Antarctica
October. That time of year when people everywhere start reconciling themselves to their year’s unfinishable to-do list, while desperately trying not to think of the process as one big metaphor for life; where we all secretly wonder whose genius idea it was to invent a calendar which draws to an end as the days shorten and the bitter chill takes hold, as if it’s purposely trying to encourage people to top themselves and thereby free up some winter stores for the rest of us.
Except if you’re in Antarctica*! where the year ends in a glorious blaze of sunshine (and bitter chill) and a new season of tourists. In my wildest fantasies we join them this year. In the reality which is not having the type of children who would happily fly forty hours around the world to crew a square rigger or read weighty novels in their rooms on board an icebreaker, this fantasy holiday will have to do.
Intended For: Mum, Dad, a supernaturally-well-behaved six-year-old and a supernaturally-well-behaved three-year-old.
Overview: Ushuaia and the Railway At The End Of The World, Falkland Islands, South Georgia, Shackleton’s Grave, South Sandwich Islands, South Orkney Islands, South Shetland Islands, Drake Passage, Antarctic Peninsula.
Strengths: Great learning opportunities (patience, frustration tolerance, impulse control, counting to ten, uno).
Forseeable difficulties and mitigating strategies: We may not have much chance to learn any of the above if our kids are too supernaturally-well-behaved. Luckily, there should be other passengers.
Estimated Price Bracket: Expensive. Maybe we could be supernaturally rich as well?
Itinerary:
Days One, Two, Three
- Fly Singapore -> Ushuaia via a long, route which takes us to the South pole from Singapore via somewhere like Amsterdam, because that makes sense (about 40hrs and the kids will love it!)
Day Four
- Explore Ushuaia. Hahahahaha I meant “try to shake the immediate after-effects of the long flight”.
- Overnight Ushuaia.
Day Five
- Explore Ushuaia and overnight again.
Day Six
- Take the Railway At The End Of The World to the Tierra del Fuego National Park. View park, wildlife.
- Overnight Ushuaia.
Days Seven Through Twenty-Nine (ish)
- Board ship for Antarctica.
- Marvel at life on board.
- Listen to interesting presentations from Antarctic experts.
- Visit places such as the Falkland Islands, Port Stanley, Shetland Islands, South Georgia, Shackleton’s Grave, South Sandwich Islands, South Orkney Islands, the ANTARCTIC PENINSULA and the infamous Drake Passage.
- Play Uno. Lots of Uno.
- Have pleasant conversations about kids, travel, geography, history, culture, social responsibility, logistics, marine biology, civil engineering, and sometimes, coffee or wine (plus anything related).
- Sing Von-Trapp-Family-Style sets on deck each night using musical instruments crafted out of driftwood, dried kelp, and penguin vertebrae. (Side note: Bought the album. Love it. Not sponsored.)
- Dream wistfully of having a non-fantasy holiday with normal children who fight, whine, forget their table manners, and crash around causing general danger to self and others, because we can be as perverse as anyone**.
Day Thirty (ish)
- Arrive back at Ushuaia.
Days Thirty-One, Thirty-Two
- Fly all the freaking way home. Or otherwise return to real life.
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*And most of the rest of the world, as it happens.
**At least.
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This week and most of next I might as well be sailing to Antarctica, because my parents are visiting. Uh, what I mean to say is that I won’t be on the internet much, just as if I was sailing to Antarctica on board a vessel without wifi. Fewer penguins, of course. Anyway, I’m not deliberately trying to be rude or anti-social(media).
Antartica never looked as thrilling as after reading your action-packed itinerary. Especially looking forward to singing “Climb Every Mountain” while you play those dried kelp instruments.
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Good choice of song. Wow – you’re hot on the song choices!
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Best. Post. Ever.
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I was wondering where you were. I hope you are having a fabulous 😉 visit with your family!
If only our kids would let us go on a slow boat to Antarctica right? Or in my case, to the Mediterranean maybe, I don’t want to freeze my butt off. Haha
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Ha, yes, Antarctica, Mediterranean, similar thing really, few degrees difference here and there…! I believe you’re ok in the right clothing, though. (I suppose that goes for both trips.)
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Antarctica is on the bucket list for me also. But I think I could only manage up to day 7of your itinerary before I’d take my bat and ball and go home.
For the less adventurous there are 1 day flights to Antarctica. I think this is how I will tick it eventually. There and back in 12.5 hours. Qantas flies over for a mere $8000 per person. Does this technically count as a country?
xo
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We had snow today. Well, 1mm. But I am so not coming to Antarctica with you.
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Hey, we had snow today. Well, 1mm. But I am so not coming to Antarctica with you.
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Fantasy holidays are grand. Enjoy the time with your parents. BTW, I prefer to greet the first day of winter as the day when the nights start getting shorter and the days longer. I guess we know who the optimist is. 🙂 –Curt
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Oh, I kid you not. The male teen was standing on the peak of the roof of the house in a snow strom when i got home one day and after I told him to get down I asked what he was doing and he replied that he wanted to see what the view was like from up there. The teen daughter “borrowed” our family van at the age of 14 at 2 am (she’d had a spare set of keys cut and returned the originals so there was no suspicion) and picked up a bunch of friends to go touring – until she blew a tire and called home for a tire repair. Ha!
