Exploring Antarctica: What It’s Really Like on an HX Expeditions Cruise

Ever wondered what it actually takes to reach Antarctica and what it feels like when your boots hit the ice? We open up the journey, from long-haul hops to Ushuaia and life aboard a small HX Expeditions hybrid ship to the reality of the Drake Passage, then unpack how strict biosecurity and expert-led briefings make this fragile place accessible without losing what makes it special.

From the first glide through the Lemaire Channel to five unforgettable landings, we share practical detail on zodiacs, group rotations, and why “penguin highways” must be respected. Expect honest gear talk, thermals, waterproof trousers and sunblock over bulky ski wear, plus notes on seasickness, balcony cabins, and how the science centre turns downtime into discovery. We also get real about cost, value, and choosing a responsible operator that prioritises smaller groups and environmental impact.

Guest travellers Karen and David add vivid moments, whales surfacing beside a silent ship, the shock of a polar plunge, and stepping onto the mainland at an Argentine base. We compare Antarctica with the Falkland Islands, weigh when to go, and highlight wildlife spotted from deck. If you’re planning your first polar cruise or simply curious about the White Continent, this is a grounded guide to going prepared and coming home with more than photos.

📝  Show Notes - Episode 88

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Transcript

Welcome And Episode Setup

SPEAKER_07 0:00

Curious about what it's really like to visit Antarctica? In this episode, I share my experiences and chat with fellow travellers from my recent HX Expeditions cruise to the White Continent. Together we talk about the beauty and surprises of the journey and the practical information you'll want to know before you go.

SPEAKER_00 0:17

Welcome to the Global Travel Planning Podcast. Your host is founder of the Global Travel Planning website, Tracy Collins. Each week, Tracy is joined by expert guests as she takes you on a journey to destinations around the world, sharing travel inspiration, itinerary ideas, and practical tips to help you plan your next adventure. Join us as we explore everywhere from bustling cities to remote landscapes, uncover cultural treasures and discover the best ways to make your travel dreams a reality.

SPEAKER_07 0:57

So rather than me doing the usual and interviewing other people, Doug is actually turning the tables and chatting with me about my recent trip to Antarctica. Now, Antarctica was just one of those destinations that I never thought I'd get to. It was a kind of one day, maybe I'll get there. Um and really just seemed, I don't know, from when I was a child, it just seemed like an amazing uh place to go. And believe me, it was. Um anyway, when the opportunity came along to go to Antarctica, so thanks very much to Melissa for um asking me to join her on this cruise. I just could not believe my luck and decided I absolutely had to go. Now the trip took me from Brisbane to Sydney, then on to Santiago and Chile, then to Buenos Aires, and then down to Eshuaia before boarding an expedition ship bound for Antarctica and the Falcon Islands. Now I travelled with HX Expeditions aboard the Rolled Amundsen, which is an expedition-style ship designed specifically for polar travel, and what an amazing boat it was. Absolutely fantastic. So in the first part of this episode, Duggar and I are gonna chat about what it was really like to plan and experience Antarctica, uh, what surprised me most and whether it lives up to its bucket list reputation. Uh, then later in the episode, I'll also be sharing two short interviews with some of my fellow travellers who were on the journey with me to Antarctica from Queensland and Australia. So you're gonna hear different perspectives on what it felt like to actually be there. And actually, David, I interviewed while we were on the boat, which was fantastic, and then Karen when we were arrived back into Queensland. Uh so huge thanks to both of them for green to come onto the podcast and be interviewed. Anyway, I'm gonna hand over the mic to Doug and let him um ask me all those questions that I'm sure you want to know uh the answers to about visiting Antarctica.

SPEAKER_03 2:48

So I'm Doug Collins, I'm here today. I'm gonna ask Tracy all about her fabulous trip to Antarctica she did recently.

SPEAKER_07 2:54

You're gonna try to interrogate me, aren't you?

SPEAKER_03 2:56

I'm gonna interrogate. I was not part of this trip for a very good reason.

SPEAKER_07 2:59

I was gonna say, why don't you share why you did not go to Antarctica with everybody? Well, I might get a little seasick at the time. A little seasick, a little seasick. Doug sees a ship or boat or anything on the sea from the shore and gets seasick.

SPEAKER_03 3:12

Yeah, my stomach objects to it violently.

SPEAKER_07 3:15

Yeah, so the the the Drake passage, which puss a lot of people off, would be one big reason why you wouldn't go on that boat. But anyway, we'll talk a little bit about the Drake passage in a bit.

SPEAKER_03 3:22

So I'm gonna ask you some questions. We're gonna we we have prepared most likely probably go off piste. Completely and utterly off, yes. So let's just start with. Can you talk us through how you actually got there from Australia to Antarctica?

First Impressions Of Ushuaia

SPEAKER_07 3:36

Yeah, it was a lot of flights. And for somebody who doesn't like flying, this was not a great thing because I was away, I think, 16 days or something, 18 days, and and and two of those days I spent most of them on aeroplanes. Um so I flew from Brisbane to Sydney, changed planes in Sydney, Sydney to Santiago in Chile, where we just changed planes, so I cannot now claim to be being to Chile because I can't. Um and then I went to Argentina, so we landed in Buenos Aires. We stayed there for one night, then the next day we got another plane. So this is the how many now? One, two, three, uh, I've lost track, fourth plane, something like that.

SPEAKER_03 4:11

That was pretty fast pace as well, wasn't it?

SPEAKER_07 4:13

Yeah, yeah. Fourth, yeah, fourth flight down to Ashuaia. So obviously those flights vary in length.

SPEAKER_05 4:19

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 4:19

Um, with the longest one obviously being the Sydney to Santiago one. So that was getting down there in Ashuaia, spending the morning there before getting on the boat, and exactly the same in return, except we spent uh I had an entire day in Buenos Aires before flying to Santiago. On one of the worst flights I've taken, actually, on these, I'll have to just share because I don't like flying. The flight down from Brisbane to Sydney was awful, and the flight, the flight to the first flight from Santiago to Buenos Aires was lovely. It was one of the smooth, you couldn't even tell you when they air, and the the views are beautiful of the mountains. I will share, I will share that because it was fantastic. But um, on the way back, it was one of those flights where the they never take the the lights off and none of the staff go up. It was a horrific. Oh really? Yeah, yeah. So that was not my fun flight, but the rest were fine. The rest were fine. So eight, so two, so yeah, so 25% weren't great, but 75% were it's always that pot look with flights, isn't it?

SPEAKER_03 5:12

Yeah, so you mentioned uh Ishwaya, so that is the most southerly city in the world. So how did it feel to be at the end of the world?

