I've been guiding voyages in the Arctic and Antarctic for a few years now, and the passengers are (almost) always great people. They love the outdoors, are curious and willing to learn anything they can about whatever new environment they find themselves in, and often have a particular passion to feed: history, birdwatching, or sailing, for example. But this next trip will be a new experience for me.
I'm sailing this afternoon on the 'Professor Molchanov', completely chartered by a study tour from Victoria University of Wellington, in New Zealand, where I first studied geology and made my first trip to Antarctica. The university has been doing research in Antarctica for 50 years, mostly coordinated by the Antarctic Research Centre.
In 2007 there was a reunion of old expeditioners, and now a couple of us are acting as guides to share our experience with a group of interested people from the wider university community. The ARC has a strong history of research into the history of climate change in Antarctica, most recently leading drilling studies to study the history of the ice sheet, such as the ANDRILL programme.
The 46 participants are well prepared, having had a series of lectures on antarctic history, science, and law before leaving Wellington. Now we're sailing off to see the real thing, and they're hungry for information to enrich their own experiences! As with the last trip, I expect to be too busy working to write blog reports, but a journalist on board, Stephanie Gray, will be maintaining her own Slice of Ice.
Who knows exactly what we'll see? You can never be sure, making a trip into a total wilderness. But I'm sure it will be both interesting and fun!
ciao from Ushuaia,
Dan
Isn't it a bit late in the season to be starting a cruise?
Posted by: Lab Lemming | 11 February 2008 at 02:01 PM
We're back in Ushuaia!
No, it's not too late to be visiting the Antarctic Peninsula. We saw lots of penguin chicks, some still in their down feathers, others with waterproof adult plumage, almost ready to take to sea. And the adult birds are just beginning their annual moult, which will keep them on land for two or three weeks. So there will be plenty of birds to see for a while yet. Some ships will make cruises until the end of March, but things get pretty quiet around the penguin colonies by then.
When the penguins have gone, tourists don't want to visit Antarctica, but the Peninsula region remains accessible by ship for several months more.
cheers,
Dan
Posted by: Dan Zwartz | 20 February 2008 at 01:53 AM