A continent without any countries. A desert covered in frozen water. A population dominated by penguins, seals, and whales. A summer climate hovering around 0°C …Antarctica is like nothing we’ve ever experienced. Having seen documentaries, read books, and heard vivid first-hand accounts, it still surprised us and surpassed our lofty expectations. After a 12-day expedition (see blogs 1 | 2 | 3) crossing the Drake Passage, dodging icebergs in Kodak Gap, standup paddleboarding at 65°04’S/64°00’W, being ambushed by penguins in the South Shetlands, you know you’re in Antarctica when…
– You reach the end of the world…and that’s just the beginning of your journey
– You learn to walk at a 30-degree angle to counter the 20-foot waves and not spill your coffee
– You think you are so hard core for making the voyage to Antarctica, then you see a guy pull up in a sailboat
– Sunshine makes you forget about the 33-degree water and the icebergs in the swimming area…then you dive in. Brrrr!
– A lifevest won’t cut it in these waters, you’re gonna need a sub-zero Snuggie to survive
– The penguin population is as dense as Manhattan
– You basically need a PHD in Glaciology, have lived in a polar research station, or solo-kayaked an entire Arctic archipelago to be invited onto the Quark expedition team
– Your standup paddle doubles as an ice ax
– A “glacial pace” moves faster than you’d think
– Shamu and Willy are free to live happily ever after
– You see animals everywhere and in everything
– Even penguins have bad hair days
– You can hardly believe the size of the gargantuan iceberg in front of you, then you remember that’s only 10% of its actual size
– You think you’ve walked onto the set of Star Wars but realize it’s life at the old whaling station
– You can blame all your bad dance moves on the motion of the ocean
– The seals try to join your kayak team
– You reach your seventh continent and you think sitting on the edge of a cliff in a hail storm with gale force winds is the perfect time to pop a bottle of champagne
Haha that’s an amazing post! I so want to go to Antarctica 🙂
There are so many absurdly amazing things happening at any given moment in Antarctica, it’s comical.
We happened to be there when you took that picture. I was trying to get to the top of the rock, but the storm kept me on the ground hahaha. I’m glad you guys got to do this. Antarctica was a great experience and it was also our 7th continent.
Wow, this is just amazing!!
Glad you liked our latest You Know You’re In…Antarctica is just a little different than the rest of the places we’ve been 😉
This looks amazing, but that whaling station is just a beaut! ?
The whaling station was super surreal (as is the whole of Antarctica). I believe Alien vs. Predator used Whaler’s Bay as one of their locations, it’s that of this world.
This is our ultimate dream to visit this untouched continent. Love this post!!! 🙂
Antarctica was our dream too and it was as magical as we imagined and more! Quark’s relatively affordable as they come and completely amazing. Check them out: https://www.honeytrek.com/Quark and make it happen!
I am a super jealous of this! I would love to kayak this close to sea life (and not just trollies and rubbish bags!) You two look like a hoot, let’s hit the dance floor and blame the waves!!
Lol. Always blame your bad moves on the Drake Shake! Sounds like you an adventure and animal lover…you’d definitely have to get to Antarctica!
Amazing photos!
Thanks so much, Paige! For more pretty pics, here is link to all the posts: https://www.honeytrek.com/category/destinations/antarctica/
This is one of the funniest “you know you are in” posts yet. That Penguin “flying” is too cute! He’s trying.
Haha we crack up every time we look at the penguin photo. Thanks, Marla!
This is quite an amazing blog post. So glad I found your website, guys!
Thank you so much for the reply! Glad you enjoyed a little stroll through Antarctica!