During the second week of our expedition south with Oceanwide Expeditions, a mysterious note appeared at the bottom of the day’s itinerary: "Dinner served at 19:00. Surprise Location (weather dependant)." We dutifully went about our normal business, but on the return from our afternoon excursion, tables could be seen on the helipad. At 18:55 the … Continue reading The Southernmost BBQ in the World →

The day we crossed the Antarctic Circle and sailed through the Gullet was hands-down the best day I had in Antarctica.  The whole reason I chose this particular trip with this particular operator (Oceanwide Expeditions) was because they aimed to cross the Antarctic Circle. I had travelled into the Arctic Circle when visiting Finland in … Continue reading Crossing the Antarctic Circle & Sailing Through The Gullet →

Gentoo, Adelie & Chinstrap Penguins Cuverville Island, Neko Harbour, Horseshoe Island, Pourquois Pas Island, Fish Islands and Stonington Island We made a good few stops to see penguins on the Antarctic trip. The first two landings via Zodiac boats were on the same day: one in the morning and one in the afternoon. The morning … Continue reading Penguins →

Part II: Drake’s Passage This was the part of the trip I was dreading. Arriving on board the MV Ortellius had been great. I had bumped into someone in the Ushuaia Tourist Office who happened to be heading for the Ortellius too, so I embarked having already made a friend – and a good one … Continue reading Travelling to Antarctica Part II →

I arrived in Ushuaia jet-lagged & keen to find the hotel. I had arranged with Hostal Malvinas (where I would be staying overnight) for a taxi to pick me up at the airport. I exited Baggage Reclaim with luggage in tow to find a placard with my name on it ready & waiting. As I … Continue reading Ushuaia →

Part I: The Flights Booking flights involved more decision making than usual. There were no direct flights from London (or anywhere in the UK) to Ushuaia – so I was definitely going to have to change aeroplanes somewhere. But where? One of the first pieces of travelling advice for women heading to South America on … Continue reading Travelling to Antarctica Part I →

I am planning on updating this list when I get back to say which items were worth taking & which could have been left at home.  I found it harder than I thought I would to decide what to take with me to Antarctica. I read some other blogs, as well as the comprehensive recommended … Continue reading Packing List →

This trip has been two years in the making! My school is amazing and grants sabbatical leave for staff who’ve worked there for 10 years. So when my leave became available, I started having a think about what I wanted to do with it. My first instinct was to tack some of the leave onto … Continue reading Why Antarctica? →