Latest tourist attraction in New Zealand? Icebergs!

by Kraig Becker on

The waters off the southern coast of New Zealand have gotten very crowded lately, as dozens of icebergs have been spotted floating through the region. According to this story from the Daily Mail, the huge slabs of ice have broken off from the Antarctic shelf, and have been flowing north, into the Pacific Ocean, with increasing frequency. In the process, they have become popular tourist attractions, with curious travelers hoping to catch a glimpse of the white walls of ice.

According to the story, icebergs had been traditionally rare in and around New Zealand. In fact, prior to 2006, they hadn’t been seen there since 1931. But in the past few years, they’ve been showing up in large numbers, thanks to global warming causing more dramatic melting in Antarctica.

The exact number of icebergs off the Kiwi coast at the moment is unknown, but they do number in the hundreds. Many of those are quite massive in size. Earlier this week, one was spotted that measured 150 meters in length, while another was estimated to be over 30 meters in height. They are traveling north at a speed of about 16 miles per day, and could be potentially dangerous to shipping traffic, although ocean currents are expected to carry them east, harmlessly out into the ocean.

Meanwhile, the massive chunks of ice are expected to generate lots of interests amongst New Zealanders and visitors from abroad alike, with many taking to the high seas to get an up close and personal look at these gigantic invaders. Over the next few weeks, the icebergs will be another great, natural attraction in a country that seems to have an abundance of them.

Antarctic Travel Guide

by Kraig Becker on

In recent years, one of the most popular destinations for adventure travelers has been Antarctica. The lure of visiting one of the most remote, and rugged places on the planet is a strong one for travelers who have already trekked, paddled, and climbed their way across the other six continents. But for the less adventurous traveler, it can be difficult to understand why someone would even want to venture so far south, and spend their vacation in an arctic environment.

U.K. newspaper The Independent is here to help both kinds of travelers with their guide to Antarctica, which is a well written and comprehensive look at what it’s like to travel in and around the frozen continent, starting with the question “Why?”. The article notes that last year just 38,200 people made the trip, most aboard luxury cruise ships, and part of the draw is that so few people get the opportunity to experience the stunningly beautiful, but desolate landscapes that are the hallmark of the place.

The travel guide also discusses such topics as the best places to begin your Antarctic voyage, recommending New Zealand, although Chile is a popular starting point as well. Readers are also given an overview of the terrain and what they can expected while cruising the icy waters of the Southern Ocean. The Independent even addresses the issues with ships running aground in recent years, noting that while there have been some high profile incidences, they remain rare, and steps have been taken to ensure the safety of tourists in the region.

This is an excellent article for those who are interested in making the trip to the southern end of the world or for those that just want to know what that type of voyage entails. Be prepared however, as there are few bargains when it comes to traveling to Antarctica.

Auspicious start to Antarctic tourist season

by Kraig Becker on

November marks the beginning of the tourist season in the icy waters off the coast of Antarctica. It is mid-spring down south, and travelers with a sense of adventure, and plenty of cash, are heading to the frozen continent to get the opportunity to visit one of the last true frontiers on the planet, and possibly get a glimpse of Emperor Penguins while they’re in the neighborhood too.

The past few years have been challenging ones for Antarctic cruise ships. In 2007, the MS Explorer sunk after hitting an iceberg, and last year two more ships ran aground while maneuvering through the treacherous waters. Fortunately no one was hurt in those incidences, although the sinking of the Explorer did create an ecological disaster when tens of thousands of gallons of fuel were released into the water.

With the 2009 tourist season barely underway, there has already been in incident in the Weddell Sea, off the coast of the Antarctic Peninsula, where a Russian icebreaker called the Captain Khlebnikov became trapped by ice for the better part of two days. The ship, which carries roughly 100 passengers, found itself stuck behind large icebergs when winds shifted, causing the ice to close all access to open waters. While the boat was never in any real danger, it was unable to continue along its intended route, preventing those aboard from following their intended itinerary.
Late yesterday, the winds shifted once again, and the Captain Khlebnikov was allowed to return to its scheduled route. It is now estimated that it’ll be three to four days late getting back to port, but will make its appointed rounds, allowing the passengers to get their close encounter with the penguins after all.

Hopefully this will be the only incident in the Antarctic waters this season. In the greater scheme of things, it was a rather minor issue, but as ship traffic increases at the bottom of the world, and more people travel there, the chances of a true disaster striking, seems to be almost inevitable.

Explorer hopes to visit “three poles” in one year

by Kraig Becker on

Polar explorer Eric Larsen has just begun an epic adventure that will literally take him to the ends of the Earth over the course of the next year. Eric has set out on his Save The Poles Expedition, in which he plans to travel to the “three poles” within one calendar year. Those poles include the North and South of course, but also the summit of Everest, which is often referred to as the third pole in adventure circles.

The purpose behind Eric’s Save The Poles campaign is to promote the use of alternative, clean energy sources as a method to reduce our carbon emissions. The environments in which he’ll be traveling are fragile ones, and they are all being dramatically effected by global climate change in some profound ways. Larsen hopes that during his year-long journey he’ll be able to collect data that helps demonstrate just how these places are changing.

The expedition officially got underway this week, when Eric, and two companions, set out from Patriot Hills in Antarctica for the South Pole. This will be the first leg of his journey, which is expected to take roughly 40 days, covering approximately 500 miles on skis. In the spring, he’ll turn his sights north, and go after his second goal, the North Pole, which is another major arctic undertaking, but one that will be quite different from his Antarctic travels in some significant ways. Finally, next fall, he’ll make his bid for the summit of Everest, during the post-monsoon climbing season, hoping to reach the summit of the highest mountain on Earth.

You can join Eric on his expedition by following along on his blog, where he has already made several audio dispatches from Antarctica, and he’ll be keeping us abreast of his progress at every stage of the adventure.

Whiskey buried beneath the Antarctic ice for 100 year to be recovered

by Kraig Becker on

Ever wanted to try a 100 year old Scotch chilled to perfection? Than listen up, this story is for you!

According to this article from the BBC, the New Zealand Antarctic Heritage Trust has announced plans to retrieve a pair of crates buried in the Antarctic ice following a failed attempted to reach the South Pole more than a century ago. The crates contain bottles of McKinlay and Co whiskey, and were first discovered back in 2006 beneath the remains of a hut built to shelter explorers from the harsh polar climate. That expedition, led by Ernest Shackleton, came within 97 miles of reaching the Pole before turning back, leaving equipment and supplies, including the whiskey, behind to lighten their load and speed their progress.

The Trust hopes to recover the whiskey, and restore the bottles, before placing them in another one of Shackleton’s huts located on Cape Royd. The organization is slowly rebuilding that hut so that it exactly resembles the condition it was in when the famed explorer and his team set off on their epic journey.

Of course, the Trust isn’t the only one interested in recovering the crates from the ice. Whyte and Mackay, the distiller that now owns the McKinlay whiskey brand, hopes to get their hands on a bottle as well. This particular blend has been out of circulation for decades, and they would like the opportunity to recreate it and beginning selling it again too.

Shackleton was one of the foremost polar explores of his day, and at the time of the expedition, he was locked in a desperate race to become the first man to reach the South Pole. He would eventually lose that race to Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, but his exploits in the Antarctic would continue for years to come. In 1914 his ship, the Endurance, became trapped in the pack ice, and Shackleton and his crew spent 10 months at the mercy of the shifting ice. Eventually, the ship was crushed, and all hands were forced to abandon ship. It would be another five months before they were rescued, but not a single life was lost on the expedition, making it one of the greatest survival stories of all times, and cementing Shackleton’s place in exploration history.