SPEAKER_07 5:19

Yeah, it was quite cool. I'd wanted to go to Ishwayah for a while because we saw it on uh Journey or what's that programme that we saw where the people we saw Ishwaya and Race Across the World, and I was like, wow, that's amazing. Um so I could not wait to go to Ishway. So I spent a morning there uh the first day when we got onto the boat, and then on the way back we had longer there. So kind of explored it, went a bit off on my own, took some photos. There is a um uh tourist place where you can go and get a stamp in your passport if you want to say that you're southernmost city in the world. So you've got evidence to prove it. Yeah, I have. It was I'll tell you what, the one thing I remember about Shoir is how cold it was compared to Buenos Aires, because Buenos Aires was hot. Oh, was it warm, certainly warm, like short sleeved, crop trousers kind of weather. Um it was cold in Ashwai.

SPEAKER_03 6:07

So what was the time of year that you went?

SPEAKER_07 6:08

What was the uh November. So summer.

SPEAKER_03 6:11

So summer, yeah.

SPEAKER_07 6:12

But if you think how far south the Schwaire is, like I say, it's the southernmost city of the world.

Life On A Small Expedition Ship

SPEAKER_03 6:15

Pretty pretty south, yeah. So then let's talk about the ship. So, what was your first impressions of the ship when you were boarding?

SPEAKER_07 6:22

Well, it wasn't very big, thank goodness, because I I have I I I follow quite a few people who do these cruises around the world, and I have to say, cruising it does not appeal to me. I see these massive, massive cruise ships, and to me, it doesn't look like a lot of fun. You know what? If you if you are PR for a cruise company and you want me to come and try one of these cruises to change my mind, feel free to invite me.

SPEAKER_03 6:43

Um and actually change my mind as well. I'm not gonna be sea sucking every single trip I take.

SPEAKER_07 6:48

Well, there you go, but um definitely, but but I don't know. Um so this was a small, I think there's 350 of us on board, so that was nice. Didn't feel because I was a bit worried because I'm not a big cruise, as I say, cruise ships and me just don't they're not something that appeals to me to be honest.

SPEAKER_03 7:03

Um not yet, give it 10 years.

SPEAKER_07 7:05

Yeah, okay, wait until I get a little bit older. But at the moment, no, not particularly anyway. So I uh first of all, I'd never done it before, so a lot of people that I was travelling with my group had done cruises before, so they're kind of a few with all the kind of stuff that goes on. I had no clue. I was a really green. Um but yeah, cabin was really nice, it was small. I was sharing with a friend.

SPEAKER_03 7:24

But you spend a lot of time in the cabin, other than overnight, I'm I'm guessing, but it's sort of daytime. I don't suppose you were there.

SPEAKER_07 7:30

Yeah, so I was sharing my cabin with uh Melissa, and so which was great because boat to be honest, m neither of us spent a lot of time in the cabin. Yeah, because there was a lot of things to do and see on the boat itself. Okay, except Melissa got sick and then she was kind of stuck in the cabin for about four days because she wasn't very well. Yeah, exactly. But otherwise, to be honest, did not spend a lot of time in the cabin um at all. Uh mainly just when you had to get tugged up to go outside onto the to do your landings, then you had to.

SPEAKER_03 7:57

Once you finish the boat part and then you arrive in the places, yeah. And me being me, what was what was the food like? I'm just curious, really. What was the food?

SPEAKER_07 8:04

Oh, I'm just gonna actually want to mention one thing about the cabin because I think we actually had a cab cabin with a balcony, and I am so glad we did because so often I would just sit outside on my chair and just admire the scenery. And also I could watch people getting onto zodiacs when they were doing the landings from our side. So absolutely worth having. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, you could go out at any point. Probably wouldn't have done it when we're going through what was pretty much a pretty hectic um Drake passage crossing, but yeah, don't tell me too much about that.

SPEAKER_03 8:34

I've just had lunch.

SPEAKER_07 8:35

Um but um so the cabin was really good. Yeah, food was really good. Um, so some nights it was a kind of it would you sort of help you just to help yourself buffy, and other times it was a sit-down uh menu, you could choose what you wanted. So it was two restaurants that we could choose from. Um so breakfast, lunch, and obviously dinner all provided. So breakfast was a buffet, uh, lunch, it depended on which one we decided to go to. The one had like things like hot dogs and burgers, and the other one had the buffet style. Yeah, and then the evening you could get there, was sometimes like themed nights with different types of food. Yeah, um, the food was really good though. If I had no problems with that, just had to watch not eating too much. I think that was an issue. And also like drinks were included. So when we went up to the top floors, like um, I can't remember the name of it, like a bar social area where you could sit and go and read your book and um just relax. Well, it was really nice. I can't I can't think of the name of it, but it was really nice. It was a big, it was like a whole kind of length of the ship. Um so I'd just go sometimes in the afternoon. Yeah, yeah, on the top floor, yeah. And that well, you could go out from that floor and there was the saunas up there, and then you could go out onto the deck.

SPEAKER_03 9:43

Saunas?

SPEAKER_07 9:44

Yeah, there was oh the sauna was amazing, just views straight like glass that you could see out. And then there was a hot tub and a and a pool.

SPEAKER_05 9:50

Oh lovely.

SPEAKER_07 9:51

Um, yeah, so obviously sitting in the hot on this, well, it's kind of like a more of like a bubble spa type, but not hot tubs tiny, but enough for like you could fit.

SPEAKER_03 9:59

I didn't expect you to say that. That's not what I expected.

SPEAKER_07 10:02

There's pictures of sitting in this this bubble hot spa thing, kind of with the ice and the snow around us for some reason. Yeah, it was fantastic.

SPEAKER_03 10:09

Yeah, you're nearly selling it to me. Nearly. So, what were the crew in the sort of expedition team like? I know you sent me some photos and videos when you couldn't, but excellent, excellent.

Crew, Science Centre And Lectures

SPEAKER_07 10:19

The whole the whole all the crew were amazing. The the the the actual um exhibition expedition team were amazing as well, like from all over the world, but they knew their stuff. And the crew as well were excellent. We got a chance to go on to the actual uh bridge and and meet the captain, and then we kind of they explained what they all did up there, and then uh and then myself and Melissa got uh an invite to go to kind of the like the heart of the ship where the I don't know what it's called. Engine room. Engine room, that's it.

SPEAKER_03 10:47

Yeah, I'm not can see I'm not technically not technically minded.

SPEAKER_07 10:51

Um so that was great. There's only a few people actually were invited to do that. So so I Melissa wasn't very well at the time, but I went to have a look at that and oh that was amazing. That was really good.

SPEAKER_03 11:00

The expedition team, but the you know, oh you said they're very knowledgeable, but they were sharing knowledge, you had talks.

