Antarctica- to the Bottom of the World

South to Antarctica – a journey to the white continent

A travel destination with no classy hotels, no resorts, no theme parks, no shopping malls, not one sandy beach; a place where no visitors are permitted to spend a night. Antarctica, the world's fifth largest continent is 99.7% covered in permanent ice, holds records as the world's driest, coldest and windiest continent and yet receives 33000 visitors of whom fewer than 19000 actually set foot on the continent every year. And these 19000 are people looking for a 'different' travel experience; an experience that most will endeavour only once in their lifetime; an experience that is certainly not inexpensive and one that involves long hours of travelling but at the end of it all one that leaves you with memories and photographs that are incomparable.

Antarctica! Few, if any Indian companies are able to help you plan a trip to a destination that is as distant and remote as can be. Months of research, reading and exploring possible travel alternatives convinced me to opt out of the luxury cruise ship option. Yes, there are some cruise companies that offer a limited number of polar sailings every year but the size of the ship and their style of operation restrict you to experiencing the polar continent without actually setting foot on it. My choice was to go with one of the smaller specialist expedition style cruise companies that operate small, ice strengthened ships, mostly ex Russian research vessels. The enormous advantage of this is that you are not shielded and protected from the elements by the artificial luxury of a giant cruise ship; sailing on the smaller expedition ships, you experience the wild ferocity of crossing the heaving waters of the Drake Passage but also the eerie silence of gliding into the frozen waters of the Errera Channel and Paradise Bay.

Of the four or five small expedition ship companies that offer polar tours, Oceanwide Expeditions is perhaps the best known. Registered in Holland, this Dutch company operates their own mid sized ship called the Plancius and also, based on demand, put on additional polar expeditions using a couple of small ex Russian research ships. Tours to the southern polar regions start from Ushuaia, the southern most town in the world more or less at the tip of the continent of South America. Visited by tens of thousands of travellers every summer from November until March, this Argentinean town on the shores of the Beagle Channel has comfortable hotels, an interesting museum housed in the former jail and several interesting places to visit within a couple of hours drive. A 3 hrs flight from the Argentinean capital of Buenos Aires brings one to Ushuaia's small but smart little airport from where a short taxi ride takes me to the port. A quick customs and passport check later, I am walking with my suitcase along the windy jetty towards Professor Multanovskiy, the 48 passenger Oceanwide Expeditions polar expedition ship.

On the dot at 5.00pm, with a blast of the ship's horn, we set off from Ushuaia and head east along the Beagle Channel that separates Argentina from Chile. We go through the initial briefings, get familiar with our ship and the facilities and then undergo the compulsory and comprehensive safety and survival drill including actually evacuating to the life rafts and experiencing the cramped conditions first hand. That evening, I meet my 45 or so fellow passengers, many from the US with the rest from a dozen or more different countries. There is a journalist from Guatemala, a couple of Japanese youngsters, a pleasant elderly German doctor and couples from the UK, Spain and Canada. Apart from the ship's Russian navigation crew, we are introduced to Troels, the Danish Expedition Leader, Daniella, our Argentinean housekeeping manager, to Hermann, the Austrian head chef and to Anjali Pande, our guide and ship board lecturer from New Zealand.

After an excellent inaugural dinner, we meet in the ships lounge and library to exchange introductions and listen to our nightly briefing on the following days planned activities. Over the next two days as we sail south across the Drake Passage time is spent listening to ship board lectures on Antarctica’s early explorations by the famous Scott and Amundsen expeditions, the continent’s geology, its wildlife and climate.

Early on the morning of the third day as we wake up and head down to the dining lounge for breakfast, the constant rolling of the ship and the sound of things moving around that we have become used to is replaced by an eerie silence. I look out and see the Professor Multanovskiy gliding slowly amongst giant icebergs. There is a rush to our cabins to grab our cameras and jackets before lining up along the outside decks to get our first close up photographs of an awe inspiring landscape revealing itself in brief glimpses through a shallow sea mist. As we glide quietly past icebergs of fantastic shapes and sizes, some glowing brilliant white in the misty morning light, others shining an iridescent blue, the realisation that we are experiencing something rare and in a place where very few people have been is humbling.

The ship comes to a stop in Petrel Cove off the snow cap covered Dundee Island and we hear the rumble of the anchor being dropped. Within minutes the zodiac power boats are lowered from the rear deck, the gangway is taken down and the first team is ready to head to the gravel and black volcanic sand coast of Dundee Island weaving through chunks of ice that have calved off the larger icebergs. As I step ashore to our first outing on an Antarctica island, we are greeted by barking Antarctica fur seals crowding the beach area in the hundreds.

