Midnight sun and alfresco bathrooms: what it's like camping in Antarctica
I watch as the red-and-black livery of the MS Fridtjof Nansen Antarctica cruise ship, exposed against the stark grey-white landscape, slowly disappears into the distance. An icy wind whips around my ears and I gulp, nervously, suddenly aware of being "stranded" on Antarctica, the harshest and most inhospitable continent. Is this how I'll meet my end like Captain Scott et al on an icy tundra, I think, dramatically? Probably not.
What on earth was I thinking? This is the coldest, driest, and least populated continent on the planet, and I've left a nice and toasty luxury ship with all mod cons –not to mention a free bar– to sleep under flimsy canvas in minus temperatures. And I have to put up my own tent first!
It's just one of the unique experiences you can have on an HX Hurtigruten Expeditions Antarctica cruise. All passengers have daily landings and Zodiac cruises included in the package, however, there are some additional experiences you can have if, like me, you're feeling a little... extra.
Instead of choosing sea kayaking or snowshoeing, both of which last little more than 90 minutes in the cold, I decide (from the warmth of the lecture theatre onboard) that an overnight camping experience is a very good idea and sign myself and my friend Rhonda up for it like "proper explorers".
With nearly 500 people onboard and only 30 spaces available, a place on the camping excursion is chosen by a lottery and we're two of the lucky ones. Although I start to doubt our luck as the night camp gets closer, as the chances of ever coming back to Antarctica are slim: it's now or never, I tell myself – and the bragging rights will be unreal.
An overnight camping excursion is not guaranteed on every cruise. Camping sites are limited, and always predetermined by the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators (IAATO), and the conditions have to be just right. But the weather gods are on our side and after dinner, we layer up and board the Zodiacs ready for our overnight adventure.
It's only possible to camp on Antarctica during the southern hemisphere's summer, between late October and March, and with HX Hurtigruten Expeditions' nearly 130 years of experience in polar exploration, and Torstein, our experienced expedition leader at the helm, we know we're in good, safe hands.
We're given our kit – a tent, sleeping bag, mat – on the ship and when the Zodiacs dock at the outcrop, we drag our kit bag on a sled up to the summit. It's not a huge area but it is flat and staring out at the ice floes, a frisky humpback greets us with a breach and a flip of a tail – a sight I will never bore of.
EXPERIENCE ANTARCTICA LIKE TRACEY
It doesn't really get dark here and the gloomy haze of twilight makes the icy landscape feel otherworldly. It's 10 o'clock and the temperature is already below freezing and we're assured it will get even colder.
The full-service luxury of the Nansen is a distant memory, as we attempt to flatten out the deep snow with a shovel so we can pitch our tent. After fashioning some kind of wonky canvas burrow and a visit to the 'bathroom' (a bucket behind a snowbank) for an alfresco wee, Rhonda and I settle down for the night, cosy and warm in our explorer-standard Arctic sleeping bags.
Lying in the tent, the heavy silence of the Antarctic feels a little overwhelming to us both, until a thundering crash of a glacier calving into the sea makes us jump out of our skin.
Although camping is a unique and special experience, it's not for every one. Snowshoeing on the tundra is a way to experience Antarctica as the explorers did a century ago.
Sea kayaking is a chance to get closer to the landscape as you paddle around icebergs and get closer to penguin colonies, and watch as they slip and slide over the floes, seemingly purely for our entertainment.
EXPLORE ANTARCTICA WITH HX HURTIGRUTEN EXPEDITIONS
But even from the ship, you're guaranteed to see plenty of wildlife on an HX Hurtigruten Expeditions Antarctica cruise. Rich in delicious plankton, the Southern Ocean is a magnet for 10 different species of whale, including humpback, orca, minke and the blue whale, the largest mammal on earth. Penguins and seals are equally as prolific. The Antarctic Peninsula is home to thousands of gentoo and chinstrap penguins, as well as fur and leopard seals, and southern elephant seals, who will honk like a truck if you get too close.
After approximately nine minutes of sleep, we wake up to the expedition team rousing campers from their frosty slumber. It's time to take down our tents and return to the ship. Deluded with tiredness, Rhonda and I struggle to unpeg the tent after it snowed five inches in the nanoseconds we slept.
But before too long, we're back at the ship, welcomed onboard with a mug of hot chocolate and a warming nip of Tia Maria. A much welcome sight. Ruddy cheeked and giddy, we enjoy a celebratory breakfast with our band of brave explorers, where we each receive an official certificate to state we had camped on Antarctica. Now if that doesn't deserve bragging rights, I don't know what does...
Country Living has an exclusive cruise to Antarctica with HX Hurtigruten Expeditions with a 25 per cent saving.
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