SPEAKER_07 11:04

Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah. Every day there was uh there was lectures, talks, you could access them all in this kind of science centre, which was fantastic. So you could go down there and sit and have and quite often actually that's what I would do in the morning. I'd go and before everybody else could get up. Yeah, yeah. I'd get up and go and have a cup of tea in the expedition centre and just sit quiet, it was really peaceful before everybody else got up because I was like tea making. I didn't want to go up to the top deck, so tea is very important, yes. I'd have to have my cup of tea in the morning. So I I did that quite often, but the uh what I really loved about the expedition team is they were from all over the world that all had different specialities. So we just learnt so much. So if you do do one of these cruises, absolutely make the most of that because you will learn. Yeah, I can I can identify five types of penguins, which I know that you find it.

SPEAKER_03 11:49

That's very, very good. Very impressive. So, you know, typically on board ship, what would uh what a what a day look like with uh expedition?

Daily Routine And Briefings

SPEAKER_07 11:58

Well, the first few days you had to get kitted out, so to make sure that your jacket fitted, you had to make sure that you had the right size of muckboots. Now I've got quite uh wide um calves, so I had a bit of a struggle with that to get ones that would actually fit around my calves. So that was a bit of a I was a bit worried about that, thinking I won't be able to go ashore because I can't get muckbooks that fit, but I did in the end. So you do that sort of thing, you kind of learn the routine of like breakfast, lunch, dinner, um, and also that you've got all the like their talks on they give you lots of briefings about different things. Um it's it's amazing how quickly you get into a routine of what you do. Like I say, every morning I'd go up, go to the the science centre, and just have a cup of tea. See and I'd plan kind of the day before. Uh the in fact the evening before they'd always have a this is what's happening tomorrow meeting.

SPEAKER_03 12:40

Oh, okay.

SPEAKER_07 12:40

So you could go and have a briefing on exactly what was happening. So you could decide if you wanted to do a land and you could decide which talks you wanted to go to. There was other fun things like I made I made a penguin at a clay and as you do. Yeah, there was just like lots of you know things to do, and I I I use D sauna quite a lot. So that there I because I was a bit concerned, A, about just being on a boat because it's not really my thing, but um being bored, but actually I wasn't bored.

SPEAKER_03 13:05

But for that length of time on board a ship, and I felt okay and comfortable.

SPEAKER_07 13:08

Yeah, it felt okay, but I have to say after the two weeks I was ready to get off it.

SPEAKER_03 13:11

Yeah, yeah, fair point, yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_07 13:13

Uh but yeah, the staff were great, all the staff. And I'm gonna do a special shout out for all of the um the waiters, waitress, chefs, all the behind the scenes, yeah, uh a lot of people there working on the ship from the Philippines, and they were spending a lot of time on the a lot of months and months and months working on the on the on the boats and then going on to the next cruise ship before they were going home. And uh our Jonathan, who was our guy that kind of sorted out all the cabins on our on our bit on our floor, he was going home to the Philippines for Christmas and he was so excited because he was gonna see his two kids. Oh Tersalovy, but all the staff were absolutely fantastic. I will I will mention because I well, I'll talk a little bit about how Jonathan helped me in a second when I wasn't sure very well.

SPEAKER_03 13:51

Now, the this million dollar question I'd have to ask. Did you get seasick?

SPEAKER_07 13:56

I did, and I never get seasick. Never get seasick, but I made the fatal error. Uh we went we did go through a really bad storm actually, and um I woke up and the it was the creaking noise of kind of the cabin and the the boat swaying. Um and I was kind of thought, I'm gonna roll out of bed here. So this went on for a few hours, and then because it didn't really get dark there, that's another thing you've got to think of. It doesn't get dark. Um I put the uh well, I didn't put the light on, didn't have to, but I got my phone and I decided this is our best five. Oh that I'll just read stuff off my phone. Fatal error. Okay, fatal. Normally I can read in a car, normally I can read, but I just and I at this I kind of maybe about 20 minutes and I was like, I don't feel great. Anyway, I went down for breakfast, had my breakfast, and I was just like, nah.

SPEAKER_03 14:43

Did you manage to walk?

Biosecurity And Wildlife Ethics

SPEAKER_07 14:44

Oh yeah, well walking is interesting, like ever it's like how everything on the ship is geared for this happening, so nothing falls off and falls around except people getting their getting their sea legs. It's amazing by the end of the trip. Yes, you do, absolutely 100% you do. Um, but anyway, so I went and had breakfast and I was just like, no, not great. So I went, I kind of sort of swayed my way back around the kit to the cabin. I think Jonathan saw me and I was just like, oh, I'm not well. And the next thing he came knocking on the cabin door with a whole handful of sick bags, which I'd walked past. That was the one time I was ill. After that, I did take medication after that. I hadn't taken any medication because I was over cocky because I've been through rough seas and never been seasick.

SPEAKER_03 15:21

So make sure that you've never known you.

SPEAKER_07 15:23

Yeah, well, that was the one and only time.

SPEAKER_03 15:25

Was that on the famous Drake Passage?

SPEAKER_07 15:26

It was the Drake Passage, yeah. And the way back on the Drake Passage was absolutely fine. Um, but on the way there, we did hit some rough seas.

SPEAKER_03 15:33

Yeah, this is one of the reasons I was never even going to entertain some of the videos of Drake Passage.

SPEAKER_07 15:38

Yeah, you wouldn't have uh liked that either.

SPEAKER_03 15:39

If somebody gets seasick on dry land, it probably would not be for me.

SPEAKER_07 15:43

No, it would not have worked, it would not have worked, no. Um, yeah, so I mean it it was really it was really, really good. It was and like I think taking the taking the medication just helped. Yeah. But I mean there were a few people who were six. Well you were married to a nurse, you know. But there were there were a few people who were were ill and stayed in the cabin for a few years. I'm not surprised.

SPEAKER_03 16:01

So, what was the social life like on board?

SPEAKER_07 16:04

Yeah, it was good. I met obviously I was in it with travelling with an another group of Australians, so that was great. So mixing with all our group was fantastic, but also I met loads of people from all over the world, um, which was really cool as well. Um, lots of British people on the boat, other Australians on the boat, Americans on the boat.

Arriving In Antarctica And Weather Luck

SPEAKER_03 16:20

Yeah, it's one thing we enjoy for travel generally, isn't it? Meeting people from different places.

SPEAKER_07 16:24

Yeah, so it was good to kind of strike up, strike up conversations and and chat with people. It was really good, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 16:30

So one thing that people might not expect is how much learning happens on board.

SPEAKER_07 16:34

Yeah.

SPEAKER_03 16:34

So you've already alluded to the team on board. So the science centre you mentioned and the expert programme. So tell me a bit about that.

SPEAKER_07 16:42

Uh it's really important. I I think that's what I kind of want to reiterate if you do one of these cruises that you know it's an expedition, but it's an expedition for your go and learn stuff as well, and you have access to the experts. Yeah, um, and and that was fantastic. And as I say, from all over the world, this you know, and you can read the uh there was a screen which had the names on, and it would kind of scroll through, but it was fascinating, kind of reading what they specialized in, where they studied. Um and they all lived all over the world and kind of flew into Schwaia to to take to join the boat.

