Antarctica

This is fascinating! I'll be reading along as well.

Dek, you can actually participate in an archeaological dig for a fee. If you pick up an Archeaology Magazine there are loads of adverts for dig gigs you can pay to join. I did one in Utah, but the locations are scattered all over the world.

You certainly can, one of the major issues with these sites are tourists visiting and taking away souvenirs. There's a current debate as to how to protect these sites and if they should be taken apart and taken back to museums.



Strangely I'm not to bothered about going to the south pole, it would be nice but the journey to get there would be very long and I doubt I'd be able to personally afford a trip that deep into the Antarctic. there are Ta few south poles as well, true south pole and a flashy pretend one that is used for ceremonies

The base at the south pole is hard to get into as well, if you turn up, you'll have to sleep outside in a tent, by all accounts they aren't all that welcoming there!



any more info on this, sounds a sight to see.



I wonder how cold it would have to be for this to happen, I don't really fancy going in the winter, will be very dark!


DeK

Thanks Littlek, good to have you aboard.

Yep I'm aware that you can do that kind of thing, that's sort of where the idea was born from, I do however have some very specific locations that I want to go to, generally you don't tend to see these sites on offer (though I must confess that I've not looked all that hard as yet).

Maybe I should have a more detailed look now the traveling fever is hitting me


DeK

Dek

Your idea is progressing!

You can only get to Antarctica in summer - it's closed in during the winter. And it'll be cold whenever!

Is taking a year's leave from your job an option? That's usually the length of service that's required here! If you didn't have to pay your own transport and accommodation costs, perhaps that's feasible. But - and big but - you'd have to be prepared for a year away from family and friends, home comforts and whatever.

Here's the Australian division:
http://www-old.aad.gov.au/

You've got us all interested now!

I'll ask the moderators to feature this topic!

Margo,
I've just been thinking about this while eating my dinner. I'd have to rent my house out to cover my mortgage and put a few things in storage, I'm still looking at a massive reduction in salary but hey, how much cash could you possibly spend while in Antarctica for a year?

Even so I'm looking at around about a 50% reduction in salary (assuming I can find an appropriate job)

I suspect as well that if I have a chat with my MD that I might be able to come back to my old job....

I'll have to think about this in more detail, maybe this open day would be a good idea anyway.....

Thanks for the feature request, I'm glad that so many people have found my bizarre ideas interesting

deK

Exactly my thinking - Dek - just how much money do you need down there? (but stay away from the gambling - the doctor friend told me that it was common - to relieve boredom!)

hmm actually I would be looking at about a 70% reduction in income I'm a bit unsure on how much Tax I will have to pay though, can't find any exact details on British Antarctic Territory or South Georgia Government Tax.

I'll still have to pay National Insurance!!!

Well it's still an idea though.

For info

I've been in touch with Geographic Expeditions of San Francisco, and they sent me a sample itinerary. Depending upon the cruise boat with shared or private facilities, the minimum runs between $3,600 to $5,000 per person for a twin for 11 days. For me, the airfare from San Francisco to Ushuaia will run about $1,400 more.
c.i.

I haven't asked my friend yet (sorry -- he's SO the person to talk to) but I know he was there for only a few months each time. Maybe 5 or even 6 months, but definitely not a full year.

Also, in terms of subsidizing your trip, there is a fairly good market for travel writing, especially from the "I have no idea what I'm doing but hey I thought it would be fun" genre. Here's something I bookmarked long ago when I was looking for freelance writing leads (love it when 2-year-old links still work):

http://www.travelerstales.com/guidelines/

Oh, I just saw the "honorarium" is only $100. Hmmm. I found other stuff along those lines when I was looking, though.

Here's an article about the dry valleys:

http://abcnews.go.com/sections/science/DailyNews/exped_antarctica990105_part1.html

Equus, Interesting link. Have you also heard about desert sandy areas of the Antarctica? c.i.

Dek

Get over the 70% thing!

If you can afford it, without losing your house (or something else precious!)
- GO FOR IT!

This is the experience of a lifetime!

Money will probably still be around for a few years yet! You can make some more! If you're going to lose that much income - you're obviously earning far too much now - and should send some to me. Bank detaiils coming under cover!!!

