Discover the Geographic South Pole

Itinerary

Day 1: Arrival at Cape Town

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: Cape Town . Pre-flight briefing

The morning is at your disposal.

In the afternoon 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 telling you about your flight to Antarctica , current weather situation and forecast and much more. After that the guide will go through your equipment with you, demonstrating how the clothing systems work and making adjustments where necessary. 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: Cape Town . Departure for Antarctica

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 6 pm and a final “green light” at 7 pm, after which, we will collect you from your hotel at 8:30 pm for transport to the airport.

(Please note that a flight to Antarctica depends on a number of different factors, such as wind, cloud cover, snow accumulation on runway etc, all of which may alter the scheduled flight time.)

After a safety briefing on board of the plane 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: Arrive to Antarctica . Visit to the Russian scientific base

Our flight passes over the Ocean which 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 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 Novo runway at approximately 03- 30 a .m. local time (GMT). We will land on the blue ice runway.

IL-76 at Novo runway

After landing you should collect your luggage and follow the guide to the heated mess tent of the Airbase where you will get breakfast.

After that we will bring you to our Guesthouse complex called “Oasis” where you will be accommodated during your Antarctic trip. The Guesthouse is situated in an ice-free, rocky area - the Schirmacher Oasis - about 14 km from the runway and it takes about 20-30 min to drive there with an overland vehicle. The wooden houses of the guesthouse complex are cozy and offer all the comfort needed in Antarctica : heated rooms for 1 to 5 people, a kitchen, electricity, warm water, a shower for sharing, toilet facilities and a Russian sauna. After arrival we will show you to your room and you can have some rest after a long overnight flight.

At Oasis you will have some rest after a long overnight flight.

We invite you for a 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 in about 400 meters from our base.

A visit to the nearby Russian Research Stations will give you an inside view to life and work in Antarctica . You will have a chance to speak to the scientists and get to know their projects in Antarctica .

Guesthouse in the Schirmacher Oasis

We continue our trip by a 3 hour trekking tour to the edge of the Oasis. This is also the edge of the Continent. Further on stretches a shelf ice. At the edge of the Oasis Adelie penguins are often breeding and if you are lucky you will have a close look at these fascinating, funny birds. Those who love cold-water bath can plunge into one of the lakes. For those who travel at the end of December and January we also plan to visit ice grottos, a frozen world of shining blue. We will be back in time for a delicious dinner. After dinner our guide will brief you about a flight to the South Pole and the history of the South Pole exploration.

You will have enough time to prepare yourself for the trip.

Day 5: South Pole flight

The highlight of our journey is a flight to the Geographic South Pole.

After breakfast we will check a weather forecast along out route to the Pole. If weather service gives us a “green light” we will bring you to the plane and our adventure begin. Although we plan to come back the same day, we will take sleeping bags and provision with us in case of unexpected delays.

We will take off on our Basler plane and head South. The distance to the South Pole from Novo is about 2,140 km . We will be flying over the mountains of Queen Maud Land and then above the Antarctic Plateau. Do not forget to prepare your cameras for stunning views!

At 83 degrees South we land for a refueling. An altitude here is 2,500 meters above sea level. But air in Antarctica is less dense and this elevation equals to 3,000 meters in usual mountains. Refueling will take about 40 min and you will have time to get our of the plane and stretch your legs. It is still 800 km (or 3 hours flight) to the Pole from here. continue the flight to the South Pole. During our 7-hour flight you will see the Antarctic Continent from the air, getting a rare appreciation of its immense scale and beauty. We land on a runway of the American Amundsen-Scott South Pole research station. The station got its name from the first explorers of the South Pole: Norwegian Roald Amundsen and British Robert Falcon Scott who were the first to reach the most southern point on the planet where all meridians meet. We will spend about one hour at the Pole and you will have enough time to take pictures and even make a Round the World Trip walking around a symbolic Earth Axis.

Basler BT-67 on the Antarctic Plateau

On the arrival to the South Pole we will be met by a NSF (National Science Foundation) representative and you will be guided around the Station. There is a souvenir shop at the Station and a post office where you can buy patches, sweaters, T-shirts, glasses, etc. and put stamps on your envelopes. Note that you have to pay in the shop only in USD . We may meet the brave skiers at the Pole who had been skiing for 40-60 days covering more than 1,000 km across the Antarctic desert to reach the Pole. Later this day we fly back to Novo.

Explorers at the South Pole

Day 6: Overland trip to the ice barrier. Reserve day in case in bad weather for South Pole flight.

After breakfast we start our full day overland driving trip to the ice barrier. We go there by Toyota Hilux cars specially modified in Iceland for polar travel. During 2008-09 Antarctic season these vehicles made an amazing trip to the South Pole and back and proved to be reliable and comfortable way of Antarctic transportation. It will take us about 3 hours to drive to the ice barrier.

Тойота на пути к ледниковому барьеру

Ice barrier is a place where icebergs calve from the edge of a shelf ice and start their way across the Southern Ocean. Here you have a big chance to see penguins and seals. To the North from the barrier you will see giant icebergs shading the horizon. Later in the season Antarctic vessels come to the barrier to unload cargo for scientific bases. We will have a travel lunch en route.

We come back to the Oasis late afternoon for dinner and celebration of your visit to Antarctica . That evening, our field guide will tell you stories and show slides or a movie about Antarctica . After presentation you are welcome to the Russian Antarctic bathhouse (sauna).

День 7: Посещение индийской станции. Вылет в Кейптаун

После позднего завтрака мы продолжим прогулки по оазису. На вездеходе мы отвезем вас к горе Аэродромной и нунатаку Палец. Отсюда спустимся к оазису и исследуем красивейшие озера и ледники этого региона. Это, пожалуй, самый живописный уголок оазиса. Потом зайдем в гости на индийскую станцию Мейтри / Maitri (Дружба). Экскурсия по окрестностям станции с посещением летней базы ученых, даст вам представление об антарктических оазисах. По предварительной договоренности и с разрешения начальника станции будет организована встреча с персоналом и руководством, экскурсия по зданию базы.

В час дня за вами приедет вездеход и отвезет вас на аэродромную базу.

В 2 часа дня мы пригласим вас на обед.

Позднее, ближе к вечеру, мы летим обратно на авиабазу, где в своем гостевом домике вы можете отдохнуть и обменяться впечатлениями от увиденного за чашкой горячего чая или за бокалом прекрасного южно-африканского вина. А затем - добро пожаловать в русскую баню!

В последний день пребывания на Антарктическом континенте мы едем на авиабазу, откуда вылетаем поздно вечером самолетом ИЛ- 76 обратно в теплый и солнечный Кейптаун.

Day 8: Arrive in Cape Town

We arrive in Cape Town around 6:30 a.m. Transfer to your hotel.

Excursion on your own.

Day 9: Depart for home

Depart for home or a program in South Africa .

Important Notice: All flights to/from Antarctica are weather dependent. Possible delays must be anticipated.