SPEAKER_03 17:10

Yeah, so that's really important for the overall experience to sort of embrace that those experiments.

SPEAKER_07 17:14

Oh, absolutely, absolutely. Yeah, you know, it it is just integral to it, they were fantastic. They go onto the landings with you as well, they help you on with the landings because obviously sometimes a little bit getting out of the zodiacs and onto land could be a little bit tricky.

SPEAKER_03 17:29

Explain what you mean about the zodiacs, that's the little boats.

SPEAKER_07 17:31

Yeah, the boats that you get on to off the boat. So you get off the boat onto a zodiac, and then that would take you onto uh actually onto land.

SPEAKER_03 17:39

Yeah, yeah. So that's so let's just talk about the the biosecurity and protecting of Antarctica. That that's really important. There's lots of rules that surrounding that as well.

Landings, Zodiacs And Group Rotations

SPEAKER_07 17:48

Yeah, that is, and it's actually mandatory that you go to all of the briefings about what you need to not do. A lot of it is what you shouldn't do. Yeah, for example, like anything that you take out that you wear has got to be vacuumed and cleaned before you can actually wear it, just in case there's any seeds or anything in you know in the lining of your coat or on the velcro, so they clean all of that. You are not allowed to sit down, you're not allowed to crouch down, you're not allowed to get within uh five metres of any of the wildlife. If the wildlife comes towards you, you back off. Yeah, um, like things like penguin highways, I had no idea. But the penguins have highways.

SPEAKER_03 18:24

You want to explain that to you?

SPEAKER_07 18:25

It was crazy, it was amazing. So you have to keep away, you you've got to not stand in the middle of a penguin highway because you're going to block their access. So the animals get right of way and right of access over you at all points, and they were really strict on that, which they have to be, you know, they have to be. Um and they did that really, really, really well. And everybody respected that because nobody wants to destroy what is a pristine nature uh in the Antarctica and protect it. Didn't detract from the experience that you're not absolutely not. I mean, you you everybody follows the rule, everybody respects the rules because that's why we're allowed to go there, yeah. Um because of that. Um, and so yeah, it it it's fantastic that they do have that. You in fact, I wouldn't want to go on a cruise that didn't have that. In fact, they're not allowed to where they don't do all that stuff. Um, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 19:12

So about that shortly, so you arrive after you cruise, you've arrived in Antarctica and one the several different places you went to. So how does that actually work when the ship arrives into the bay?

SPEAKER_07 19:22

Yeah, you kind of arrive at Antarctica and you go through this channel called the La Mer Channel. I think it's also called the Kodak Channel because somebody takes people take photos and it's amazing because you know you've arrived in Antarctica. We kind of travelled around uh for quite a few days and we had we did five landings, but so you obviously have to move between the places that you stopped.

SPEAKER_03 19:43

All wow moments, weren't they?

SPEAKER_07 19:44

Oh, just all amazing, absolutely fantastic, and all very different actually. But we were also incredibly lucky. And the captain of our ship said this when we had a we had like a night when the the the all the stuff the the um crew met were introduced, yes, and he said that uh no matter how many journeys he's done. That we had the most incredible weather that he's never seen before. We literally had four days of blue sky and sunshine. The fifth day was overcast.

SPEAKER_05 20:08

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 20:08

But we were kind of in this way old whaling station, so it kind of suited that kind of yeah, inside this kind of caldera. This oh well, I think it's actually I think it's an active volcano. Um so some people did the polar plunge. I didn't, I kind of regret not doing it, but I I chickened out. And I I reckon the water's a little bit warmer in there than it would be. I suppose.

SPEAKER_03 20:27

Yeah, but I saw the weather in the photos. I mean incredible. I was jealous at this point. Not the jealousy to get in there, but the jealous of being there.

SPEAKER_07 20:34

Well, you couldn't take bad photographs. I wish actually I wish I'd taken more. I thought I took loads, but I I really uh I honestly thought wish I'd taken so many more. I took I did take a lot, but not only just when you're doing the landings, just from the boat. Like we we had whales, we had killer whales, we saw seals, we saw penguins, all from the boat.

SPEAKER_05 20:53

Yeah, yeah.

Wildlife Highlights And Penguin Realities

SPEAKER_07 20:54

Um so you didn't have to do the landings to see those. And we saw this, um, that I think it was about five pods of killer whales chasing after um a couple of humpback whales, all right, which was amazing to see. So we've got video of that. So you could go on duck, and everybody would be up on deck and taking videos, taking photos. Um, so it it was it was amazing. Um, so you didn't always have to leave the boat to see things.

SPEAKER_03 21:17

No, if you didn't want to, yeah, so just describe the emotions that first time you're off the boat and you actually step onto the land there.

SPEAKER_07 21:23

Oh, that was incredible. It is just it yeah, it is it just is amazing. I cannot explain a couple of things. I guess the just the pureness of apart from where you see all the penguin pigs, yeah. Yeah, yeah. Um, the just the pureness of just the landscapes um and the the the colours, because you've got these like the icebergs are all sorts of different colours from this beautiful azure blue um to pure white. Um, and then you we have the blue skies, I say just it's just an enormous environment, and you're like this tiny little person in this beautiful expanse.

SPEAKER_03 21:58

Yeah, I can only imagine.

SPEAKER_07 22:00

Um, and you so when you land, like you have to follow paths. So this is where the the the crew they go on and they put paths that you have to stay in those areas. Um, so you kind of and you also you could have poles, so I use poles, and so they do talk about which is the route to follow, so that you can go and see kind of the the penguin colonies or whatever there was to see, like one bit we walked at the top of a hill to see this like iceberg graveyard, yeah. Uh, which I got a fantastic photo.

SPEAKER_03 22:25

I like the the video and the photo of you, your whole group standing on sort of a shore area being held sort of ransomed by three penguins who stand on the highway, wouldn't let you off.

SPEAKER_07 22:35

Well, I was yeah, they they'd actually landed at the zodiacs. I was at this point a kind of I'd climbed kind of off the beach and was on the on the snow, but there was a a penguin highway that kind of cut across, yeah. And these two penguins just stood there and they kind of looked everybody, you could feel that they were kind of going, yeah, whatever. Yeah, whatever. And and so everybody was standing there taking photos, they couldn't get off the beach because they just blocked. That's what I was saying. The penguins got there, they had the right away.

SPEAKER_03 22:59

It's their land, yeah.

SPEAKER_07 23:00

So it was funny, but yeah.

SPEAKER_03 23:02

You made several landings, so how do those differ from each other?

