to Phil’s ice lecture, and Seals with Jimmy later in the day. We were getting into some big weather and swirly seas again and had to slow down our speed quite a bit.

To keep our minds off the ships movement we got creative and ready for the evenings ‘Wild Western’ night. Sacagawea, Pocahontas and Hiawatha took out the top prize and won a nice SanTelmo Malbec wine to enjoy at dinner the next flat sea night. Woo Hoo!!

Day 9 & 10 – Journey toward Elephant Island continues…and looking out for Point Wild. Still!

It was a surprisingly a much better morning, the seating at breakfast was almost full compared to the day before. There were a couple of sore heads from the previous night’s Cowboys and Indians night…who’d have thought you could utilise a dance floor so well playing into the ships rocking and rolling, prompting the flow of which side we all ended up on next! Quite amusing!!

A few Fin whales around these parts, Santiago told us a bit more about Penguins & Petrels and it starts to get cooler, there are lots more ice blocks appearing around the ship.

We spend the next two whole days at sea and to be honest we are getting over it… but we know it will be worthwhile, luckily the weather conditions eventually improved and we were back up towards 12 knots again.

After breakfast, Laurie shares a moving lecture about Scott’s expedition to the South Pole. He just missed out on that first claim of the pole…they were 11miles away from safety before all men sadly, or maybe just not great planning, ended the grueling battle by losing their lives….very sad.

With the calmer conditions we were able to face the gym again, tried to earn our lunch. Then with the beautiful sunshine gracing the aft deck it was time for a little nap in the comfy chairs out the back.

The theme for dinner was ‘come as your favourite explorer’ night, so it was off to sort out another costume; after yesterday’s win there were high expectations now!!

The afternoon’s briefing explained the next couple of days and the special procedures that were required, we are about to step foot on Antarctica very soon!!

We arrived at Point Wild before dinner and wow…it was wild alright!! We had NO idea how 22 men spent 4 months in the height of an Antarctic winter sheltered under a lifeboat on that tiny, tiny little beach.

NUTS!! Just so hard to imagine!

The scenery was amazing and the icebergs were really starting to come out of the fog a little more….how exciting!!!

McNeish and his cat Mrs Chippy were what we decided to go as for the evening’s frivolities. We didn’t come away with the grand prize this time, but we were in the finals!! It was a great night, everyone looked fantastic and made a huge effort to dress up. Somehow we had enough courage to grace the bar for a little longer and it turned into another late one, the dance moves in the swells were really coming together!!

Day 11 – South Shetlands we are here!!

Yippee!!! Halfmoon Is & Deception Bay, look out here we come.

There was huge excitement among the peeps on this morning, we were getting off the ship today…twice if we were lucky with the weather!! So VERY exciting after 3 full days at sea!

We had a geology lecture with Phil after breakfast which was followed by a recap and update on the conditions of the next two days scheduled landings. We decide on no Zodiac cruising and take some time out on land with the wild surrounds and wildlife.

Halfmoon Island was home to a Chinstrap Colony, a few Gentoo’s and a lonely Macaroni Penguin.

Amazing surrounds as always, these guys are a much less inquisitive breed compared to the Kings, some larger male fur seals dotted about, thankfully none up and shuffling about.

We were carefully guided, by our amazing captain and his crew, into Whalers Bay at Deception Island, the 50km winds stopped us from a landing… so we took in all the sights from the comfort of the decks and warmth of the bridge.

We have an early night as we have a huge next two days.

Day 12 – Neko Harbour and Lumiare channel

The eager beavers in cabin 100 woke to Alex’s soothing tones and to ‘Riders On The Storm’ this morning. We were super keen, our Zodiac departure group ‘Mawson’ was due out first. We got ready and loitered on the loading deck as we wanted to be in the first boat, however, the crew came back from the initial scout drenched and covered in snow!! The landing was way too dangerous due to a bad combination of up to 50km winds, snowing, swells and too much sea ice at landing site.

