Have an ice day: 5 Antarctic experiences to satiate your adventurous soul
Of the seven continents on Earth, only one remains untouched. Vast, unexplored, and magical - that’s Antarctica. So how about taking this wish off your bucket list?
Those who’re lucky to have visited this place are treated to sights and experiences that others enviously watch only on screen. Adventurous experiences on an Antarctic expedition have no parallel in the world. You can see sights not seen elsewhere and partake in activities amidst unusually breath-taking surroundings. From kayaking with the grandeur of icebergs in the background to witnessing the beauty of the Antarctic night sky, here are five awesome things to do in the ‘White Continent’.
Kayaking
Float on a kayak to enjoy the view
Seen from above, an ocean’s waters are tempestuous, but floating in a kayak in Antarctica is the best way to manoeuvre them.
As you kayak through the bursts of invigorating seawater, you are treated to sights of penguins and seals with the grandeur of icebergs in the background.
From the deck of a ship, an iceberg is vast, but a closer look evokes so much awe that you are tempted to get close enough with a desire to climb it.
Camping
Camp near the icebergs for a perfect Antarctic experience
Well, you can’t really climb icebergs, but you can surely camp close to them in Antarctica and earn those ultimate bragging rights.
Prepare to witness the striking beauty of the Antarctic night sky, as well as the sounds of crackling ice in the distance with the wildlife carrying on their busy schedule around you.
The activity takes place overnight between dinner and breakfast, and is well-organised to ensure that you leave the environment in the pristine and beautiful state that it always was.
Beach adventure
Enjoy a walk with penguins on the beach
Beach is not the place to luxuriate or relax in Antarctica, it is purely meant for adventure. In addition to kayaking, you can also do stand-up-paddle-boarding.
A mix between surfing and kayaking, all it needs is a good balance and a sense of adventure. Imagine a colony of penguins from the shore that might join to frolic around your paddle board. You can also glide past surreal landscapes that appear to spring from the canvas of Salvador Dali.
Skiing
Visitors to Antarctica love to ski down the slopes
Back on terra firma, how can an adventure on ice come without skiing? Of course, there are no ski lifts and no five-star resorts, but unlike in most places, the opportunity to ski in Antarctica is as endless as the horizon.
It really feels as if you have an entire continent to yourself. Climbing a virgin summit is a breath-taking prospect and even if you are an avid skier who has climbed the steepest slopes in the world, none of them would even come close to experiencing it in this continent.
Mountaineering
Mountaineers walk in rope parties under the leadership of a mountain guide
Everything in Antarctica is more breathtaking than elsewhere.
Push yourself beyond the usual cruise activities and head to the home of the greatest collections of unclimbed mountains on Earth. Meant for the more fit and agile tourist and not the faint-hearted, mountaineering in Antarctica springs challenges and opportunities difficult to find elsewhere.
Mountaineers walk in rope parties under the leadership of a mountain guide mostly across glaciated environments.
Very few people visit Antarctica every year. The landscape is barren, and yet it has a scenery that can make the most fertile regions on earth seem desolate. Be sure to take your camera as photography is very much a part of the big picture! As they say, it is almost impossible to take a bad photo in Antarctica. Excited enough for Antarctica now?