What To Wear And Pack Smart

SPEAKER_07 23:06

Well, uh, with we we land in different places. So with the last one we did was a whaling station, we landed um on a couple of islands and then we landed on kind of mainland Antarctica. Um I I will say um that you know that you you're assigned a group when you first arrive on the boat, and so they call everybody down by group. So I was a humpback whale, so what they they call you down, say to get prepped, and then you go down to and I should remember the name of it because they said it the place where you go and catch the boat, and I can't remember it, and I'm sure everybody's listening going, it's called Watch and's watch. Anyway, where you go and and get onto the boat, because you have to go and you have to um get tapped onto the boat off the boat, and when you come back on the boat, you have to have your boots washed because you get muckboots, everything has to be washed, yeah, yeah, yeah. They're really I'll say they're really strict. Um yeah, so you got on the zodiac in your group, and then when the zodiac would land, it would take you where you could actually access the land. So climb off the zodiac, and then sometimes you had to kind of go up steps but like out of the snow. Yeah, so it was a bit icy, sometimes it was a bit slippery. So uh if you're you know, you've got to think about a m mobility. I guess if you got if you've got limited mobility, it could be a bit challenging. Yeah, but there were there would be good people there to help you, yeah. Um, and then of course you could have the poles and use the poles to get around because it could be quite slippery.

SPEAKER_03 24:25

So it's a pretty slick operation. Oh, very good.

SPEAKER_07 24:28

Yeah, yeah, very, very well organized. And then you'd do you would you'd stand your hour or whatever, and then you'd go back on the zodiac and then back to the boat. And at this point, all groups so this would happen over a day. So the first time we went out, we went out late in the day, like maybe half a six, and people have been gone all day. And then the next one we were kind of early afternoon, and then by the end of it, we're kind of with the first group. So everybody goes out, you get a turn to go out wherever you go. So the next landing, you might be afternoon rather than late.

SPEAKER_03 24:56

You don't choose to slot yourself, just in that group that you allocate.

SPEAKER_07 24:58

Yeah, and they rotate the time, so yeah, yeah. So everybody gets a chance to go out at a different time.

SPEAKER_03 25:04

So you mentioned most of what you saw. Is there anything else? There's all these different colors.

SPEAKER_07 25:08

There's so many different types of penguins, chin strap penguins, macaroni penguins.

SPEAKER_03 25:13

Macaroni penguins.

SPEAKER_07 25:15

Oh, I know. Um, oh, I can't even think. I've just got my head now, all the different colors. Yeah, chin strap penguins, macaroni penguins. I'm trying to think of the one that we saw most of, and that's again, that's gone out of my head. But anyway, there's lots of lots of penguins, lots of birds, like skewer birds, who are the ones that steal the eggs and steal the penguin chicks. Um, so yeah, oh Adeli penguins, that's another one. And then the main penguin is the one I can't remember the name of, which we saw lots of.

SPEAKER_05 25:38

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 25:38

Um, it's amazing how much how badly they smell, though. Well, yeah, well, and also the poo on each other, which is like they just poo and it just flies, and it just if the neighbours stand behind them, they just get covered in the poo. Well, fair enough. It's just gross it's their way. It's just gross. So like you see where the penguins are, and it's just so when we were there, they were starting to nest. Yeah. So you'd see like penguins pinching stones off one another, and they'd like waddle around, make the nest, and then another penguin would come in and pinch it, and then it was so funny.

SPEAKER_03 26:05

Well, you shattered on my illusion. I had this idea that penguins were super graceful at all times. Oh, no, no. Considering how many other videos I've seen with yours them falling over.

Standout Moments And Kayaking

SPEAKER_07 26:13

Oh, bless them, they just fall over all the time. It's just like it's literally like three steps blah bang off the go off the floor again, bang, then a couple more steps, bang, and then it's just honestly up down, up down, up down. They're just I mean, and the poor things are walk miles as well, but then you see them in the water.

SPEAKER_03 26:29

Down miles to go and pinch stones, pinch stones.

SPEAKER_07 26:31

No, they just go around to the other side of where the their kind of the nesting area is, they're just gonna nick somebody else's stones. It's so funny.

SPEAKER_03 26:37

Well, share and share alike, I suppose. Absolutely. So you mentioned nice weather there, so you've got your protective uh clothes that you're wearing, so just in a nutshell, all the clothes that you wore, because obviously you don't want to overheat who it's.

SPEAKER_07 26:48

Yeah, but that was an i an issue actually. And after the first expedition, they kind of came on the tannery and said, Look, people are saying that it's very, very warm, so don't over don't wear too many layers. I tended literally what I wore, just about every single landing, I just wore. Um, I had thermal, a thermal long sleeve top and a thermal um thermal trousers, and I just put waterproof trousers over the top and my um the jacket. So they give you you get muck boots to go out because you've got to land wearing these muckboots. And and HX gave us a coat which we we got at the end of the trip as well. And I would just wear that. I took, I honestly had hat, gloves, scarf, the full weather.

SPEAKER_03 27:24

I saw you packing before you.

SPEAKER_07 27:25

Yeah, I mean, sometimes that was useful on the zodiac getting in because it's a little bit colder. And obviously, that last day when we were at the Whalen station was a bit chillier. But to be honest, I actually went and bought some gloves at the shop because there's a shop on board, and I I never wore them. Never I literally never wore them. Um in fact, if anything, I probably took too much. The best thing that I took is the waterproof trousers. You've got to have waterproof trousers anyway. But I'd actually looked at buying like ski pants before I went. Yeah, that would have been a complete mistake. I would have died of heat of heat exhaustion.

SPEAKER_03 27:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 27:52

So literally just the waterproof trousers was absolutely fine with a with a pair of um, as I say, just having the um thermal top and thermal. That was it, that's all I needed.

SPEAKER_03 28:01

Oh can you recall any of the sort of temperatures there? But it was it was mild when the sun comes out, it was warm.

SPEAKER_07 28:07

There's a picture of me sitting on deck with a short sleeved shirt on.

SPEAKER_03 28:09

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 28:10

And you know, getting sunburned. You have to have yeah, sun like sunglasses are essential, sun cream was essential. Take sunblock with you. Absolutely, uh for your lips and for your face, because obviously you think the sun reflecting off the snow.

SPEAKER_03 28:20

That's right.

Falkland Islands Impressions

SPEAKER_07 28:21

And off the sea, you can get burnt. Um, but yes, the temperatures was it was not it was not cold. I wasn't cold at one point, not at all.

SPEAKER_03 28:28

So there's a few things you took you didn't actually use or need then, really?

SPEAKER_07 28:31

Yeah, probably um more more of the gloves. I think I went overboard gloves. And I I wore my hat quite often, especially going out on the on the zodiac, and then I just put it in my pocket. One thing as well to take is have a small backpack. Now you cannot put anything down on that snow.

SPEAKER_05 28:45

Yes.

SPEAKER_07 28:46

So if you've got if you want to take clothes off, you need to have something to put it into. So I just had a small backpack. So I put my hat and my gloves, my scarf in there when I didn't need them.

