Antarctica Trip Notes

For the past ten days, we’ve been enjoying a visit to the Antarctic region, traveling to below the Antarctic Circle. The trip, arranged through Quark Expeditions, allowed us to see a variety of penguins, whales, birds and seals. The icebergs, sea ice and fast ice and fantastic mountains and rock formations only added to the rewarding sights on the trip.

After arriving in Punta Arenas, we attended two meetings hosted by Quark. The first meeting was to weigh our carry-on and check-in luggage and receive our jackets and snow boots. Each Quark traveler receives a warm water resistant yellow jacket and is loaned calf-high waterproof boots. We were informed that meeting the luggage weight restrictions were needed as the King George Island gravel airstrip is short in length. Excessive flying weight could result in the plane needing greater airstrip length for landing and take-off. The second meeting was an introduction discussion by Quark staff. At this meeting, we learned about the rules governing Antarctic travel, flight departure information, how to load and unload a zodiac, proper clothing for expedition outings, boot cleaning procedures and about daily activities on an expedition trip. A Quark hosted dinner followed the introduction.

The next day at 7am, we loaded onto a bus from the hotel to the airport. After a two hour flight, we landed on a gravel airstrip. Disembarking the plane, we walked about a mile from the airstrip to the shore, where we experienced our first of many zodiac rides.  

During our trip, we learned that a formal itinerary is really not possible when visiting the Antarctic region. Constant changing weather and sea conditions, sometimes within hours, and a concern for safety make shore zodiac trip decisions only possible within a two to eight hour advance window. At one point in the trip, a violent storm forced the ship to find sheltered areas that would be safe for the ship and passengers and also permit zodiac landings.

A medical emergency can also affect the itinerary. After crossing the Antarctic Circle, a ship staff member was diagnosed with appendicitis and needed to be evacuated to Punta Arenas. Thus, our ship immediately reversed and headed back to King George Island, the only airstrip with frequent plane landings. Antarctica is a remote location and surgery is not possible on a tourist oriented expedition ship and only at a research station under the most dire winter emergency conditions (we were traveling during the Antarctic summer).

Where did our zodiacs visit? The list includes:

• Lemaire Channel
• Yalour Islands
• Fish Islands
• Mutton Cove
• Detaille Island
• Great Wall China Research Station
• Petermann Island
• Robert Point, on Robert Island
• Telefon Bay at Deception Island
• Whalers Bay at Deception Island
• Fort Point, Greenwich Island

Map Provided by Ian Quek

The weather also played a role in determining the end date of our expedition to the bottom of the world. On the scheduled flight date for departure from the ship at King George Island to Punta Arenas, low clouds and fog brought visibility to near zero. Winds at no more than 10 knots did not improve the visibility, so we spent two extra nights on board. This unplanned delay played havoc with the post-cruise travel plans of many passengers, including ourselves. We did appreciate the cabin stewards as they prepared our former guest cabins for new passengers (e.g., replacing towels and bed sheets and cleaning rooms), only to find us reoccupying the cabins for two additional nights. With the forecast of an opening in the weather, we were woken up at 3am to prepare for a 6am on a flight to Punta Arenas. Why the three hour notice? Well, it takes a lot of time to unload about 120-130 luggage pieces by rubber raft and transport them from shore to a plane via snow cat, passengers must be unloaded from the ship in groups of ten to the shore via rubber zodiacs and then there is the mile walk to the plane. 

Quark Expeditions’ support during the trip and handling the weather delay was outstanding. As the departure delays settled in, they provided guests with reasonable access to satellite phones and/or Internet to deal with travel changes, not to mention free wine at one dinner and martinis during an evening social. We also understood that  the delayed incoming guests were likely frustrated as their “trip of a lifetime” was being spent at a Punta Arenas hotel, waiting for the flying visibility to improve.

Throughout the trip, we found Solan Jenson, the Quark expedition leader, and his expedition staff terrific in their zodiac guiding, knowledge of regional geology and wildlife, “can do” youthful energy and concern for our safety. Solan's calm morning wake up calls and humor were always welcomed.

I’ll post images from the trip as time and Internet connectivity improve. With our travel changes, we slowing making our way back to California.