So instead we had the obligatory snow fight on deck, snowmen and snow angles to rival the best, then Alex had us moving towards plan B. We lifted anchor and were off to explore further down the Sth Shetlands, searching for a more sheltered site. Alex wanted to bring us back to Neko tomorrow, as it shouldn’t be missed, but he doesn’t think we would have time…have to wait and see!

OMG, OMG, OMG…. super hard to put this day into words, emotional moments a plenty. I couldn’t believe where I was, that I had this opportunity and was able to share it all with a buddy…those moments we will remember forever!!

After the days plans were reassessed, we managed our first Antarctic Peninsula landing. Ohhhh it’s certainly Antarctic weather, the Zodiacs are up on snow & ice rather than the pebbled beaches we have had previously. With a short hike up a snowy mountain we are able to visit the Gentoo’s that call this frosty place home. So super windy…one minute we are there enjoying watching our little friends waddle up the hill one side and slide down the hill the other, and the next minute a wind comes hurtling through picking up all the fresh snow around us and it’s a white out for a few seconds. The completely white surrounds were amazing, and it’s so exciting to finally notice the change in scenery and the complete drop in temperature. We were all wide awake and mentally alert!!

Next it’s off to the continent…

At 63 degrees south we all got to stamp another continent on our travel CV’s, and at Brown Station we take our first steps on land…woo hoo my 7th continent!! Unbelievable!! Of course it’s covered in snow, my most favourite thing in the world to look at, I can feel its coolness on my skin, the air on my face, it’s pure & clean smell and the sound of it crunch under my feet.

We hiked our way up the mountain beside a crevasse, through a luge like walled track (that comes in handy on the way down!) to a viewing point above the Argentinian research station. I can’t hold back the emotions anymore, far out, it’s stunning!! We made it up first and were so lucky to get some unforgettable moments on our own up the top and found it difficult to wipe the smiles from our faces!

Unbelievable sights all around us; it’s not that high up but feels like we are on top of the world…which is ironic as we are pretty much right at the bottom of it!!

The luge like walls were lots of fun on the way down, even walked up a second time just to fly down again!!! Lots of fun :o)

Once we are all back on board, the deck comes alive with stories of the morning and we find out a few of the Zodiacs were witness to a leopard seal and its penguin lunch! The whole chase, torment, capture, kill and devour captured on film…this Leopard Seal had no problem with onlookers and the pictures were amazing!!

We were almost at the southernmost point of our expedition and to celebrate we are introduced to The Lumaire Channel….and that was officially it, it has got to an absolutely ridiculous point…the moment we can’t believe anything more beautiful and wonderful could be thrown at us, we end up here!!

Stunning in so many ways … the change from the rough seas we have just had to endure to the utter calmness of the sea after we enter the Chanel, the icebergs, the masses of fin and humpback whales all around our ship their beautiful trail of footprints as they surface and blow before they duck down in the depths of the waters, the mountains, the mirror image of our surrounds shimmering in the mercury like liquid, it seems we are floating on the sunset, the iceberg grave yard, the moon…..

The reality is that we may never have made it to this incredible part of the world, the weather is always a consideration and is so unpredictable, but thanks to the most flexible and unbelievable organisation from the ever so knowledgeable Alex and his ever passionate super experienced team with the amazing captain and his sailors, we made it and I got one hell of a lifelong experience.

I was so drained from the excitement of the day and was in an overwhelmed state.

Wow…going to be some great dreams tonight!!

Day 13 – Final day of landings… Weather is moving in, the Antarctic summer coming to an end.

Alex and the teams early challenge this morning was searching to find us a coast suitable for today’s landing in Mikkelsen Harbour, the Southern coast of Trinity Island. It takes some careful calculation and finally the captain and crew are happy, they find an ‘apparently’ protected spot for us to disembark… could have fooled me on the protected part!!

The Zodiac ride out was nothing but freezing winds and wet !! Yep that’s right today even I, who doesn’t feel the cold, was cold!!

