From Penguins To Polar Plunges: Why Antarctica Should Be On Your Bucket List

Riding horses in the Patagonian mountains is wild. Seeing the Northern Lights in Norway? Absolutely fantastic. But journeying to Antarctica, the coldest, most remote continent on Earth? That’s next-level adventure.

How do you get to Antarctica? If money is no object, you can fly from South Africa, South America, Australia, or New Zealand. These flights are privately operated, meaning they come with a hefty price tag.

Most travellers, though, start their journey in Argentina, usually Buenos Aires, where a cruise operator will fly you to Ushuaia. This charming resort town, known as The End of the World, marks the southernmost point of South America.

Nature dictates your journey, which you can begin with a cruise from Ushuaia. | IMAGE: ANNETTE TAN

But first, the Drake Passage

Our Antarctic cruise began in Ushuaia, but not before strong winds delayed our departure by a day. Just like that, our 10-day cruise turned into a nine-day adventure. That’s the thing about Antarctica – nature dictates every part of your journey. And on this icy continent, nature’s whims are especially unpredictable.

This is most evident on the Drake Passage, a 600-mile stretch between South America’s tip and the South Shetland Islands. This is where the Atlantic, Southern and Pacific oceans meet, and with no land mass to break the currents, waves often reach over 12m, making for a rough ride. Cruise ships usually leave Ushuaia in the afternoon, so guests are settled in bed by the time the real swells start rolling in.

I woke up at 2am feeling like I was on a roller coaster with no way off. Our waves reached about 4m – not the worst in Drake Passage terms, but still intense.

I spent the rest of the night getting tossed about in bed, and when I got up to brush my teeth, I was queasy within minutes. The next day and a half were spent in bed watching what felt like every ’90s romcom ever made, courtesy of the ship’s movie library.

IMAGES: ANNETTE TAN

Good things come to those who shake, and once we had crossed the Drake, we were rewarded by the calm waters of Antarctica’s peninsular, where the days were spent in a cycle of eating, hanging out with penguins, eating, more penguins and eating again.

WIFI was terrible and expensive on our ship (US$350 for 5GB!), so we spent the next week on an involuntary digital detox watching humpback whales puff and breach from our balconies and penguins bobbing from iceberg to iceberg. Which brings me to…

IMAGE: ANNETTE TAN

Reason #1: The jaw-dropping scenery

Antarctica feels like stepping into another world. It’s the most pristine place on the planet, untouched by humans – apart from the cruise ships that explore its waters and the handful of researchers who live there a few months each year.

Icebergs and glaciers are everywhere, and you’ll sail around so many that you’ll feel like you’ve entered a living screensaver. There are snow-covered mountains here that haven’t been named, let alone climbed. The continent's volcanic bays and deep blue waters are otherworldly, and I haven’t even started on the wildlife.

IMAGE: ANNETTE TAN

Reason #2: Penguins. Everywhere. They’re almost as cute as Moo Deng.

Depending on weather conditions, the ship docks up to twice a day so guests can explore the penguin-populated islands and bays.

For 40min to an hour, we were free to walk around these snowy islands, watching the ridiculously cute birds waddle in the snow, carving “penguin highways” (flattened paths) with their feet so it’s easier for the colony to get around.

Despite this being their natural habitat, penguins are surprisingly, delightfully clumsy. They slip, slide and fall over a lot. They are just so damn cute!

IMAGE: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Reason #3: Zodiac rides and wildlife sightings

Zodiacs are small, inflatable boats that take you close to the action, zipping around icebergs and getting you closer to the wildlife. On a particularly blustery day, we spotted a pod of orcas with fins as large as sailboats. We tried our best to keep up with them as they sped across the sea (these whales are super fast!). It’s one of those moments we’ll never forget.

IMAGE: UNSPLASH

Reason #4: Lunch with a side of whale watching

Once you train your eyes to look for the misty spray of a whale’s breath breaking through the ocean’s surface, you’ll spot the numerous humpback and grey whales swimming across these waters. You don’t even need to go on deck to spot them. We did it in the comfort of the ship’s dining room, watching them glide idly by as we noshed on the day’s lunch buffet.

Reason #5: You get to do the polar plunge

All Antarctica cruises include a polar plunge, and you should totally do it. Yes, it’s freezing, but it lasts all of 30s, or as long as you want it to. I was terrified about doing it but watching people 20 years older than me brave the cold was all the pep talk I needed.

Once I was secured to the rope, I took the plunge. And then got out of the water as fast as I could. As soon as I got back on deck, the crew wrapped me in a thick robe and handed me a warm, fluffy towel to wrap around my head. My skin tingled and prickled for the next 5min and that was it! I’d done it! You should too.

IMAGE: ANNETTE TAN

Reason #6: A chance to unplug and reconnect with your friends and nature

I don’t know about you, but I’m addicted to my phone, so I was glad to escape the digital trap in Antarctica. There's limited internet, so it was a rare chance for me to actually enjoy the moment without checking my emails or scrolling through social media.

Honestly, this forced digital detox felt amazing. I could relax, appreciate the silence, and forget about whatever was not in front of me, all while living in my own iceberg-themed screensaver.

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