ANTARCTICA 2008 – 09
“Get to know Antarctica and its Inhabitants”
Code: QML + EP
Program day by day
(6 days / 5 nights in Antarctica)
IMPORTANT NOTICE: We recommend clients arrive in Cape Town no later than 2 days before the scheduled date of departure for Antarctica. Depending on prevailing Antarctic weather patterns, the flight may depart one day earlier than scheduled. Also, once in Antarctica, the listed activities may be changed in reaction to varying weather conditions.
Day 1
Our staff will meet you upon your arrival at Cape Town International airport and take you to your hotel.
The day is for you to relax and enjoy Cape Town and its surroundings. On your request we can arrange a program for you.
Day 2
The morning is at your disposal.
At 03 pm you will be collected and taken to our Antarctic Club in the centre of Cape Town to meet your field guides and other guests. You will have an orientation & safety briefing informing you about your flight to Antarctica, current weather situation, forecast and much more. After that the guide will go through your equipment. The field guide will be able to answer any question you may have.
After briefing we will have a cocktail party to relax in anticipation of the journey ahead of you.
Day 3
The morning is for you to pack, relax and enjoy Cape Town.
In the evening, you will receive a preliminary confirmation on your flight at 5 pm and a final “green light” at 7 pm, after which, we will collect you from your hotel at 8 pm for transport to the airport.
(Please note that a flight to Antarctica depends on a number of different factors, such as wind direction, cloud cover, snow accumulation on runway etc, all of which may alter the scheduled flight time).
After a safety briefing we will fly south. Departure is scheduled for 11:30 pm. Flight duration is approximately 5.5 to 6 hours depending on the winds.
Day 4
Our flight passes over the Ocean that is called here – The Southern Ocean because Atlantic and Indian Oceans merge here and you can’t tell the border between them.
In about 4,5 hours after start we will cross the Antarctic Circle (66,5 degrees South). Along this circle the sun never sets during the austral summer solstice and never rises during the austral winter solstice. Further south these Antarctic days and nights lengthen until at the Geographic South Pole the sun rises and sets only once a year.
Continuing our flight south you will see (if the weather allows) first icebergs. It is a time to change your cloths for the polar ones. The IL-76 jet will arrive at ALCI airbase at ca. 04:00 a.m. local time (GMT). We will land on the blue ice runway.
You will be shown to the mess tent of the air base to have breakfast with an orientation speech. Then we will bring you to our Guesthouse complex “Oasis” where you will stay during your Antarctic trip. “Oasis” is situated in about 14 km from the runway and it takes about 30 min to drive there with our overland vehicle. We will show you to your room and you can have some rest after a long overnight flight.
We invite you for lunch at 2 pm followed by a visit to the Russian scientists at the all year round Research Station Novolazarevskaya ( or Novo, for short ) situated on the rocks of the Antarctic Oasis Shirmacher (400 m away from our Guesthouse). In the evening, after dinner we will invite you for a slide show about Antarctica.
Day 5
After breakfast we will make a 3 hour trekking tour to the edge of the Oasis. This is also the edge of the continent. Further to the north stretches a shelf ice over a distance of 70 km. On the edge of the Oasis Adelie penguins are breeding and you have a good opportunity to have a closer look to these fascinating, funny birds. We also plan to visit ice grottos, a frozen world of shining blue. Those who love cold-water bath can plunge into one of the lakes. We will be back in time for a delicious dinner and over night stay at our Guesthouse.
That evening, one of our field guides will brief you regarding our penguin journey. The briefing is followed by a presentation on some of the great heroes of polar exploration or an Antarctic movie. Day 6 - 7
After breakfast we will drive to the runway and you fly with our ski equipped aircraft Basler to the area of the German Antarctic Base Neumayer. Flight duration is about 2,5 hours. In order to minimize disturbance of the Emperor penguins we will not land near their colony. We will land on a runway of the Station and ski ( ca. 1 hour) to the place of our destination. We will break a camp not far from the penguin colony. You will sleep in the tents ( 2 pax per tent) and have meals at a mess tent at times of your choice. 24 hours of daylight will give you a great opportunity to visit the colony any time. Next to Emperor penguins you will see some other inhabitants of Antarctica: Adelie penguins, Weddell seals with pups, skuas, etc.
The next day in the evening we will make our way back to the runway. We fly back to Novo runway via Orvin Fjella Mountains and make a 2-hour stop at fantastic mountain “Wolf’s Fang or Ulvetanna” (as it was first named by the early Norwegian explorers) regarded as one of the most beautiful mountains on Earth.
We come back to “Oasis” late at night to have a good rest after 2 days of adventure.
Day 8
After breakfast we continue the tour on foot through the unique landscape of the Shirmacher Oasis. We will walk near vertical drops of the Antarctic glacier that embraces the Oasis from the South. Then we pay a visit to the Indian Scientific base – Maitri. You will have a chance to speak with the scientists, walk around the base and learn something of the work being carried out. After lunch we proceed with our trekking along the Oasis. We put a step on the highest point of the Oasis – Mt. Primetnaya (Eminent). We will return to our Guesthouse by vehicle.
This evening we prepare a good Russian bath for you or sauna followed by a special dinner with a Diploma giving ceremony.
Day 9
We keep this day as a reserve in case of bad weather for the Emperor Penguins flight.
Program in the area of Shirmacher Oasis.
In the evening you will be brought back to ALCI airbase for dinner. Late in the evening we will board IL-76 jet and fly back to the North, passed the Antarctic Circle and back to a warm morning in sunny Cape Town!
Day 10
We arrive in Cape Town around 6:30 a.m. Transfer to your hotel.
Excursion on your own.
Day 11
Depart for home or a program in South Africa.
End of the Program |
