How travellers get to Antarctica faster and safer
GENERALLY viewed as a place reached only after days of battling rough seas at the bottom of the world, Antarctica has long been seen as a destination for explorers and hardened adventurers.
That image is changing as a recent presentation in Kuala Lumpur hosted by the Chilean Embassy, the polar expedition company Antarctica21 showed how its air-cruise model is making the southernmost continent more accessible without stripping away its sense of adventure.
“Antarctica is a place to visit. It is not complicated. It is far away and it requires a lot of flight time. The reward, however, is huge,” said Antarctica21 senior commercial director Juan Cristobal Del Pedregal Bravo.
Traditionally, Antarctic cruises require a crossing of Drake Passage, one of the most notorious stretches of ocean on the planet. The journey can take days and is often uncomfortable even in calm conditions.
“There are two feelings when you cross Drake Passage, one is that you think you are going to die and the second one is that you are sure you are going to die,” Del Pedregal Bravo said.
Antarctica21 avoids the crossing entirely by flying passengers from Punta Arenas in southern Chile directly to King George Island, where they board an expedition ship waiting offshore.
Despite Antarctica’s size, most tourism is concentrated on Antarctic Peninsula, the northernmost part of the continent.
“The peninsula is where we concentrate nearly 90% of the expeditions and it is where you find a very high concentration of wildlife, scientific stations and heritage sites,” Del Pedregal Bravo said.
The region offers frequent encounters with penguins, whales and seals, with daily landings and Zodiac cruises forming the core of the experience.
“When you go on a safari in Africa, you go in a jeep looking for a lion. Here, we go in a Zodiac looking for a whale encounter,” he said.
Antarctica21 limits its ships to just 76 passengers, allowing more time ashore and greater flexibility.
“Small ships allow us to spend more time outside,” he said.
A standard Antarctica21 air-cruise package costs roughly US$23,000, or about RM108,000, per person.
The company’s newest vessel, Magellan Discoverer, is the first hybrid electric expedition ship that is constructed, designed in Chile and built in South America.
“This is a milestone for the country. It is 100% Chilean engineering and manufacturing,” Del Pedregal Bravo said.
All expeditions begin and end in Chile, allowing travellers to combine destinations such as Patagonia or Santiago with Antarctica.
Travel remains accessible only between mid-November and mid-March, but for those who make the journey, the experience is singular.
“There is a moment when you step onto Antarctica and that feeling is the same feeling Neil Armstrong had on the moon. You only take that first step once,” Del Pedregal Bravo said.