SPEAKER_03 28:56

Okay, so you can't take food or drink on.

SPEAKER_07 28:58

No, absolutely not. Uh water, yes, I think so, but nothing, no, no, no, food or drink, nothing, no.

SPEAKER_03 29:04

Um, no, you're not allowed to. So people might make the assumption that you have to buy everything yourself and take with you. You've already mentioned they provide certain things. Yeah. So just sort of summarise the things that they provide for you.

SPEAKER_07 29:15

So muck boots, so those are the big kind of rubber boots that you need to land, and those are the ones that get cleaned.

SPEAKER_03 29:20

Yes.

Cost, Value And Choosing Operators

SPEAKER_07 29:21

Um, and actually at the end of the trip, you have to you have to hand them and click because they have to clean everything out of them. Um, and then the jacket, but that you kept to keep the jacket at the end. Yeah. So those are the two things. The rest of the stuff I took with me. Um, I think I wore everything. Like I had a couple of different thermal long sleeve tops that I wore. Um, and I did have like a uh like a uniclo kind of bra top that I wore underneath, so that guess that layer as well. But the worst thing you didn't I didn't want to overheat because you know there was nowhere to really apart from a backpack, you couldn't, you couldn't, it's difficult to take stuff off. And and that was more of an issue than actually being too cold, is actually overheating.

SPEAKER_03 29:57

Yeah, but the weather could have been so much different.

SPEAKER_07 29:59

Oh, absolutely, and it was apparently the cruise before ours, that the weather was awful. So you say somebody had been on a cruise before and they came back and then got off and got on ours because the weather was so bad on theirs, they got on ours. So I bet they I bet they were patting themselves on the back for that because we had the best weather.

SPEAKER_03 30:13

I bet they were. So look at some of the the highlights. So, what was your favourite landing or moment from the the entire trip?

SPEAKER_07 30:20

Oh, I think the landings were all amazing, I have to say. There is one landing, I can't there's two landings that stand out. One we we landed and I think it was a Chilean uh base, uh, and we got off and walked up the hill, and I've got some fantastic pictures from that. And the other one was another landing we did. Um, again, it was just that the scenery was so amazing, kind of walking up this hill, and that was where the the iceberg graveyard was, and there was kind of different types of penguins to see. But again, it's just seeing that huge expanse of Antarctic um continent beauty, it's just like it really does take your breath away. Yeah, um, so so that out of the landings, uh, those were the two. Actually, I have to say the whale bay was an interesting one because like it used to be an old whaling station, which thank goodness we they don't have anymore. But uh that was that was kind of a bit spooky and a bit some really interesting photos from there because um there was like a volcanic uh I think not an eruption, but uh you can see where the the scientific base was basically abandoned. Oh, yes, yeah.

SPEAKER_03 31:20

So is it was there any one moment which you can say, you know, I can't believe I'm here, or as my terminologies, a wow moment.

SPEAKER_07 31:27

Yeah, when I went kayaking, which I know everybody else thought was so I actually had booked to go kayaking and I chickened out, and then I've I cannot believe that times I've asked you to go kayaking with me, and the answer's been no. And I was like, because I don't like I'm a bit scared of open water where I can't see. Um, but actually I was like, no, I'm gonna do this, and oh my goodness, it was the best experience. Um, there was a lovely lady from the UK called Maggie. Hello, Maggie, if you listen to this, who was sharing, um, and she thank God she was with me because I have absolutely no coordination and we would have just gone round and round in circles in this uh in this uh in this canoe. But I have to say, and we were on the blow-up one, so we didn't do the one where we went further away with kind of the crew. This is the one kind of where we were just in a certain area, but before we actually were allowed to kind of go out and about and kind of explore, we had a um leopard seal in the area close by, and so they had to make sure that that had left before because they're dangerous, yeah. Um, and huge. I couldn't believe the size of it. Um, so they had to wait. We had to wait about maybe 20-30 minutes before that kind of left the area, and they were happy for us to go out and that it was safe, but it was so cool because the penguins would kind of like swimming alongside the the kayak, and it was just it and also just so silent, so peaceful. Yeah, I can imagine that's so good. I took some fantastic photos of uh a lovely couple from America who were out on the canoes as well and on the kayaks. Um, and and they took a picture, a picture of me as well, which is sent. I took some video of them as well. In fact, I'm gonna I shall I I've still got them on my WhatsApp, I'll tell them about this podcast so they need to listen to it. So big shout out to you guys. It was lovely to meet you and uh and take those took that those pictures when we were out kayaking. But that I think there was a highlight for the city.

SPEAKER_03 33:01

That was it, there so the Falkland Islands were also included in the trip. So, what was that part of the journey like?

SPEAKER_07 33:07

To be honest, I could have given that a skip, and I know that's sad, but I I think after the beauty of of uh Antarctica, it was just like it I I don't know. That Falklands was interesting, and I I'm not gonna regret going because it's not somewhere that many people go to, and it was okay, and it I enjoyed it and it was different because I think it was more kind of probably focused on the bird life. Yeah, um, it was interesting going to Stanley though, because uh had a walk around there, yeah, uh learned a little bit more about the island itself, the people that lived on live on that island, but I guess by that point it was kind of nearing the end of the trip, and I was I would probably have been happy to have just gone back to Oshwai. And I knew a few people said at that point as well, they're kind of uh I don't know if now, but um so that for me, and I know there's another cruise where you can do George South Georgia and then go to Falklands and then go back to Oshwai, and I don't think I would have managed that.

SPEAKER_03 33:54

Fair enough then. Well, that's really cool. Thank you for sharing all that. So, what really surprised you about the whole experience, you know?

SPEAKER_07 34:02

Oh, I just thought it was so worth it because I was and I mean and it's very expensive. Going to Antarctica is not cheap, so you immediately you know you have to kind of weigh it up. So I was like, is this gonna be worth it? It's a long way to go, it's a lot of flying and a lot of flying back. Um, but I was just yeah, it was worth it. Every every scent, it was absolutely worth it, and yeah, I it it's a magical experience that will stay with me forever for sure. Um, I haven't come back changed, and I know some people say, Oh, it changes you forever. I don't, it doesn't, it hasn't changed me in any way, shape, or form, but I it it just is somewhere so different to anywhere I've been before.

SPEAKER_03 34:39

I think that's the thing that sort of hits you, really. Yeah, but what about if somebody's considering listening to this and thinking about it and weighing it up, anything you'd like to sort of you know, not sway them or just go suggest them. Just go. Just do it.

