This year you can forget about the tinsel and carols, the tree, the cards, and the endless present shopping. If you really want to treat yourself, don’t do it with a glitzy new dress or a family size box of chocolates. Instead, allow yourself to escape from the stresses of Christmas, the crass consumerism, and sail away to the most sublime of winter wonderlands: Antarctica. You won’t find Father Christmas here, but there are several hundred thousand penguins, and that is festive enough!
As yet you can’t fly to Antarctica; it’s an adventure which begins with a sea voyage, typically from Ushuaia on the southernmost tip of Argentina. Expedition ships such as the Akademik Sergey Vavilov and Quark’s Ocean Endeavour are large enough for it to feel like a cruise, but for an altogether more exclusive experience, you need to sail on board the SV Australis. It’s a private yacht which accommodates just seven fortunate passengers, plus a seasoned polar crew.
The Australis is a 75 foot yacht with an ice strengthened hull, fully rigged with sails but also with powerful motors for those occasions when the wind drops. From the top of the crow’s nest you have 350 degree views of the Antarctic landscape and its wildlife, and when you do descend the ladder back onto the deck, there’s ample space to sit back and relax. In fine weather, the chef fires up the barbecue so you can have a meal al fresco; otherwise you’ll eat below where it’s warmer, cosy but comfortable.
In December and January it’s the southern hemisphere’s summer, and around the Antarctic Peninsula the sun hardly sets. The untouched snow glitters in bright sunlight, and the ice has a striking bluish tinge. The Australis is small enough to get close to the coast, even in shallow waters, but it also has two Zodiacs and a set of kayaks so you can paddle right up to the beach.
On a cruise ship, there are few opportunities to go ashore, but as a passenger on the Australis, you get a National Science Foundation permit to spend up to three nights camping in this pristine ecosystem. By day you can hike, kayak, cross country ski, and watch the vast colonies of seabirds, before retreating to the comforts of your tent.
When you stay on Antarctica, your only significant neighbours will be the seals and penguins. The penguins — 18 different species — congregate in groups of up to 150,000 pairs, typically along the shoreline. Some of the penguin are very curious, and will approach you as long as you’re moving slowly and don’t startle them. Getting close to the seals — and the fur seals in particular — is less advisable. They look cute enough, especially when they are young, but oh my do they have big teeth!
This Christmas, the Australis will set sail from Ushuaia on 11 December, and the Christmas expedition lasts until the 27th. I, for one, can think of no more magical way to spend the festive season than with six of my closest family and friends, sipping Champagne on the deck as we sail through this land of ice.
Find out more about spending Christmas in Antarctica from wilderness specialists Journeysmiths.
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Sophie Ibbotson is an entrepreneur, writer, and lover of wild places. She’s the author of five Bradt Guides, including the first guidebook to South Sudan, and provides tourism development consultancy through her company, Maximum Exposure.