The highlight of our excursion on Dundee Island is a walk on the permanent ice cap that covers 99% of the island. As we slowly ascend the dome shaped ice sheet and gain height, I look back and see our home, refuge and shelter, the ship Professor Multanovskiy, dwarfed by towering cliffs of ice and looking tiny in the immense landscape.

By mid March, the southern summer is over and autumn is firmly in place. On the Antarctica Peninsula, that long finger of ice shrouded mountainous land that sticks out of the continent pointing north towards the tip of South America, the seas are actually beginning to freeze with winter fast approaching.

Over the next four days, our exploration of the Antarctica Peninsula and the sub Antarctica South Shetland Islands brings new wonders on an hourly basis. On crescent shaped Deception Island, actually the rim of a volcano that collapsed into the sea, we visit Whalers Bay and see the remains of a whaling station that was once part of the cruel industry that slaughtered millions of whales to obtain precious whale oil before the days of petroleum. Deception Island’s volcanic origins are very evident in the steam vents and pools of warm water that can be seen at several places along the shore at Fumarole Bay.

On King George Island, we land ashore and are greeted by gentoo penguins. The Fildes Peninsula on King George Island is home to several scientific research stations and we walk past the Chinese Great Wall Station to reach colonies of chin strap penguins and numbers of elephant seals lolling on the shore. The Russian Bellingshausen station has the only church in the Antarctica, one of Siberian design perched on a lovely site overlooking Ardley Cove and the ice sheet that covers parts of King George Island. On the nearby Eduardo Frei research station run by Chile, we get our passports stamped with an ‘official’ Antarctica stamp formally recording our presence on the southern continent.

Heading further south, we made landfall at Brown Bluff, on the very tip of the Antarctic continent itself one lovely evening. The flat sea mirrored the icebergs and the calm of the moment was only broken by playful fur seals that we sometimes had to dodge in a hurry. Gentoo penguins with their orange beaks nested in the hundreds on the nearby slopes and we even saw a few of the smaller and more elegant Adelie penguins for the first time. As we weaved our way back to our mother ship in the zodiac through small and large bergs, some of fantastic shape, the icy continent was bathed a gentle shade of rose pink in the fading evening light.

Sailing down the western side of the Antarctica Peninsula, a part known as Graham Land we encountered ‘normal’ polar weather with a rising wind, a choppy sea, dark clouds and flurries of snow showers. We were greeted by young and adult gentoo penguins staring curiously at us as we landed on Cuverville Island with some of the chicks still in their fluffy down feathers looking cute. The storm clouds parted to let in rays of evening sunshine as we sailed gently through the freezing waters of the Errera Channel to Paradise Bay and Neko Harbour to reach the southernmost point on our journey. The stunning walls of blue ice towering within a few metres of the ship, the roar of ice breaking from the ice cliffs and crashing into the half frozen sea, the sheer magnificence of the surroundings made us speechless for once.

On the three day long voyage heading north across the Drake Passage back to Ushuaia, we had time to spend with our fellow travellers who had become good friends by now and think back on a trip that would likely remain the highlight of our travels in this lifetime.

Why go there: Antarctica is likely to remain a specialized and niche destination offered by a small number of experienced tour operators focusing on expedition style journeys to people really wanting to get away from the crowds to areas of great natural beauty in very special and unique locations.

Getting there: Several airlines fly to Buenos Aires (Argentina) either via Europe or via the USA. From Buenos Aires, you ca book your own flights online to and from Ushuaia directly on the websites of Aerolineas Argentinas or on LAN Argentina. Both are reliable carriers.

Visas: An Argentina visa is required for Indian citizens.

Where to stay: Hotel accommodation in Buenos Aires and in Ushuaia can easily be booked on any major hotel portal or through any reliable travel agent. While Buenos Aires has a wide range of hotels to suit every budget, the choice in Ushuaia is limited to 3 and 4 star hotels. Prices during the southern summer season ( November-March) can be in the range of US$ 120-150 per room per night.

Weather: Antarctica voyages operate only during the November to March period (spring and summer in the southern hemisphere). Temperatures can range from a comfortable 15-18deg C in Ushuaia to a chilly 1-3 deg C in Antarctica. The ship is comfortably heated.