SPEAKER_07 34:51

I would go and also I I don't know where it's gonna go in terms of the amount of um tourism that is now going in Antarctica. So a couple of things I guess I'd say is yes, if you want to go, I'll do it because there may be a time when I don't know, they're quite strict about who visits, but we did notice a lot of boats that seem to be leaving Ashwaya, and we're like, this is yeah, it's a lot. So we went with HX Expedition now, they are excellent, they are really, really, really good. So, you know, if you're gonna do this, check out who you are gonna book it with so that you make sure, for example, you know, what the our boat was electric, so you know that all of there's there was just so much thought into making sure, like environmentally, um, considering the impact because there's gonna be an impact. There's you know, there's thousands of people landing on top now. Um so I would consider that. Just make sure who you book with that you check.

SPEAKER_03 35:42

Do your homework, yeah.

Guest Interview: David’s Take

SPEAKER_07 35:43

Do your homework and but I would absolutely and I know the last question you're gonna say was what was it worth it? I'm gonna say 100%. It was absolutely worth it. I uh really loved it. Um I'd like to spend, I guess, more time exploring because we when I look on a map and think, oh, we saw a lot, we saw literally this is a bit of a we saw at the tip of an iceberg. Well, of course it is an iceberg because uh Antarctica is a continent, so it's it you know Arctic is just ice, but Antarctica is actually, you know, they they it is um ground earth, I don't know what the word is underneath it.

SPEAKER_03 36:14

Terra firma.

SPEAKER_07 36:14

Yeah, terra firma underneath all the ice. Um oh yeah, I did see the impact of um global warming as well, which was kind of a bit of a sobering thing. Um but yeah, I think um yeah, just just just go, just enjoy it, uh relish every second, uh, yeah, take lots and lots of photos and videos.

SPEAKER_03 36:32

Can never be too many. No, not that. Thank you for sharing your experience with me.

SPEAKER_07 36:35

Well, thank you for asking the questions. Thanks a lot. Thanks for Doug Right. I'm gonna be passing over to the next segment of the show. So thanks to Doug for um agreeing to chat with me about my experience in Antarctica, but I also want to share a couple of other perspectives from the trip. So, first of all, you hear from Karen, who lives in a tropical North Queensland, uh, which is a completely different environment, of course, from Antarctica. And then you're gonna hear from David, who shares his reflections on the wildlife, the landscapes, and what it was like to travel to the end of the world. Okay, let's start with Karen. Hi Karen, thanks so much for agreeing to come onto the podcast and talk a little bit about our recent trip to Antarctica. Um, would you like to just quickly introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about uh where you are, what you do, and a little bit of your motivation for choosing to go to Antarctica?

SPEAKER_02 37:25

Welcome, Tracy. Um, yeah, I've um I'm from Mackay in North Queensland. So in the tropics, and I have this fascination for snow and ice, and as you know, you don't get that in the tropics. So anywhere that there's snow and ice, I'm there. So Antarctica has always been on my bucket list. Um, but I think the Drake passage put me off for many years until I finally decided to pull my big girl pants on and go, I can do this. And I'm so pleased that I did.

SPEAKER_07 37:55

I know we we had a fantastic trip, didn't we? Um the Drake passage was certainly something that was on my mind when I booked it, I have to tell you. Um, and we didn't have too bad a crossing, didn't we? We were really fortunate.

SPEAKER_02 38:07

Yeah.

SPEAKER_07 38:07

We were, we were. So obviously, before going to Antarctica, we all have these kind of preconceived ideas of what it's gonna be like. Um, but was there anything in particular that surprised you about being in Antarctica?

SPEAKER_02 38:23

It was kind of hard because we really didn't have a set itinerary. Once we got to Antarctica, there was a nice set itinerary, and it was like, well, what are we gonna do when we get there? It seemed to be this big mystery. But once we got there, every day they had something planned, and every day was exciting, it really was. So I think it was the not knowing at first about what was gonna happen was um different to all my other trips that I've done over the many, many years.

SPEAKER_07 38:54

Yeah, and and and talk to itself, was it anything that you expected and didn't see, or anything that you didn't expect and kind of went, wow, this is this is kind of amazing.

SPEAKER_02 39:07

I had a checklist of penguins that I wanted to see because I was one of these type A personalities that did some research and I did an introductory core through the Tasmanian University uh introduction to Antarctica. And so I learned about all the different penguins that you can see, and I had a checklist that I wanted to do, and unfortunately, I miss the chin straps and I miss the king penguin. Oh well, you know what that means? I can always go back again.

SPEAKER_07 39:36

I was about to say, you know what that means, Karen, and you beat me to it. Um I know that this is probably a difficult question, but if there is the one moment, because there's probably many, but is there one moment that you know you will never ever forget about being in Antarctica?

SPEAKER_02 39:53

Yes. Oh, there were many moments. Let's be honest about that. There were many, many moments. But the one Stuck out it stood out in my brain was we were in this channel, and because we were on a hybrid um ship, there was no engine noise. It was quiet. And the water was perfectly still. It was clear as the sun was shining. You could see all the ice around, white as the sky was blue, the water was clear, and you look down over the side of the ship, and you can hear the noise of the whales as they come up and they breathed out. It felt like they were right sitting right beside you. And then they'd glide down under the water. You could still see them under the water, and then I'd come back up again. So we saw orcas, saw humpback whales, saw minky whales, all in this one channel, and it was awe-inspiring. No other word for it.

SPEAKER_07 40:52

Absolutely incredible. I think it's quite hard to um to even describe it. And even looking at the photos now, it doesn't, it doesn't capture it, does it? It doesn't matter how much you want to, it just doesn't. It's really difficult. Um, if I was to ask you to describe Antarctica in three words, what would you say?

Reflections, Links And Closing

SPEAKER_02 41:10

Wild. Wild is probably the first one that comes to mind. You because everything when you go down there is totally dependent on the weather. It's whether it's snowing, whether it's fine, whether it's windy, how many icebergs there are, and that all determines exactly where the trip goes. So it's wild. And of course, it's wild with animals, and you get up close and personal. And I mean, I've never been a bird watcher as such, but I found myself fascinating looking out from my bedroom window, just watching birds flying past, thinking, oh, I should take a photo. And of course, you miss them because they just dive away again. Um, yeah, wild. Just to get up close to nature and to appreciate nature. I think that was really there. Okay, sorry, I'm rambling on as usual. Um beautiful. Oh every day. It's jaw-droppingly beautiful. It really is. But then again, we were extremely fortunate with our weather. The sun shone, it was just magnificent. The captain of the ship kept saying, you don't always get this weather. We were so fortunate. And the other one to me was magical. Opening up the window curtain, because it's sunlight 24-7 or daylight 24-7. So every morning you'd open up the curtains to see what was outside. And I had to laugh one day. My sister opened the curtain and went, Oh, we've got the Matterhorn outside today, because there was this big snow-covered mountain right beside the ship. And that's just how you felt. So they're my three words.

