Is there a Fodur's Forum for Antarctica?
Dec 29th, 2007, 11:58 AM
#5
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Lizzy, we are also interested in learning about the options to Antarctica for the future (can I get any more vague??) We are mostly interested in the fly/cruise option because of the chances for bad seas on the Drake Passage. Which cruise did you take and did you have bad seas if you went from Argentina in a boat? Was it worth the exorbitant prices? It seems you can see the same things in Argentina but you don't "get another continent" (my husband's goal). Thanks for your infor.
Sally
Sally
Dec 29th, 2007, 12:35 PM
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Sally - <It seems you can see the same things in Argentina>
It's not the same. The ice, islands, waters, penguins, whales, etc, are just magnificent in Antarctica. Getting a sense that you are on the bottom of the world, so distant from civilization, so close to pristine nature, is an experience to be remembered forever.
It's not the same. The ice, islands, waters, penguins, whales, etc, are just magnificent in Antarctica. Getting a sense that you are on the bottom of the world, so distant from civilization, so close to pristine nature, is an experience to be remembered forever.
Dec 29th, 2007, 05:34 PM
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Sally, we went on the Golden Princess, January 2007, for 22 days I think and from Rio and back to Buenos Aires. We had a balcony suite and I did not think it was expensive at $5000 Au per person for that which included Port fees etc. Also we had to travel from Australia to Rio and back from B.A. which made it more expensive as well but at least I did those bits mainly on Frequent Flyer points. I have travelled extensively thoughout Argentina and Chile and its not the same at all really. We experienced force 7 in places but because the ship was large with stabilizers it did not effect us at all. However a few people on the ship booked a flight to Antarctica when we got into Punta Arenas but the plane could not get down to Antarctica because of high winds whereupon the ship had no trouble at all.
Was it worth it....... you bet it was and I would do it again if I could. We had the American Doctor on board who got breast cancer whilst working in Antarctica and who could not get back to the US so had to operate on herself. Between her, the oceanographers, scientists etc who gave talks it was also a most interesting and informative trip. We rugged up, got some food from the self-serve area on board and sat and watched the Antarctic go by with all its beauty. I think we saw at least 2/3 rds of the World's penguins, saw Albatros, whales, sea lions, seals, and other birds. The Beagle Channel was also very interesting with very pretty glaciers every half mile or so.
Go for it but go for it on a large ship.
Was it worth it....... you bet it was and I would do it again if I could. We had the American Doctor on board who got breast cancer whilst working in Antarctica and who could not get back to the US so had to operate on herself. Between her, the oceanographers, scientists etc who gave talks it was also a most interesting and informative trip. We rugged up, got some food from the self-serve area on board and sat and watched the Antarctic go by with all its beauty. I think we saw at least 2/3 rds of the World's penguins, saw Albatros, whales, sea lions, seals, and other birds. The Beagle Channel was also very interesting with very pretty glaciers every half mile or so.
Go for it but go for it on a large ship.
Jan 16th, 2008, 04:07 PM
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Yes the book is called Icebound and
yes it was fantastic to hear the doctor on board the ship and I watched her again on the cabin's TV.
I have a copy here at home given to me by John in Miami after he and Brenda stayed with us here in Tasmania. The thing that really struck me about the doctor, apart from her amazing courage, was her comments about Antarctica.
The first time you go to Antarctica you go there because you want to see it.
The second time you go for the money
The third time you go is because you know you don't belong anywhere else.
Seems to say it all about the place!
yes it was fantastic to hear the doctor on board the ship and I watched her again on the cabin's TV.
I have a copy here at home given to me by John in Miami after he and Brenda stayed with us here in Tasmania. The thing that really struck me about the doctor, apart from her amazing courage, was her comments about Antarctica.
The first time you go to Antarctica you go there because you want to see it.
The second time you go for the money
The third time you go is because you know you don't belong anywhere else.
Seems to say it all about the place!
Jan 16th, 2008, 04:25 PM
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Do you know of any other books that are personal accounts of time spent in Antarctica? I did some searching before but came up empty.
Her descriptions of life in the "station" were my favorite parts of the book.
Her descriptions of life in the "station" were my favorite parts of the book.
Jan 17th, 2008, 04:04 PM
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http://www.abc.net.au/rn/bookshow/default.htm
Think you may enjoy this talk I heard this morning, comparisons between the Arctic and Antarctic etc.