Oh, yeah, you have fun times coming Bronwyn. On the bright side they can be so kind and understanding and smart that sometimes they will blow you away with wisdom. On days like that, you just stagger away and wonder if it’s the same kid.
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He… wanted to know what the view…? And was he satisfied after all that?
Your daughter’s antics make me feel, well, on the one hand a bit scared, and on the other hand a bit regretful that we never did anything that ill-advised (that I can remember?) to our parents. Not me, anyway, I’m pretty sure. Not specifically with a van in any case.
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Yep, he was satisfied. Onto the next adventure. I have an aquantaince who is a psychologist and she says that teens have more neural connections than at any other time in their life. Kinda like a big bush that needs to be pared down into a topiary. Then they test and eliminate or reinfirce connections to form the long term connections. Their logic can be lacking – for instance if a patio stone is the same color grey as an elephant, then they will turn over the stone to see if it has legs. Not quite that bad but close – a few face palm moments.
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I have heard that teenagehood is a neurologically intense time.
Sigh. I guess we’ll just hope we’re lucky with ours? That must happen.
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Ha! Don’t get too down – they will some times do things that will absolutely astound you and make you so proud of them. I guess the best way to put it is that on a bell curve of normalcy, they run several standard deviations higher and lower than adults in behavioual aberrations. Ha! May the force be with you. 😀
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Bell curve – makes sense. More variable. I guess that’s to be expected as they find their way (and gain independence to do so).
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I have friends who took this trip. Fantastic, but the crossing was rather brutal. Days of seasickness.
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Are they sea sick types? I’m blessed with a pretty good stomach but of course everyone will break down at some point. Just trying to gauge…. I’ve heard the Drake Passage is pretty dicey.
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Yes, the Drake Passage was challenging on their trip, but I’ve heard it’s better some times than others. I don’t know whether they are sea sick types. They travel a lot, but this trip was different.
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what a brilliant, unique experience you are set for!
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Wouldn’t it be great? I think I’d choose the square rigger for sure. I know you don’t get to land as many places and it’s a bit more up to the weather as to your itinerary, but on balance I think it’d be the better adventure.
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Perhaps you could send your children on the trip as unaccompanied minors?
Enjoy the visit with your parents. The shopping malls of Singapore are almost as cold as Antarctica.
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I’m not sure whether or not you realise the full extent of the visions that flashed through my head upon reading that first sentence, but suffice to say I now feel genuinely queasy.
It’s true about the malls, though.
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I’ve daydreamed about how old my kids would need to be before I could see them off on a flight to visit grandma solo. And then I think about them sitting on a plane next to strangers and get queasy as well!
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Yish. Yes. Out of interest, what is the currently-agreed solo flight age? I mean, I know it varies from child to child, but there must be a ballpark? Nine? Twelve?
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I think some airlines will accept unaccompanied minors on direct flights from perhaps even 8! But I can’t really image it at that age.
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I can’t see us signing our kids up at eight, but then they might change dramatically in ways I don’t expect between now and then, so. We’ll see.
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Eight does seem mighty young. Maybe if the elder child were 12 and the litter child were 8. Maybe.
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Sounds perfect! If only I had supernaturally well behaved kids as well! Oh well, one day…
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They’ll either be supernaturally well behaved or too old to concern yourself about 🙂 (Hint: don’t read Paul’s comment on teenagers…)
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Genius, and without the price to boot! Ironic just met Rachael Robertson – Leading on the Edge – as a motivational speaker, she spent 9 months in Antarctica – So your month of adventure looks like a pretty good plan!!
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Nine months would be something else, especially over the winter. Just googling Rachael and sounds like she would be a fascinating person to talk to. (I suppose anyone who can make nine months of monotony worth reading about/listening to has to be on to something!)
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The funny part is she only went to the interview to see how they qualify people to do the job – a curiosity- and she got offered the job and could not pass it up – she was entertaining
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Well-written and funny post.Good luck with mom and dad. I hope this means free time because they will be wiling to babysit!
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We’ve been spending too much time socialising to free up computer time, though!
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Wait,wait! There was one point where I thought I was starting to understand: “Have pleasant conversations about… logistics…” I was really following you there and smiling and then I lost it again.
And besides, where are the penguins in this? – I love penguins, and there are no penguins in your fantasy. Why go to Antarctica if you don’t visit the pengiuns?
Oh, one more detail -I’ve had a few teenagers (2 – a boy and a girl) and if you are under the sad misapprenhension that they would require less care than a youngster on a trip to Antarctica, you are deluding yourself. They most certainly would not get into the mischief that youngsters would – you are right there. However, they are incredibly inventive and will formulate adventures that will blow your mind – things that will leave you wondering just how they managed to envision their plan let alone execute it. For instance, you are liable to get a complaint from the captain that your male teenager is standing at the very top of the mast in a blinding snowstorm wearing shorts and a T-shirt, to see if he can see any further from there. Or your daughter may woo the young helmsman steering the ship on the midnight shift and convince him that she always wanted to see Peru and he’ll turn the ship and steam in that direction while you and everyone else sleeps – managing to get half way there under full power before the captain discovers the scheme.
