Melanie: Sue has been a work colleague, a fellow member of Kendal Mountain Rescue Team and a good friend for many years. Earlier this year Sue fulfilled a life-time’s ambition to visit Antarctica. Here she share with us some of her experiences.

Why this trip?

I have long had a fascination with Antarctica and have read most of the stories of the heroic age of polar exploration. In recent years my love of photography has developed along with an interest in wildlife. This particular trip gave a good combination of time on the Peninsula, several days on South Georgia with its fantastic wildlife and history, and then a couple of days in the Falklands, another great spot for birdlife.
I was very wary of being on a ‘cruise ship’, really not my scene at all, so we chose one of the smaller, so-called, expedition ships, the MS Ocean Nova, which takes a maximum of 76 passengers. It also has the advantage of being able to get closer in-shore than the bigger boats.

What camera gear did you take?

I used a Canon 400D with 70-300mm EF IS lens and Canon 350D with a 17 to 85mm EF-S lens. I also had a Canon G9 compact as back up for use in poor weather and whilst on the sea in the Zodiacs. I carried the camera gear in a Lowepro Nature Trekker AW II which has an all-weather cover but just to be extra sure I did put the cameras in Exped Waterproof Drybags inside the bag as salt water is so unforgiving!

What about a storage device?

We took plenty of memory cards and spare batteries and an Epson P3000 40GB drive to back up the files and do some basic editing as we went along. We were not sure if would be feasible to use a laptop on board but there were sufficient sockets and an extension lead in the cabin and no restrictions on use of power so if I were to do a similar trip, I would take one.

How did you book the trip?

We used Discover the World (www.discover-the-world.co.uk) as our UK agent to book the trip, our flights, transfers and accommodation and they did an excellent job. We flew to Buenos Aries by Air France from Manchester via Paris. Discover the World booked our hotel for an extra night in Ushuaia at the beginning of the trip and a night on an Estancia in Buenos Aries at the end of the trip. Internal flights in Argentina are notorious for being cancelled so it is worth allowing for extra traveling time (note also it is a 15kg weight limit with Aerolinus Argentinus).

The trip was run by Quark Expeditions (www.quarkexpeditions.com) who have the reputation of being one of the best operators in Antarctica. It is an American company that has been operating for many years and I would not hesitate to recommend them.

What were the highlights of the trip?

That’s a tricky one as the whole trip was so fantastic! If I had to pick only one it would be arriving at South Georgia at dawn and sailing down Drygalski Fiord in fantastic early morning light with snow petrels taking off in front of the boat. South Georgia was very inspiring with abundant wildlife, fantastic mountain scenery and moving reminders of the whaling industry

And the lowlights?

It is difficult to think of any really. Probably some of our fellow passengers would have said the sailing of ‘Drakes Passage’ but as we did not get seasick it was not a problem. It is a 2 day crossing and can be pretty lively but we kept taking the tablets (in our case Stugeron), got out on deck as much as possible and we found we were fine.
The weather on the Peninsula was poor with sea fog on the first two days we were there so the light was flat and it was cold!

How did the shore trips run?

There were usually two landings a day, in the morning and again in the afternoon, when we were near land. They generally lasted about three hours each which gave plenty of time to take photographs and have a good look round. There are some restrictions as to how far afield you can wander (for safety and environmental reasons) and as human waste cannot be left ashore three hours was usually long enough!

The operation of the Zodiacs was pretty slick and we rarely had to wait long for a ride. Weather conditions can change rapidly down there and a couple of times shore trips were cut short due to the wind picking up (this can make running the Zodiacs hazardous).

How close can you get to the wildlife?

We were asked not to approach closer than 5 meters to the wildlife and not to touch, however nobody has told the wildlife that!  Penguins are generally curious and will approach close (a zoom lens is essential!) as long as you move slowly. Fur seals can be a menace but when we were there it was February and the adult males had gone. The pups fortunately are not as aggressive although a couple of people were bitten.

What did you do on the days at sea?

The trip itinerary meant there were many days at sea, away from land for example it is two and a half days sailing from Ushuaia down to the Antarctic Peninsula. This was one of the things that bothered me about the trip before we went as I don’t enjoy sitting around for long however there was a daily programme of interesting lectures from the expedition crew who included a geologist, historian and ornithologist, briefing sessions, films, etc. We spent a lot of time on deck trying to photograph the wandering albatrosses and other birds that constantly followed the ship.

Would I go again?

You bet! (Although I will need to win the Lottery before I can afford it).