SPEAKER_07 42:49

No, I think they're perfect. I think they're fantastic words, Karen. And absolutely right. I think it it was, oh, I think opening those blinds, those curtains, everyone, and then and knowing that what you were going to see was going to be mind-blowing, but different every day as well was fabulous, wasn't it? Absolutely. Now I'm hoping that this podcast will inspire others to want to visit Antarctica. I know it's for for many people that say it is a once-in-a-lifetime bucket list destination. Um, have you got any uh a tip that you would share for with somebody who might be planning to visit for the first time?

SPEAKER_02 43:23

Okay, I'm gonna be boring and say you've gotta do it. It's one of the most remote places in the world. And if you get the opportunity, go. It's fantabulous, it's awe-inspiring, it's magical. And as long as you have the right clothing, it's because it's cold. Let's let's be honest, you'd stick your head out the door and go, oh, I need another layer today. Um, so as long as you have all the right gear before you go, so your woolen thermals that don't smell because you can wear them for three or four days easy before they get a smell going. Um, your gloves, your sunglasses, your beanies, as long as you've got the right clothing, then you're right to step outside onto the balcony and be part of nature and be part of out there. Um, and the other thing is to be ready for adventure because there is no said itinerary. Every day they'll say, well, depending on the wind and the weather, whether we're gonna do this or that. And I think people have to be flexible enough to go, all right, let's just see what tomorrow brings and let's see where we go and what we get to do. So you've got to bring a sense of adventure and some really good clothing. Does that kind of fit the brief? Absolutely.

SPEAKER_07 44:40

Yeah, it does, and every every day was an adventure, wasn't it? It really was, it really was. It uh it was fantastic, it was brilliant. So th thanks so much, uh Karen, for coming on and agreeing to share a little bit of of uh of your thoughts about my recent trip.

SPEAKER_02 44:54

I can always rave about holidays and travel. Always so thank you. It was great.

SPEAKER_06 45:09

Right, David, would you like to introduce yourself and tell us a little bit about where you're from and what you do and that sort of thing?

SPEAKER_01 45:15

Yes. So I'm Dave Dale, uh 43 years of age, live in Redcliffe, north of Brisbane and Queensland, Australia. Um I'm a police officer and on a trip to Antarctica with my partner.

SPEAKER_07 45:28

Yeah, I'm having a fantastic time with the group as well. So actually, I've got four questions which I gave you, but I'm gonna speak one up, wouldn't you? What was the reason? What was the decision behind coming to Antarctica?

SPEAKER_01 45:38

So the reason for coming to Antarctica was uh based from um colleagues of my partner who had been to Antarctica last year. They thoroughly enjoyed their experience, and it was through their recommendation we booked to uh be on this trip now.

SPEAKER_07 45:56

So was it kind of was was it one of you that was more keen on it, or were you both kind of like, yeah, this sounds like a really good place to go do?

SPEAKER_01 46:02

So initially um JP was very keen on it, uh, and obviously he had the personal recommendation of his colleagues um who shared their wonderful experiences. I balked at it initially due to the cost, uh, but sometimes these experiences uh should not be affected by cost.

SPEAKER_07 46:23

Yeah, that's true, because it it isn't, it is not the cheapest place to come to on the on the planet, that's for sure. Um obviously you had expectations before you came, but what has surprised you the most about visiting Antarctica?

SPEAKER_01 46:35

Uh the thing that surprised me the most about visiting Antarctica is quite a personal one. It has to do with me being in Antarctica. I remember as a child at the state school I went to, uh, we learned a lot about Antarctica and the early explorers and how it was uh uh you know a very confronting and and uh uh trying landscape. And so for me it was a personal one.

SPEAKER_07 47:01

And it's kind of I don't know about you, but it's kind of one of those places that when you were a kid, just just didn't seem that it would be possible for us to ever go and visit. It was kind of out of the realms of kind of somewhere that normal ordinary people could get to. It was a bit of a kind of explorer thing. Did you have that?

SPEAKER_01 47:18

Yes, I did have it. You've described it perfectly. It's Antarctica always seemed to be one of those places that we knew existed, we never could get to, and I feel quite privileged that I myself have come to Antarctica.

SPEAKER_07 47:31

Yeah, I think it's definitely one of those, uh a place that I I know I'm not gonna forget about, and I think it does leave an impression on you. Is there and I I I know there's probably millions of moments that you can probably think of, but is there one particular moment that you're gonna will always stay with you from this trip that you're never gonna forget?

SPEAKER_01 47:49

Uh the polar plunge, I was one of the people to do the polar plunge, but apart from that and being frozen um from the outside in, uh, I think for me it was m going on to the mainland of Antarctica, a Brown station, an Argentine uh post, uh which is part of the mainland, and just being there sort of all brought it home that I was actually in Antarctica.

SPEAKER_07 48:17

It was it was very cool. Use a punch. But also it was actually quite fun also watching you guys do the polar plunge, which I did chicken out of. But um maybe if I ever make it back to Antarctica, I'll do it. But uh it it certainly was fun watching you all go and freeze. Yes. Now, if you if you had to describe Antarctica in three words, I know this again is probably quite a difficult one, but have you got three words that you could use to describe it?

SPEAKER_01 48:42

Confronting, wonderful, exhilarating.

SPEAKER_07 48:45

Perfect, perfect. Now, I'm hoping that when people listen to this podcast, they're gonna be thinking, I'm gonna save my pennies and I'm gonna get myself to Antarctica. So, um, and something that I always ask on my podcast is one tip that you would share for someone who's visiting a destination for the first time. So obviously, there's not a lot of people that can make it to Antarctica, but hopefully some of the people listen to the podcast will. So, what would be the one tip that you would share with them when they visit?

SPEAKER_01 49:12

I'd be open about it and expect anything.

SPEAKER_07 49:17

Perfect. Perfect. Well, thanks very much, David. Thanks for joining me on the podcast today.

SPEAKER_01 49:22

No dramas, thank you.

SPEAKER_07 49:24

And talk to care is often described as wild, remote, and unforgettable. And after experiencing it for myself and hearing from others who shared the journey, I'd say all of those things are true. But what really stood out to me is how personal the experience was. Everyone noticed something different, whether it was the wildlife, the silence, the scale of the landscape, or simply the feeling of being somewhere so far removed from everyday life. If this episode has sparked your curiosity, you'll find links to the expedition, the ship, and photos from the trip in the show notes at globaltravelplanning.com forward slash episode 88. If you've enjoyed the episode, please make sure you're following the podcast and consider leaving a review in your favourite podcast app. It really does help more people find the show. As always, thanks so much for listening and until next time, happy global travel planning. Thank you for joining us on this episode of the Global Travel Planning Podcast. For more details and links to everything we discussed today, check out the show notes at globaltravelplanning.com. Remember if you enjoyed the show, please consider leaving us a review on your favourite podcast app because your feedback helps us reach more travel enthusiasts just like you. Anyway, that leaves me to say, as always, happy global travel planning.