Anyway, fun post Bronwyn – i enjoyed the few moments away from reality – just needs some penguins. Ha!
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Er… the penguins were implied? 🙂
Definitely should have put more penguins in. Not sure I’m entirely comforted by your reports of the teen years. Sounds like too much truth in that fiction (although have to say I’m not so worried about the ship getting halfway to Peru in your second example…)
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So funny! Both the way the fantasy was written as well as the fantasy itself. My husband and I dream of that trip. I try to think of a day when my kids will actually be supernaturally well behaved and will absolutely LOVE being dragged around the world to see ice. 10 years? 20? 50? Never? Who knows. But one day. Maybe one day. (My husband talks about moving there. I already know the answer to that one. Never.)
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Moving to Antarctica? Well it would be one way to remove teens from bad peer influences…
No but I actually did read a blog (unfortunately no longer updated) from someone who lived in Antarctica as part of the support team (catering/cleaning/etc staff). I’m now picturing you as this Antarctic chef family.
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Never thought about looking for solace in Antarctica, but there it is. The fact that it is summer somewhere really does make the change in days seem a little brighter 🙂
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Definitely summery all over the other hemisphere. And of course in the tropics where it’s pretty much same all year (give or take some rainfall, perhaps). Antarctica is maybe not as obvious a place to be thinking about compared to the tropics…
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Keep your dreams intact and don’t, and I repeat don’t attempt some of the journeys to Antarctica I’ve read about in real journey books. Antarctica is a very nasty place indeed and assorted beasts are waiting to eat you up if you take a morning dip before breakfast at the Antarctic Hilton. I will admit the cuisine is delicious though. Gluten free kelp for breakfast and dinner the catch of the day purchased fresh from the Penguin Fishing Cooperative. Yes I know, it is tempting to ride an out of control glacier or hike to the top of Mt Freezebutt but you will just have to think of the downside.
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Wow! Can you name titles? Riding out of control glaciers?
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Great idea, a fantasy vacation. I’m going to take one of those. Maybe I’ll copy you and go to Antarctica–I bet it’s quiet there.
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I think that might be one of the attractions for me…
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Oh wow !!! This seems like a trip to remember !!! Wishing you a safe journey and hope to see the pictures you take on the way … Best wishes my friend
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One day. One day. You might have to stay tuned for a very long time!
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🙂
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Ha, that’s some fantasy vacation! Maybe you could persuade your parents to go too? 😉
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They’d be easily persuaded to go (expenses aside). They’re pretty good at Uno, too…
Hm….
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The fantasy gets more real 😉
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More real… but we’re starting from a pretty low baseline, so…
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A friend of mine did an Antarctica excursion two years ago. Epic.
Enjoy visiting with your parents!
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Jealous a little. Did they stop in at many of the little islands down there? I was amazed looking at how much is between South America and the Peninsula.
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I don’t know much about their trip, apart from the glorious pictures they shared on Facebook. Blew me away! He and I have been ‘trying’ to get together for lunch for around 18 months now. I use the term trying loosely, as there’s no way we couldn’t have made it happen in all this time if we were really TRYING. 🙂 If I do see him, I’ll be sure to ask around all the details of the trip. It sure looked epic.
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Well after 18 months you’ll certainly have something to talk about! I do know what you mean, though. Sometimes life just gets away and those intended meet ups don’t happen.
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This is my ultimate dream trip, although I don’t have small children to bring. I mentioned to my husband I thought this would be a brand adventure for the next big birthday year. What say you? Can you support me on that?
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You should do it. In my more realistic fantasy the children are teenagers (who work after school to save up for their own airfares…) and we hardly have to worry about their table manners/propensity to fall overboard at all. But of course as a couple it would be very workable and seems right up your alley.
I found one vessel which is actually a square rigger so you help crew a SAILING ship to the peninsula.
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I have seen that actually. I have such terrible motion sickness I’m not sure I can be relied on as decent help. I will likely need to be heavily drugged to make it there but well worth it for the adventure I say.
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Oh that’s right! I didn’t draw the connection between sea sickness and car sickness. On the website they were saying they’re steadier under sail than the other types of ships and there didn’t seem too much pressure to crew, so it might be worth pitching?
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Possibly. I will need to do a bit more research. My understanding was that sailing it took far longer and extended days on the water don’t appeal I have to say. 🙂
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The sailing definitely puts you on the water more of the time. The other ships power through to more stops and keep a whole schedule so you know when it’s going to stop, too.
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Did you only sleep for five hours?! I’m tired on your behalf!
Yes I think we may need to go for the fastest option or Dave might have his hands full…literally.
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I don’t think I needed that to be added up 🙂 I may have overdone it… I knew Grandma was here this morning and stayed up a little late… Probably going to pay for that later…
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I will sleep an extra hour on your behalf. I’m helpful like that. 🙂
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You’d do that for me? I’m in your debt 🙂
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