It was a discussion on "The Book Show" on our ABC's Radio National, with presenter Ramona Koval and three knowledgeable guests.
I wish I could remember the name of the book by an Aussie secretary, who gave six months to being a cook for an expedition in Antarctica, some years ago now. Her trip left from South Africa, and her explanations of the mundane functions of running a kitchen there , daily ablutions etc, and falling in love are very entertaining.
Has the news of the Japanese hunting whales in an Antarctic sanctuary, and the Greenpeace ship "Steve Irwin" chasing them, reached the USA? There's been some drama, when two protesters boarded the Nissan Maru mother ship, but it's been resolved - sort of. Front page news here in Oz.
Think you may enjoy this talk I heard this morning, comparisons between the Arctic and Antarctic etc.
It was a discussion on "The Book Show" on our ABC's Radio National, with presenter Ramona Koval and three knowledgeable guests.
I wish I could remember the name of the book by an Aussie secretary, who gave six months to being a cook for an expedition in Antarctica, some years ago now. Her trip left from South Africa, and her explanations of the mundane functions of running a kitchen there , daily ablutions etc, and falling in love are very entertaining.
Has the news of the Japanese hunting whales in an Antarctic sanctuary, and the Greenpeace ship "Steve Irwin" chasing them, reached the USA? There's been some drama, when two protesters boarded the Nissan Maru mother ship, but it's been resolved - sort of. Front page news here in Oz.
Jan 17th, 2008, 04:24 PM
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I have not heard about the whale hunting!
That book sounds like exactly what I'm looking for. If you think of the title, please post again.
Thanks!!
Thank you for the link as well, I will check it out.
That book sounds like exactly what I'm looking for. If you think of the title, please post again.
Thanks!!
Thank you for the link as well, I will check it out.
Jan 18th, 2008, 01:40 PM
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thanks for the description of your trip, Liz, and the advice to go on a big ship. I have a book for you all, Life On the Ice: No One Goes to Antarctica Alone by Roff Smith. (He also wrote a very entertaining book about bicycling around Australia--Cold Beer and Crocodiles-- and a gorgeous coffeetable book about Australia). In the Antarctica book, he describes several visits he had to Antarctica as a writer for National Geographic and the people, characters, animals, geography etc. he encountered while there. Very readable and interesting. Cold Beer and Crocodiles is excellent IMHO and a bit more lively.
Sally in Seattle
Sally in Seattle
Jan 18th, 2008, 03:47 PM
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As you probably know there is a Japanese ship in Australian Antarctic waters, which is a whale sanctuary, and they are harpooning whales and saying it is for "scientific research" even though the DNA of said whales have in the past been traced to DNA in canned whale meat on the grocery shelves in Japanese shops. Anyway they don't have to eat whale meat as far as we are concerned.
Below is a website which is trying to get more than 1 Million signatures to present to the Japanese to stop their whaling in the Southern Oceans. Please sign this petition and help us stop this slaughter.
www.whalesrevenge.com is trying to get a million people to sign a petition to stop whaling.
If you could tell as many people as you can about our website, that would be a great help.
Thanks for your support and remember to sign the petition.
Liz AKA LizzyF
Below is a website which is trying to get more than 1 Million signatures to present to the Japanese to stop their whaling in the Southern Oceans. Please sign this petition and help us stop this slaughter.
www.whalesrevenge.com is trying to get a million people to sign a petition to stop whaling.
If you could tell as many people as you can about our website, that would be a great help.
Thanks for your support and remember to sign the petition.
Liz AKA LizzyF
Jan 18th, 2008, 03:49 PM
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A little about the Whaling situation at present:
Andrew Darby in Hobart
January 19, 2008
THE Japanese whaling factory ship Nisshin Maru has fired up its water cannon as hostilities resume after the release of Sea Shepherd activists in the Antarctic.
The mother ship returned to its fleet yesterday as the crew tried to get their hunt back on track after the crisis sparked when activists boarded a catcher boat.
The Nisshin Maru was last night steaming towards the Sea Shepherd vessel, which had already attacked another of its ships, the Institute of Cetacean Research said. Activists had tried unsuccessfully to tangle the vessel's propellers with ropes.
When the Nisshin Maru stopped to refuel the Yushin Maru No.2, the boat at the centre of the detention crisis, they were buzzed by Greenpeace campaigners in small boats, and the high-powered water cannon were turned on. The expedition leader, Karli Thomas, said the campaigners trying to record the refuelling escaped a wetting.