Waves, plenty of wind mixed with snow that hit the face like they were little rocks, Dave did the best wave riding he could to keep us dry but we landed a little soggy this time, so thank goodness we chose the super weatherproof gear today. Truly got a firsthand feel of a real Antarctic experience en route to shore.

Bigger male fur seals, a Weddell seal and a stack of very happy active Gentoo penguins occupied this frosty little place. They were so busy amongst themselves and you could certainly tell they are the exact fit for this kind of environment. They were just so alert, shuffling about, sliding down the hills to meet their mates, having a ball playing and washing in and about in the iceberg infested waters. They were so funny to watch!!

It was such a treat to have seen these guys in the beautiful blue skied surrounds when we started and now in the contrast of this white paradise as far south as we were going to get, around 64 degrees. It’s been amazing!

The only other time we are getting out of the Sea Adventurer today, was if we decided to join the ‘Antarctic Polar Plunge Club’ So those with a momentary lapse in sanity, willingly jumped off the side of the ship and into the freezing waters filled with icebergs. Of course I was one of them!! I did contemplate for a little while there, but as soon as I saw the first fruit loop jump in I wasn’t going to pass up this opportunity of extraordinary foolishness.

Ooww eeeee, as expected, it was freakishly cold!! Only lasted about 7 seconds, so didn’t have to stop breathing for too long!! The energy of everyone waiting back up on the deck cheering, singing and dancing, had us all warmed up inside and out in no time, well that and the shot of vodka & whiskey shoved at us!! This was all under the watchful eye of Dr Ray, the ship’s doctor, who was on hand with the defibrillator…yep safe as houses!

We had a charity auction and trivia quiz night to wrap up the day and get everyone into great spirits as we were about to head into The Drake!!!

We were hoping to just miss the hideous weather pattern that’s about to send the area into a spin, literally!!! So with absolute entire confidence in our captain and team, we sneak off to cabin 100, batten down anything not bolted to the floor, put hair ties around all the cupboard doors and hope to manage just to stay in bed…it was going to be a feat!!

Day 14 &15 – Our last days at sea spent in ‘The Drake’ on the lookout for Cape Horn

We had a rocky start to the morning and that pretty much goes on for the next two days, we have caught up to the tail end of the hideous weather pattern that we were worried about yesterday, so more than ever we kept one hand free to save yourself and one hand for the ships walls to steady yourself. We had all mastered this mode of walking by this stage so all is well, mind you getting through dinner with 15 to 18 meter swells was nothing short of interesting!!!

We spend these last few days out on the decks watching the sea and its constant movement, marvelling at how our ship cuts through it towards our final destination. Lots of chatting about our last two weeks adventures, photo sharing and hearing stories of all the expedition crews amazing lives outside of the Antarctic…they are all truly fearless, wonderful people, hungry for the all the wilds the world has to offer.

We spotted Cape Horn waaaaaaaay off in the distance and it’s not long after that we reach the calm waters of the Beagle Chanel; we are on track to pick up our local pilot to guide us through to Ushuaia by sunrise.

Day 16 – Arrival back into Ushuaia

We are woken by Alex for the very last time and he doesn’t disappoint and gives us a wakeup call none of us will forget, mostly because most people had recorded it!! Hehe…

It’s not long after, the sad realisation that this mind blowing, once in a life time, experience is about to end in beautiful Ushuaia, and we will soon have to say our goodbyes to the wonderful people who have made the last 16 days of our lives something that we will never ever forget.

If you have ever thought that going to such a remote, untouched by most, place as this is just a little out of reach I urge you to never to give up on it, never ever write it off your bucket list.

Make it work it into your life’s plans, doesn’t matter how long it takes you to get there.

It is just the most spectacular place in the world I ever have seen, and I’ve seen some pretty amazing places. You will have so many wonderful memories and moments to cherish for the rest of your life, and you can be certain whenever you think about it, any single part of that trip or look at a photo, it is guaranteed to always bring a smile to you face with the most warm feeling inside you will be beaming from ear to ear!