Hello from the bottom of the world

I had made a bet that of the one hundred and fifty odd passengers on our expedition to Antarctica, fewer than five would be younger than me. I was wrong. There were ten. But since three of them were teenagers travelling with their parents and the age of one Australian couple was unclear, I'm going to count it as a win. As for the rest of the manifest, they were almost exclusively couples in their sixties and seventies, mostly of Australian, British or German descent, and universally well travelled and adventurous. For whatever reason, this is an audience to which I play well, so the prospect of being stuck on a small ship with this crowd for three weeks was not too concerning. And so after an early chartered flight from Santiago to Punta Arenas and one final asado lunch on the continent, we boarded the MS Fram, bound for Antarctica with these fellow adventurers and an expedition crew of scientists, historians and activity guides to show us the way.

The Fram was surprisingly luxurious and made for a very comfortable temporary home. Complete with a gym, sauna, outdoor jacuzzi, and an all inclusive drinks package, it had everything you could possibly need to while away the hours on the high seas. Not that there was much time to make use of these facilities as each day was crammed with a schedule of lectures, information sessions and endless eating. And when you did have a moment to spare, the best place to be was out on deck or in the lounge to take in the expanse of the ocean, the drama of passing landscapes, or the excitement of spotting a whale.

There were some surprises on these sea days too. On one morning we had sighted some whale blows on the horizon, and as the ship approached and slowed we realised we were completely surrounded by humpback and sei whales. Our resident marine biologist counted 76 in total. The bow deck was overcome in a hushed awe as passengers and crew alike gathered to appreciate the show. Another morning, a disappointing fog hid our first glimpse of land in three days - Elephant Island, on which Ernest Shackleton had been stranded during his epic feat of survival. But the disappointment evaporated with the fog when it lifted to reveal an incredible, mountainous outcropping of land with the most stunningly clear rainbow in front of it that I've ever seen. We sailed through fjords lined with towering glaciers so close it felt you could reach out to touch them, and passed icebergs larger than cities, including the largest on the planet (twice the size of Greater London) which has been spinning in the Southern Ocean since 1987.

These were just some of the sights seen from the decks of the Fram, but as fun as these days at sea were, I wasn't here to cruise. It was the landings I was excited for. As an expedition ship, we had opportunities to get into coves and bays that larger cruise ships would otherwise be unable to reach.

It worked like this - the Fram would dynamically position itself (staying in place without an anchor) off the coast or in a small bay, the zodiacs would be lowered and our guides would investigate the suitability of the site for landing. If deemed safe, we would be called in designated boat groups of 20 to board the zodiacs and be taken ashore. We would then have time to explore the bay, walk to a vantage point and be mesmerised by the wildlife. The zodiacs would ferry people back and forth as needed, until time was up and everything was spirited back onboard and we disappeared as if never there. Our itinerary included landings in three unique and incredible locations. Let's explore them one by one.

The Falkland Islands

I had no real expectations for the Falklands as they were an incidental inclusion on an itinerary with more famous destinations to follow. So our first few days of zodiac excursions, spent here, were a surprise and a delight. It was here that we had the best opportunities to hike to see the wilds of this part of the world. The islands also housed incredible rookeries of seabirds, particularly albatross. Reaching the first of these, nestled in a cove, and watching these magnificent birds nesting and soaring quite literally right overhead was something very special indeed. The Falklands also included our only stop-in at a town - the capital, Stanley - where we could visit a proper English pub and have proper English fish and chips. It was like being briefly transported to the other side of the world!

South Georgia Island

I was most excited for this destination. I had seen it on an Attenborough documentary and knew it to be a wildlife paradise, nicknamed the Serengeti of the Seas. It did not disappoint. The sheer enormity of life here was jaw-dropping. Whales, dolphins, seabirds, penguins and seals everywhere. We saw a king penguin colony numbering over 700 000! And here the penguins co-existed on the beaches with thousands of fur and elephant seals, some of which were literally giving birth to seal pups whilst we weaved our way between them (which meant we could then wait and watch the scavenger birds come down to feast on the after birth. Gruesome!).

Aside from the overwhelming amount of life, the island itself was spectacular, with soaring snow-capped mountains (up to 3000m), cascading glaciers and sweeping valleys leading to turquoise beaches. It has a fascinating history too, with remnants of its past as the epicenter of commerical whaling in the early twentieth century still evident, and an integral connection to the story of Shackleton, who is at rest now on the island after much endurance.

The Antarctic Peninsula

Although we had had excellent weather in both the Falklands and South Georgia, there was something especially magical going on when we arrived in Antarctica. The crew said they had never seen anything like it, with so little wind that the ocean shimmered like a mirror. The whales, drifting silently along the surface, completely visible through the crystal clear water, were even able to breathe without spurting water into the air as there were no waves rolling over their backs. It is difficult to convey the energy onboard, but needless to say everyone was struck by the epic beauty that surrounded us.

There was less wildlife on land here, instead the ice was the star of the show. It was hard to tear your eyes away from the icebergs drifting past, the glaciers cracking and crashing, and the endless white of the softest snow, blemished only by the occasional tracks of penguins stumbling down to the shore.

We were fortunate to have the opportunity for several landings to see penguin colonies, to take a refreshing plunge, to kayak between the icebergs, and to set up camp for the night and sleep under the perpetual twilight. They are experiences that will stay with me forever.