Since it was tracked down last Saturday, the factory ship had tried to shake the Greenpeace ship, Esperanza, off its tail on a long run into the southern Indian Ocean. It turned back only when the Australian Benjamin Potts and Briton Giles Lane leapt over the rail onto the Yushin Maru No.2, left behind in the Antarctic.
Mr Potts, 28, said three of the whalers tried to heave him over the side and into the icy ocean, but he clung to a rail and the crew gradually calmed down.
The two attempted to hand over letters promising no harm and telling the whalers they were breaking the law. Confined to a cabin, they were treated cordially and given food, Mr Potts said.
Their release was brokered by the Australian Government, which used a fast boat from Oceanic Viking as an intermediary to take them off Yushin Maru No.2, and later carry them to Sea Shepherd's ship, the Steve Irwin.
Sea Shepherd claimed the outcome as a public relations disaster for the whalers. "Now that we've got world attention to this issue, we really need to drive it home," Mr Potts said.
Andrew Darby in Hobart
January 19, 2008
THE Japanese whaling factory ship Nisshin Maru has fired up its water cannon as hostilities resume after the release of Sea Shepherd activists in the Antarctic.
The mother ship returned to its fleet yesterday as the crew tried to get their hunt back on track after the crisis sparked when activists boarded a catcher boat.
The Nisshin Maru was last night steaming towards the Sea Shepherd vessel, which had already attacked another of its ships, the Institute of Cetacean Research said. Activists had tried unsuccessfully to tangle the vessel's propellers with ropes.
When the Nisshin Maru stopped to refuel the Yushin Maru No.2, the boat at the centre of the detention crisis, they were buzzed by Greenpeace campaigners in small boats, and the high-powered water cannon were turned on. The expedition leader, Karli Thomas, said the campaigners trying to record the refuelling escaped a wetting.
Since it was tracked down last Saturday, the factory ship had tried to shake the Greenpeace ship, Esperanza, off its tail on a long run into the southern Indian Ocean. It turned back only when the Australian Benjamin Potts and Briton Giles Lane leapt over the rail onto the Yushin Maru No.2, left behind in the Antarctic.
Mr Potts, 28, said three of the whalers tried to heave him over the side and into the icy ocean, but he clung to a rail and the crew gradually calmed down.
The two attempted to hand over letters promising no harm and telling the whalers they were breaking the law. Confined to a cabin, they were treated cordially and given food, Mr Potts said.
Their release was brokered by the Australian Government, which used a fast boat from Oceanic Viking as an intermediary to take them off Yushin Maru No.2, and later carry them to Sea Shepherd's ship, the Steve Irwin.
Sea Shepherd claimed the outcome as a public relations disaster for the whalers. "Now that we've got world attention to this issue, we really need to drive it home," Mr Potts said.
Jan 18th, 2008, 04:35 PM
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Thank you, LizzyF, for the whaling information, I rather suspect that little is known about this in the USA, even by those who travel.
Traveler07, I just did searches on "women in Antarctica", "Shackleton" and "Frank Hurley" and found lots of information which may interest you. Then I pressed the wrong button and lost the reply with the sites I'd found, so this is my second attempt. But I'm sure you will find them OK.
There was a TV series called "Shackleton" which may be available, and the marvellous photography of Frank Hurley certainly is. Do have a look at it - the photo of the sailing ship stuck in the ice just before it was crushed to smithereens is truly memorable.
http://www.shackleton-endurance.com/images.html
Traveler07, I just did searches on "women in Antarctica", "Shackleton" and "Frank Hurley" and found lots of information which may interest you. Then I pressed the wrong button and lost the reply with the sites I'd found, so this is my second attempt. But I'm sure you will find them OK.
There was a TV series called "Shackleton" which may be available, and the marvellous photography of Frank Hurley certainly is. Do have a look at it - the photo of the sailing ship stuck in the ice just before it was crushed to smithereens is truly memorable.
http://www.shackleton-endurance.com/images.html
Oct 17th, 2013, 02:24 PM
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My daughter works down in Antarctica and she absolutely loves the Canon point and shoots with the telephoto lens. She has worked down there for three years now on a research vessel and the pictures taken with this camera have been amazing. She has even won a picture award with one of her pictures!
She loves the versatility of the camera whether she uses it in rough seas or on a zodiac.The camera runs around $250?
She loves the versatility of the camera whether she uses it in rough seas or on a zodiac.The camera runs around $250?