I went for a interview today for a position with the Grand Jury of Santa Clara County for a one year term beginning on June 1. I may need to put my plans for a trip to Antarctica on hold for one year. However, the judge said that the pool of candidates is excellent this year, and he had over 150 applicants. c.i.

c.i.: lots of information on antartica can be found on the australian site www-new.aad.gov.au/ . webcameras can be accessed from the individual station sites. i think it's a great site - but knowing your thirst for information, you probably have checked it out already. hbg

Travel to Antarctica
Hello,

I am new to this web site, but had to register when I saw posts about questions on Antarctica! My husband and I made a 25-day trip to Falklands, So. Goergia and the Antarcitc Penninsula in Jan. '01. It was a *great* trip. I noticed someone mentioned Cheeseman's Ecology Safaris (cheesemans.com) in this thread - we went with them. They have a great itinerary. You almost have to go with a group on a boat since there are no accommodations. Don't miss South Georgia Island - the more days there the better. The penguin colonies, albatross and fur seals are much better there than on the penninsula. It is great to go on an ice breaking ship - not all ships that travel there are. This allows you to get into the landing sites even when they are surrounded by ice. I have been on many ecotours and Antarctica is my favorite.

We are planning a trip to the Ross Sea area of Antarctica for Feb. '04. And we just got back from the Arctic - Svalbard Islands - north of Norway.

Well, enough for now. I have to figure out how this site works...
Birdy

Corky -Birdy

Welcome to A2K, especially the travel forum!

Tell us about your trip to Antarctica. You do seem to like cold places.

corky, The Marco Polo of Orient Lines has trips to Antarctica, because their haul is built for ice breaking. It's one of the options I've been considering. Glad you joined A2K, and WELCOME. c.i.

Basic Antarctica stuff
Glad to find some other enthusiastic travelers...

Most trips to Antarctica start from Ushuaia, Argentina, at the tip of South America. From there, the shorter trips go directly south to the Antarctic peninsula - about a 2 or so day journey.

The longer trips usually go east to the Falkland Islands (about 2 days sail also) - this is where we sailed. When the ships are sailing you can occupy your time with lectures, whale and seabird watching and socializing. Then you can also sail to South Georgia Islands - this is the best place! It is cold enough here for the *large* colonies (200,000+) of Penguins and the same number of Albatross. It also has more places free of ice to make landings much easier and more numerous than the peninsula. The scenery is beautiful. From here you can sail to the South Orkney Islands (we couldn't get in here since there was too much ice and we didhaveahve an icebreaker). (All these islands "belong" to the U.K.) Then on to the Antarctic peninsula. The peninsula has great scenery - giant glaciers and those great blue ice bergs. There really isn't much land free of ice here - this is what you need for landing sites. You tend to land at research bases on the peninsula since they have taken up the places that have an ice free spot.

You cross the Drake Passage when sailing home from the peninsula (or there, depending on which way you travel) - this can be rough! Bring your seasick medicine. In fact you will need it if you tend to get sick (as I do) when sailing between and of these islands here.

I highly recommend the longer trip that includes South Georgia, if you can swing it. This trip is very expensive. But walking among 200,000 penguins all showing incredible behaviour is really amazing. Plus, you will be doing many more landings if you go for a longer time. I think it is worth it, but then again this is what my husband and I love to do.

Landings ashore are made by Zodiacs, this can be tricky. The big swells or nasty seas will keep the Zodiacs from launching, so you want to try to get a ship with larger Zodiacs and that have larger engines.

You will need rubber boots to your knees for landings and also for walking in the slush and penguin guano (the penguin colonies really do stink!!). I liked having my vinyl rain pants too, which meant I could sit in penguin guano without a thought! Of course you will need layered clothing and lots of film.

The Cheesemans will be an ice breaker, the Polar Star, on their next trip to Antarctica. We were just on this ship in the Arctic, it is a great ship, newly refurbished. We were breaking through ice about 5-10 foot thick!

Well, I will post more about some of the stuff we saw in another post, don't want to bore you all too fast. I hope this makes sense since I typed it quite fast.

P.S. I does look like I love cold places, but doing all these trips in a row is really more coincidence than the love of cold...