Nature at its best - Vancouver BC

Western Canada- Nature at its Best

Guess which North American city is nearest to the large Asian metropolises of Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo, Seoul or Hong Kong; no, it isn’t Los Angeles, San Francisco or Seattle. It is Vancouver, Canada’s gateway to the world’s fastest growing region- the Asia Pacific, the economic powerhouse that will increasingly drive the global economy of the future. In terms of flying time, it is faster to travel to Vancouver than anywhere else in North America. Having heard much lately about the city that hosted the recent 2010 Winter Olympic Games I decided to come explore the scenic beauty of the province of British Columbia that proudly calls itself ‘Spectacular by Nature’ and to visit some of the highlights of multicultural Vancouver. And, having come this far, it makes good sense to travel to the Rockies and see some of the world’s most awesome mountain landscapes. Each year over a million people also pass through Vancouver on their cruise ship vacations bound for Alaska.

Vancouver International Airport is located about 15kms to the south of Vancouver in the suburb of Richmond and, as the aircraft descends, you can see the city bordered by the waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and by snow covered mountains to the north. It is this unique scenic location that gives Vancouver both its sandy beaches and its ski hills, both within a few minutes drive of the city centre; also, this helps give the city the distinction of being the world’s most liveable city in 2010 according to The Economist magazine.

After Toronto and Montreal, Vancouver and the surrounding suburbs is the third largest city in Canada with a population of just over 2 million people. Although archaeological records show native people lived in the area for over 8000 years, the traditional cultures typically built homes and structures using wood so there are no grand monuments of stone that one can see. European settlement of the area began in the 1850’s and the city was Vancouver was officially formed as a municipality as late as 1886. Although people of English, Scottish, and Irish origins were historically the largest ethnic groups in the city followed by Germans, it is the Chinese who form the largest ethnic group in the city today. Other significant Asian ethnic groups in Vancouver are Indian, mostly from Punjab (commonly referred to as Indo-Canadian), Vietnamese, Filipino, Indonesian, Korean, Cambodians and Japanese.

Vancouver has neighbourhoods with distinct ethnic touches to them including historic Chinatown close to the downtown core, a Punjabi Market, Little Italy, Greek town, and even a Japan town.

Taxis, shuttle buses and a newly completed elevated metro rail system called the ‘Skytrain’ are easily available at the airport for the 20 minutes ride to the city’s downtown area. I had booked my accommodation through one of the large hotel booking websites and the Empire Landmark Hotel at about $100 per night seemed reasonable. It turned out to be located right in the heart of city’s downtown with excellent views, friendly service and within walking distance from several local attractions. A phone call to the hotel concierge next morning set me up for a full day Vancouver sightseeing conducted tour which is perhaps the best way to get a quick overview of the city’s top highlights. Most visitors to the city see Stanley Park, Queen Elizabeth Park, VanDusen Gardens, Capilano Suspension Bridge and the mountains, sea beaches, forest trails and parklands that surround the city.

On my tour we had a minibus load of travellers from places as far apart as Chile, South Africa, Sweden and Thailand and a friendly driver-guide who gave us excellent background information as we visited Canada Place, Robson Street, the Vancouver Public Library built somewhat like the Colosseum in Rome, Chinatown and historic Gastown with its steam run clock. We stopped in Prospect Point in Stanley Park for photographs and then continued onwards to Cleveland Dam and the Capilano Bridge in the North Vancouver rainforest where I crossed the 450-ft-long suspension bridge over a spectacular gorge. Later, we drove to Granville Island with its public market, shops, restaurants and galleries along the False Creek sea front. Denman Street, a few minutes walk away from my hotel, had a great variety of restaurants ranging from African, Greek, Italian, Indian, Mongolian, Afghan, Thai, Vietnamese and Iranian to choose from so whether you wish to try out some top quality international cuisine or grab a slice of pizza, it is all easily available here.

The city of Vancouver is a very convenient base for making day trips to the ski and mountain resort of Whistler and to Victoria, capital of the province of British Columbia. Whistler is a ski and mountain resort 120 kms and two hours drive north of Vancouver along the very scenic ‘Sea to Sky’ highway. Most events of the 2010 Winter Olympics were held in Whistler and the drive (or a fully catered rail journey on the Rocky Mountaineer train) to Whistler on the road that hugs both the coast and the mountains certainly was a highlight of the trip; it is simply spectacular with views of the snow covered Tantalus mountain range, the extinct Garibaldi volcano, the ocean dotted with islands, steep forest covered mountain slopes, fast flowing rivers and the impressive Shannon Waterfalls.

