Kavey, that is a great shot of the parent feeding the chick. I love shots like that and I hope I come back from our trip with something that good.

EE -- look forward to talking with you. The Cusco/Urubamba River Valley/Machu Picchu area is one of the coolest places we have ever visited and we really enjoyed it a lot. We also had a really incredible local guide there too. So let me know if I can help you.

Chris

I'm so glad I checked back and found more conversation on this thread! I, too, had wondered about photography equipment. eenusa, thanks to your encouragement I've decided that I will take my tripod. I'm taking my Nikon D80 with a 18-200 VR Nikkor lens and a polarizing filter. I don't think I'll take another lens unless someone can think of a compelling reason I should do so. My other camera is a little Panasonic Lumix LX3, which will accompany me as well. It has a great wide angle lens, but not much zoom. Any suggestions for any other "must have" equipment.

Kavey -- love the penguin photo.

We have almost all of our clothing and gear gathered up. I think I'll go back and read the trip report for anything I've forgot. We are getting excited!

Thanks so much for all the useful info.

eenusa...What a FANTASTIC report. I got lost in your words! I just joined Fodor's, because I felt I needed to reply to your report! I am considering Antarctica for our next family trip, however I am a small-time worrier and wasn't sure I could handle the daunting task of preparing or figuring out what to pack, etc. You have helped me more than you'll know!!! I am still trying to figure out how to swing the cost for my family, but your information has convinced me that the smaller ships will be worth the added cost.

I was wondering what was the youngest age person you saw on your expedition? My husband and I would not be doing this trip if we could not bring our daughter. She will be 11 years old for the trip. To provide some background information - she's not your typical youngster. (Truly now I sound like a biased parent!!) She hunts and hikes in upstate Pennsylvania with us, she travels extremely well including third world countries such as egypt and Peru - and she climbed Huayna Picchu in Peru 2 weeks ago. (The only child in our group of 400 people and one of only about 2 dozen to actually make it to the top!) Ok...done bragging...Scop patch is a must for all three of us - we've used it before with much success, but anything else I should know about that would stop me from taking my child? I have some research to do on crossing the Drake Passage, but if I had read safety statistics before climbing Huayna Picchu before we went, we would have skipped it and missed out on an amazing aerial view of Macchu Picchu. I'm sure I'll have more questions if this looks like a REAL TRIP for us, but this is the most important which will decide whether I research the trip further or table it for 10 years...Is it safe to take my daughter? Thanks!!

Goodness, I can't wait, in just two weeks we're back out there, I am practically bouncing with excitement!

I don't recall ANY children at all, not even older teens, on the trip we did.

Ervin 0719 - thank you for the kind words. There were no children on our voyage. I think the youngest pax were in their mid-late 30s.

I've read of some families traveling to Antarctica with their kids, mostly on the larger ships. Your daughter sounds like she'd be able to handle the rigors of such a voyage and I think it would be safe to take her. Keep in mind that there will likely be no other passengers her age to keep her company, nor will there be any entertainment in the usual sense of the word, nor internet and the like. That said, if she's into wildlife, she would certainly find a lot to keep her occupied on sea days, and of course tons of wildlife on the islands and peninsula. If she is the kind of kid that can entertain herself and has a love of nature and animals, I think this would be an incredible learning experience for her.

Be happy to answer any other questions you might have about the voyage when/if it becomes a reality for you.

Kavey -- have a wonderful voyage back to the southern latitudes and know that we're expecting a visual treat of photos when you return. We're off to Canada tomorrow; will be in Churchill for a week starting Thursday to see the Polar Bears. All things being equal, would rather be going to Antarctica, but since a return trip to the southern continent is not in our immedate future, I'm thrilled to be going north instead.

Kavey -- I'll be anxiously awaiting your trip report!

Safe journey.

PS. Was JUST in Peru 2 weeks ago - Machu Picchu, Sacred Valley and Cusco if you need any questions answered!!

