Antarctica: A Cold, Exotic Getaway

By Kevin Fleming
[Travel]
Where can you see penguins in the wild?  Kevin Fleming has a cold weather vacation suggestion.
Take a trip to Antarctica?  Who in their right mind wants to spend their vacation in the coldest place in the world?  Oddly enough, you would be surprised to learn that Antarctica is becoming ever more popular each year, with an estimated 80,000 individuals visiting the frigid continent last year alone.  As you will see, there is more than meets the eye in regard to Antarctica.  Plus, if you don't mind the cold, you can boast to friends and family that you have visited a place where very few have ever stepped foot, at least in comparison to the rest of the world.

Cool Climate And Tuxedo Creatures

Obviously, the first thing that many of us think about when we hear the word Antarctica is bitter cold and, not far behind, is penguins.  In reality, both of these thoughts are accurate to a degree, as Antarctica is indeed cold.  The lowest recorded temperature in history, -128.6 degrees Fahrenheit (-89.2 degrees Celsius), was recorded in Antarctica in 1981 at the former Soviet Union’s Vostok Station.  If you can believe it, that is only a few degrees away from being able to freeze pure gasoline.  Have no fear though, as that recording was near the centre of the continent where it is considerably cooler than the coastline.  The Antarctic coastline area is quite tolerable in the summer, which starts in December, with temperatures sometimes reaching 50 degrees Fahrenheit.

Unless you are an extreme explorer and plan to dogsled your way across the continent (actually, dog sledding is illegal under international law in Antarctica), you’ll never really realize how big the continent is.  Technically speaking, Antarctica is 5.3 million square miles (13.8 million square kilometres).  This makes it around 1.5 times larger than the United States.  Of the total landmass though, only .32 per cent of the continent is ice-free most of the time, even though ice levels do go down in the summer.  To give you an idea of how much ice is on the continent, think of the ice you see on a good sized frozen river on a very cold day; seems like a lot, right?  If somehow you could move all of the ice in Antarctica to that river, well, let’s say you wouldn’t even know that river existed since 90 per cent of the world’s ice is located in Antarctica.

How Do I Get There?

There are two ways to get to Antarctica:  boat or plane.  Usually either of these transports will take you there starting from southern South America, New Zealand or Australia.  Travelling to the ice continent by air is usually off limits to tourists and is reserved for those who staff the various research stations throughout Antarctica.  Countries that have permanent research bases on the continent include the United States, Poland, Bulgaria, the United Kingdom, Australia and Finland.

The most convenient way to travel to and see the sights of Antarctica is via ship, specifically small cruise ships that have been modified to stand up to the ice.  Cruise tours generally run from October to March (the warmer months), depending on conditions.  Keep in mind that if you want to get off the ship and do a bit of poking around, it is best that you find a company with a small ship, as it can get considerably closer to shore than a larger ship.  Remember to do your research on tour companies that visit Antarctica, as you’ll want to find out what kind of ship you’ll be travelling on, where you’ll be going and how much (if any) time you’ll have to actually set foot on the continent.
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