Notes on planning a trip to Antarctica

Itinerary considerations

I had picked this particular expedition as I wanted to see South Georgia Island and not many cruise itineraries include it. It was the highlight of the three weeks for me, and many of the other passengers said the same. Indeed, many of the crew also said South Georgia is their favourite destination in the Antarctic region. If your main interest in visiting the region is for the wildlife, then it should absolutely be a must in your itinerary as there is much more wildlife to be seen here than in Antarctica. If your interest lies in the icy wonders further south, you may also want to look beyond the typical nine to eleven day itineraries that cruise down to the Antarctic Peninsula and back (the so-called "classic" itinerary). This is the area my itinerary visited, and while there is certainly ice and snow to be seen there (though see below on timings), it is not the great white expanse that you might envision of Antarctica (it is more mountainous and rocky here). To experience that, you have to travel further south still or into the Weddell Sea, and, again, there are far fewer itineraries that include these destinations. It's also worth noting that the itineraries advertised for expeditions to Antarctica are indicative only. They are very dependent on the weather and conditions on a day to day basis. This means that some days when the ship has intended to operate zodiac landings, they may not be able to and you might have zodiac or even ship cruising in a location instead. This happened to us once in the Falklands. We also were unable to land at one site in South Georgia due to the density of territorial seals, but that was expected at that particular site and we were fortunate the conditions allowed zodiac cruising close to shore. If the weather really turns, the ship may not be able to do anything at all. This happens a lot apparently, with one of the crew suggesting that on most expeditions anywhere up to half of the planned zodiac excursions have to be cancelled. We were fortunate that there was only one morning, our final morning in Antarctica, where we were unable to undertake any activity, which necessitated leaving the area early. The captain made that up to us with a previously unplanned afternoon landing back in the Chilean fjords. But because of this risk, I would advise finding an itinerary that has several days of planned landings so that should some be impacted, you will still have plenty of opportunities for activities. If you only had four or five days of excursions in the itinerary and these were impacted by weather, I imagine you would be coming home very disappointed!

Timing considerations

When asked about the best time to visit this region, the crew and more seasoned travellers who had been before universally and unhesitatingly said November and December. This had been a big decision point before booking as there are pros and cons to early versus late season expeditions. The big plus earlier in the season is the natural beauty of the ice. There is more snow on the mountains and more ice in the sea. As the summer wears on, the sea ice is gone and the penguins actually melt the snow on shore, in exactly the way you might imagine (or as our resident penguinologist put it, for penguins, you defecate where you intend to procreate). This means that, by January, the landing sites have lost their snowy lustre and instead are brown and bleak and literally covered in penguin poo. We had one landing that was already in this state and it was by far the least exciting of the trip (and absolutely stank!). So I would recommend the earlier in the season the better. The trade-off here is that there will be fewer penguin chicks as these hatch later in the summer. You are also less likely to see orca, as they arrive later once the penguins are off their nests and back feeding in the water. You will definitely see seal pups though, and there are hundreds of whales out there, so you won't miss the orca too much.

Ship and cruise line considerations

At any given landing site, only 100 people can be onshore at a time. For some of the larger cruise liners with thousands of passengers this means waiting your turn, and often necessitates minimal time on land, or not landing at all and simply spotting wildlife from the ship. So I would highly recommend a smaller expedition ship. The trade-off is that these ships are less stable in the swell, but I didn't encounter any seasickness (and I am often prone to travel sickness). Additionally, although I knew that our expedition was limited to 200 passengers, one plus about the MS Fram that I had not anticipated was that it was actually built to accommodate 250 guests (plus crew). That is, the ship has a capacity for 250 guests, but Hurtigruten only sells up to 200 berths for Antarctic expeditions, and ultimately we only had 160 on our trip regardless. This meant that it felt very spacious and comfortable, as restaurant and lounge spaces built for 250 were never anywhere near full. It also meant that there were many empty cabins onboard, which allowed Amanda and I to have a cabin each! A true boon. Another consideration here that we were not as lucky with is the number of tender pits the ship has to launch zodiacs. The Fram only had one pit for zodiac departure and arrival. This was not a big problem with so few passengers, but it did mean some waiting around, particularly when multiple activities (kayaking, photography excursions, science work etc) were occurring all at once. Some other cruise lines advertise having multiple pits and I can see the value in this - I'd suggest considering this alongside the passenger numbers onboard when looking at expedition options.

Landing and activity sites (for reference)

Dec 3 - New Island, Falklands

Dec 3 - West Point Island, Falklands

Dec 4 - Saunders Island, Falklands

Dec 4 - Carcass Island, Falklands

Dec 5 - Stanley, Falklands

Dec 7 - Shag Rock, South Georgia

Dec 8 - Elsehul, South Georgia

Dec 8 - Salisbury Plain, South Georgia

Dec 9 - Fortuna Bay, South Georgia

Dec 9 - Stromness, South Georgia

Dec 10 - Grytviken, South Georgia

Dec 10 - Hercules Bay, South Georgia

Dec 11 - St Andrews Bay, South Georgia

Dec 11 - Drygalski Fjord, South Georgia

Dec 14 - Elephant Island, Antarctica

Dec 16 - Deception Island, Antarctica

Dec 16 - Half Moon Bay, Antarctica

Dec 17 - Orne Harbour, Antarctica (continent)

Dec 17 - Danco Island, Antarctica

Dec 17 - Leith Cove, Antarctica

Dec 18 - Neko Harbour, Antarctica (continent)

Dec 18 - Andvord Bay, Antarctica

Dec 20 - Beagle Channel, Chilean Fjords

Dec 20 - Puerto Williams, Chilean Fjords