Austin's Travel Blog

There are over seventy thousand pairs of penguins in Antarctica, and they walk around looking like they’re dressed for dinner and they own this entire land you are about to check out.

They must shoo away neighbors who get to close to their pebble nests, as well as chase off the seals and skuas who threaten their chicks. In their free time, they constantly care for their feathers. The fluffy down-covered brown babies chatter constantly, bumping their heads into their parents in a constant demand for food. The adult penguins are always supplying food. Once the female comes home with a belly full of food, the parents perform a ritual of pecks and bows and then the father takes his turn at sea.

Believe it or not, there is nothing cute about penguins. They’re loud and smell bad, as well as aggressive little things. Even though this is true, they are still awesome to study in close quarters, which is one of the reasons why there are so many people deciding to visit Antarctica these days.

You can plan on seeing many more animals in Antarctica than just the penguins. A gorgeous background of sea and landscapes hosts animals like whales, dolphins and seals, as well as seabirds like albatross. You may see glacier spires that put some of the cathedrals in Europe to shame. The thrill of traveling to a place where few have gone before may appeal to you. Less people than fit in an average football stadium have visited Antarctica. Antarctica is the world?s final hinterland.

Making your way to this land is one aspect of the adventure. You can expect the trip to be exciting, as well as expensive. If you’re leaving from the US, most people take a 20-hour flight to the southernmost area of Argentina, Ushuaia. There are other places you can travel to in order to get to an embarkation point, like Punta Arenas, Chile, Christchurch, New Zealand, or Cape Town, South Africa. As soon as you make it to one of these cities, you are going to have another several days of traveling by cruise to make it to Antarctica.

Antarctica is bigger than the US and Mexico together, the continent of Antarctica is a land which is surrounded by ice shelves that are larger in area than North America, and it provides the Earth with over 70% of the fresh water of the entire planet. Once you choose your destination of Antarctica, you will be able to choose an itinerary of anywhere from 10 to 28 days. The ships that are taking you to Antarctica aren’t giant cruise ships, either, they’re much smaller. These ships also tend to be more informal than the usual cruises that travel the Mediterranean or Caribbean. For instance, instead of casinos you can go to, you will be able to attend lectures about Antarctica.

Once you are close enough to the continent, the ships will provide rafts that take the passengers to land that is close to penguin rookeries or scientific research stations where you can learn more about what the scientists are studying in the Antarctic.

Five different countries have research stations in Antarctica, but Antarctica has been decidedly border free and environmentally protected as per an international agreement to keep the country exactly as it is.

Some people harbor the concern that touring Antarctica is a serious hazard. Because of an airplane crash in 1979, the flyover tourism that was once offered is no more. Because more people are becoming curious about Antarctica, the fear is that it is going to become a much more lively tourist destination, which will endanger the fragile ecosystem. There are debates between scientists, environmentalists, and politicians as to whether the tourism to Antarctica should become a limited thing. There are two sides to the debate, and the first is the fight to protect Antarctica. Alternately, some feel that by exposing Antarctica to people, these people will become moved to involve themselves in its protection.

As of right now, there have been no restrictions placed on visiting the Antarctic. But everyone who visits is expected to follow some basic rules. You are not allowed to disturb the natives, and you should only take photos and leave footprints. When packing for the trip, you need to keep in mind to pack clothing you can layer. Although most of the ships will provide you with down filled parkas, you have to provide your own water proof boots, as well as several pairs of socks. You’re going to see the prices for items on the ship are extreme, so be sure you pack your own camera as well as sun block and sunglasses.

It is recommended that you visit this site for resources on antarctica travel. To find antarctica trip information see this resource.

Related articles by Zemanta

• Geologists Drill into Antarctica and Find Troubling Signs for Ice Sheets’ Future (scienceblog.com)
• Get Live Streaming of Sounds of Antarctica’s Marine Life (treehugger.com)
• 20 years of the Trans-Antarctica Expedition (adventuretravelers.org)

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This entry was posted on Saturday, May 1st, 2010 at 3:34 am and is filed under Travel, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.