Antarctica Things to Do

  McMurdo viewed from Ob Hill. Right:...
by XenoHumph
 
  • McMurdo viewed from Ob Hill. Right: Erebus volcano
      McMurdo viewed from Ob Hill. Right:...
    by XenoHumph
  • Antarctic Polar Plateau
      Antarctic Polar Plateau
    by XenoHumph
  • After the hour-long hike up a steep hill
      After the hour-long hike up a steep hill
    by leigh767
  • accumlating snow on a snowy day
      accumlating snow on a snowy day
    by 850prc
  • View of Ushuaia and Beagle Channel from Glacier
      View of Ushuaia and Beagle Channel from...
    by klmousseau
 
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Reviews from VirtualTourist Members

Neko Harbour 9

by leigh767

The trouble with Antarctica is that her beauty cannot be captured. You cannot hope to take a photo of the stunning glaciers and hope to share that with your friends back at home-- you have to witness the miracle for yourself, to see the blue cracks and crevices carved into the endless white of the ice...This is a super close view of a big glacier at Neko Harbour. I think part of Antarctica's allure is that her beauty is so powerful and overwhelming, and at the same time, so fragile and transient-- because you know that once a piece of glacier calves and falls into the sea, you cannot turn back time and get Antarctica to look exactly like it was a moment ago again...

Tip Photo
Deception Island 7

by leigh767

Deception Island was exciting for me as well because it was my first time seeing a Chinstrap again since day one of the trip when we spotted one on Cuverville Island. They are such beautiful creatures. This one, along with 3 others, were enjoying an early morning swim in the caldera. The ground that Chinstrap is standing on is surprisingly hot; I found out when I took off my boots and all for the polar plunge. It's actually so hot that you'd have to hop around a bit.Click to see one more picture.

Tip Photo
Neko Harbour 7

by leigh767

Neko Harbour was very different from the other landings in that there were a lot less penguins. Perhaps because the hill was so steep, the penguins didn't bother climbing up and so we had large patches of pure white snow/ice. This landing had a lot less birds as well, and this photo was one of the few that I managed to take.

Tip Photo
Neko Harbour 6

by leigh767

This is the view at the very end of the hour-long hike. Now wouldn't you say it is worth it? There is an additional advantage to completing the hike-- you will be able to slide on your bum all the way down to the base of the hill again. That is not a ride for the faint hearted. Because I was one of the last few to go back down, by the time I got there there was a part of the slide that was already carved into the rock, creating an almost vertical drop. I had to press my fingers into the snow/ice and 45 minutes later, my fingers were still feeling the odd tingling sensation that comes from freezer burn.

Tip Photo
Neko Harbour 5

by leigh767

The most curious thing about Neko Habour is the snow. At first, the hill looks like any ordinary hill that is covered with snow, but it is not actually snow but tiny clumps of ice, all covering the gigantic mountain. They almost look like transparent Nerd candy (a type of American candy)! This was fascinating because I have never seen snow in such a form before. I was told that this ice was a result of the air freezing the snow soon after they land. No wonder the Eskimos had so many names for different kinds of snow.

Tip Photo
Neko Habour 1

by leigh767

This, without a doubt, is my favourite landing site out of all the amazing ones we had throughout the trip. Neko Habour is a gorgeous glacier bay with very active glaciers. We saw many, many calve and fall into the sea-- which made our expedition leader Jill a little nervous because of the mini tsunami created. Neko Harbour is so named because there was once a Japanese whaling station here, and "Neko" means "cat" in Japanese :0)

Tip Photo
Neko Harbour 4

by leigh767

Once at the top, the view of the surrounding glaciers is unbelievable. It is difficult to provide a sense of scale here, but trust me that the glacier in this picture was massive. We could have fit a couple of fully-grown adults in that gap.

Tip Photo
Neko Harbour 3

by leigh767

Slowly making my way up the hill at Neko Harbour, this was an exercise in patience and hard work.Although this isn't so much a tip in the traditional sense, I felt it was important to share it with the VT community because this was a moment that crystallized all that Antarctica meant to me. Antarctica is a land that is at once grand and intimate, invincible and fragile, permanent and transient-- it is an inexplicable mix of paradoxes, and therein lies the charm of the White Continent

Tip Photo
Neko Harbour 2

by leigh767

As they say, the journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. When I first landed at Neko Habour, I gazed up and spotted some black specks in the distance. Initially, I thought they were flying birds, until it suddenly dawned on me that they were people!! People from my ship who were at a seemingly impossible distance walking up a steep, steep hill! What were they doing up there? How did they get that far? Did they expect ME to get up there also? The task ahead was intimidating. But, you see, the human spirit is one of the most awespiring things to witness and to experience. While we cannot outlive the mountains, we can scale them while we are here, and a task that once seemed so grand as to be virtually impossible to fathom is often unraveled one step at a time. So, I began to walk.

Tip Photo
Deception Island 10

by leigh767

Hike: there's a hike at Deception Island that takes you up the rocky hills to a summit where you can gaze out into the open sea. Be warned-- it is a physically demanding, so don't attempt it if you don't think you're fit enough. (My 20-something self didn't even bother trying... but that was because there was too much to explore on this island already!) In fact, this is the toughest climb of all our climbs in Antarctica and the staff recommended us avoid it unless we had absolutely no difficulty on the previous climbs.

Fun things to do in Antarctica
 
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Reviews and photos of Antarctica attractions posted by real travelers and locals. The best tips for Antarctica sightseeing.

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Things to Do: Cities in Antarctica
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Questions and Answers

adventuregurl profile photo

Q:  I am hoping to do an Antarctica expedition next Dec,Jan or Feb. I have been reading various forums on the best types of ships... 

Miguelzgz profile photo

A: Bookmark. I didn´t laugh. I think(knowing nothing, it is just a "feeling") it is almost imposible to go on a budget to such a "unique" place. I guess, that if you... 

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