A guided sightseeing day trip to Victoria, the capital of British Columbia, located on nearby Vancouver Island, is also easily arranged with any of the regular tour companies. More than the sights of Victoria itself, I found the 90 minutes ferry cruise from the mainland to Vancouver Island through beautiful Active Pass past several of the Gulf Islands to be very enjoyable. Our guide told us that it is quite common for families of Orcas or killer whales to be seen feeding in the sea here. If you are keen on seeing these ocean mammals, whale watching tours depart daily from the Inner Harbour of Victoria near the Parliament Building. Victoria is known for its wildlife viewing, especially in the waters that surround the city. The nearby islands host large numbers of elephant seals, sea lions, harbour seals and seabirds which are easily seen from the beaches of the city and while we did not see any whales, I saw several harbour seals and sea lions in Vancouver and Victoria.

Having had a glimpse at the more populated and better known part of Western Canada, it was time to head inland to the Rocky Mountains. While it is easy to rent a car complete with GPS device for easy route finding and do the tour privately, there are a few coach tour companies that operate three and four day fully guided tours. A more luxurious option is to take the two days trip aboard the Rocky Mountaineer train.

Heading east from Vancouver on the Trans Canada Highway connecting Canada’s Pacific and Atlantic coasts, we were on the world's longest national highway with a length of 7,821 km. We drove past the tulip, corn and berry fields of the fertile Fraser Valley before starting our climb to the Coquihalla Pass and then to the interior city of Kamloops. Visiting Wells Gray Park and Helmcken waterfalls on the way, we stopped at Mount Robson, the highest peak of the Rockies before arriving in Jasper the following day.

Some of the best-known mountain scenery on earth is concentrated in a set of seven parks in the Canadian Rocky Mountains. The most scenic sections of the Canadian Rockies are protected by number of national parks. Indeed, in much of the world, mention of Canada means images of snow-capped peaks and green wilderness. More than nine million people annually visit the many nature parks located along the Alberta-British Columbia province border. Amongst these, four national parks— Banff, Jasper, Yoho and Kootenay are all World Heritage Sites though world famous Banff and Jasper National Parks are the best known. Jasper National Park is the largest and most northerly Canadian rocky mountain national parks, while to the south, Banff National Park is one of the world's most visited natural attractions.

Connecting the two parks is the Icefields Parkway, one of the world’s most spectacular mountain highways. Driving on this scenic highway, our coach made a stop at the Athabasca Glacier which is close enough for you to be able to walk on with ease. With photo stops to view the Columbia Icefields, the Bow and Crowfoot Glaciers and Peyto Lake we finally arrived at the shores of Lake Louise.

Nothing quite prepares you for the jaw dropping beauty of Lake Louise, nearby Moraine Lake and the town of Banff. On a clear day, the deep blue sky, the jagged snow covered peaks, the turquoise waters of the glacial lakes and the forest covered mountain slopes together make up a picture postcard scene. Although, our tour company allowed us a complete day to enjoy these magnificent surroundings, it would be very easy to spend several days in the towns of Banff and Canmore visiting the many natural wonders and viewpoints.

All too soon, my tour was at an end and I was headed back to Vancouver for the long journey home.

QUICK FACTS:

WHY GO THERE: With its multi-ethnic society, Vancouver is a city with its sights set to the Asia Pacific region. Apart from being an incredibly beautiful cosmopolitan city with a range of attractions, it is also a North American city where one would want to set up business and commercial ties for future growth.

GETTING THERE: Major Asian airlines offer flights to Vancouver via the Far East. European airlines like British Airways, Lufthansa, KLM offer daily flights through Europe. Air India and Jet Airways offer flights to Vancouver via Toronto or London.

VISAS: Visa applications are received by VFS at any of the ten application centres across India. www.vfs-canada.co.in/ . All applications are finally assessed at The Canadian High Commission in Delhi or the Consulate General in Chandigarh. Information necessary to apply for a temporary resident (tourist) visa for Canada is available on the website.

WHERE TO STAY: It is easy to book hotels and domestic air travel within Canada online. The Canadian Tourism website www.canada.travel has a wealth of information and facts. I made my travel arrangements directly with www.brewster.ca. and booked hotels online on travelocity.

Previously published at MONEYLIFE in January 2011 . . .


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