For Chris,

In response to your request for pictures of your next destination, it came to mind that I had seen an album at MyPublisher.com. Under Forums/Travel Journals, on the first page--second entry, an album has just been posted of South Georgia.

Farther down on page 4 there's an album of Antarctica, but actually you go to MyBookshelf on the Home Page and then use M638354 for the User and 1130897 for the password.

Sometimes these give a good perspective.

Your Atlanta Neighbor

Thank you very much, neighbor! Those are both really nice sets of pictures and they make both South Georgia and Antarctica look beautiful. Are you responsible for either of those sets?
Anyway, thanks again, those are excellent photo collections.

Chris

Thanks for the send off, can't wait, just one more week left. Mostly we've now purchased any extras we need (a new lens and matching filters, some rubber washing up gloves) and now just need to get everything together and pack!

Kavey, have a great trip! I am really looking forward to hearing about it when you return!

Chris

Glad I was somewhat helpful, Chris. No, neither book is mine. I do personal Fotofusion collage chronology albums of our travels. I stumbled on MyPublisher when the idea intrigued me for a special occasion.

Enjoy your trip to Antarctica. We're off to a much warmer climate in India.

For those who have gone this year, what has the ice been like? We leave for Falklands, South Georgia, and Antarctica in less than two weeks, and I just read a Travel & Leisure article where the ice was too thick to reach the continent (not to mention the boat that ran aground today), and am a little concerned.

eu...just back to the Fodor's site after a long absence due to a kitchen addition.
did you post on Canada..can i have the link??
Kavey..you went yet again to Antarctica..is this the third time or am I confused and it is the second???

Second time only, got back December 19th!

As for ice, we were amazed to find a LOT of large ice up by South Georgia, as were our expedition crew, the experts. Just as well, really, since it gave people the chance to experience and photograph the huge bergs. The Peninsula part of our itinerary didn't happen as we had a very severe medical emergency and turned back north to get her to a Chilean base with airstrip for evacuation.

Paulet Island, which was completely snow-covered when we were there same time in 2004, was almost devoid of snow except a few remaining patches. Again, our expedition crew confirmed how unusual that was for time of year.

Philbill - yes I did post Canada here on the Fodor's Canada board, but I started a blog recently as well and have a few of the couple hundred photos I took interspersed amongst the text, so I'll give you that link. When the rest of the photos are available for public viewing, I will put the link in a blog entry.

http://2totravel.blogspot.com/2008/1...starts-in.html

The link is to the beginning of our adventure, then there is a blog entry for our time on the tundra, and a separate one for the tundra buggy lodge.

Enjoy.

Kavey..was everyone disappointed to miss the Peninsula? I feel for the sick person, but also for the rest of you.

Eu..will read your Canada posting and blog in the next couple of days. So, how did it rank with the Galapagos, Africa and Antarctica?

Although all are soooo different, personally I would advise a person who has not been to those places to go to the Galapagos first.

Still not persuaded my husband to go to India, even though I found a 'luxury train' which seemed like it might work!

Have not been to the Galapagos yet ... on the list. We had a terrific time on our Churchill adventure, but unlike Africa and Antarctica, we have no plans to return. Being so close to the bears and seeing them in the wild was fantastic and I am so glad we did the Tundra Buggy experience rather than staying in town, but there's not enough variety in the scenery or the wildlife viewing to make me want to go back to the area ... except maybe during a different season to see beluga whales and such.

Hi Kavey - welcome back! We're back from our Antarctic trip too. We got back December 23. Lots of ice, but I understand conditions are better now. It was an amazing experience.

I'm sorry to hear that you didn't get to the peninsula -- but really sorry, too, for the medical emergency. I hope she is o.k.

Unfortunately, we received a letter just after Christmas from the UK company we booked with, letting us know she'd passed away in the hospital in Chile.

Yes, people were disappointed not to land at all on the peninsula, we at least had been before, but for some this really was their one and only chance. Everyone understood, of course, the evacuation, we all were behind that 100%, but disappointed by how many days we ended up losing and the loss of peninsula landing.

We did get landings on paulet island and half moon island which were good.