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The History of Antarctica in Maps

Long before human eyes ever beheld Antarctica, the ancients were convinced it existed – or at least something like it. Ptolemy, a Greco-Roman astronomer who lived around 100 – 170 CE, thought that an enormous far-southern landmass must exist in order to provide a planetary counterweight to the large continents of the north.

Antarctic Resolution

I looked at my husband and decided to tell him, “I always dreamed of going to Antarctica and seeing penguins. Lots of penguins.” It was finally out. Penguins? What was I thinking? I didn’t believe I would even survive that night, let alone do something so adventurous, go somewhere so remote as Antarctica. I was in a hospital emergency room. I had just suffered a heart attack. Squeezing my hand, my husband assured me, “We will go to Antarctica. You will see penguins.” His promise (albeit a “death-bed” one) ignited my penguin-hope. As the anaesthetist sedated me for an angiogram, I imagined penguins dancing, happy feet on ice. I started to count them.

The Wildlife of Antarctica’s Seas and Skies

Antarctica is one of the most pristine environments on Earth, home to whales, penguins, seals, and birds, providing nature lovers with a treasure trove of wildlife memories to take back home.

Eight Ultimate Antarctica Adventures

Antarctica has adventure in its bones. Long before most travelers even reach the continent, they have to cross the Drake Passage, an oft-tumultuous waterway considered by many a hallmark of high adventure in itself. Once you do reach the Antarctic shores, the variations of landscape and wildlife are as multiform as the activities you can pursue there. While not all of these activities can or should be shoehorned into a single article, this piece will give you a survey of the top eight. Like everything in the polar regions, these activities are subject to weather conditions – and your own threshold for adventure.

Eissturmvögel im Kongsfjord

Heute, am ersten Tag unserer Spitzbergen-Umrundung, standen mein Bruder und ich bereits um halb sieben auf, denn schließlich wollten wir die Einfahrt in den Kongsfjord nicht verpassen! Es hat sich wirklich gelohnt, und sicher eine halbe Stunde lang fotogr

At Home in Antarctica: Interview with Katja Riedel

Most of us lucky enough to visit the polar regions seldom visit more than once, and we’re rarely experts. The most enthusiastic may have read a few books about glacier formation or historic polar explorers, but it’s typically our expedition guides who give us the real scoop on these ice-infused environments.

The Secret Life of Glaciers: How They Form, Move, and Melt

One of the greatest natural sights you’ll ever see on an Arctic or Antarctic adventure is glaciers. These gigantic bodies of ice have been slowly but steadily creeping their way from the mountains to the oceans for countless years, like great rivers of ice – both a time capsule and indicator of our rapidly changing environment.

Orcas of the Polar Seas

The orca, or killer whale as it is also known, is the top marine predator and possibly the most widespread vertebrate on Earth. It is found in all the world’s oceans, including the Antarctic and Arctic regions.

A Guide’s Take on the Emperor Penguins of Snow Hill Island

Life is full of decisions, choices, goals, and dreams. These are the things that drive us to attempt something even when we know the odds of success are low. It was this sense of adventure and hope that brought nearly one hundred passengers to the Weddell Sea in search of the emperor penguins of Snow Hill Island.

Swiss birders on the rocks: North Atlantic Odyssey 2017

Being used to cold and snow from the Swiss mountains, our team of four Swiss birders decided to book a tour with Oceanwide Expeditions in May 2017. We headed from Aberdeen, Scotland, towards the island of Spitsbergen, in the farthest north of our globe. The target species on our mind clearly was the enigmatic ivory gull as well as the polar bear. As a mountain people, of course, we were also especially curious to encounter the broad variety of marine mammals like whales, dolphins, and seals.

Adélie Penguins: the Little People of the Antarctic

Described as “an object of endless pleasure and amusement” by Apsley Cherry-Garrard, survivor of Robert Falcon Scott’s ill-fated Terra Nova expedition to the South Pole, the Adélie penguin stands with the regal and iconic emperor penguin as one of only two penguin species found on mainland Antarctica. Though their blue-black bodies, sooty orange beaks, white bellies and white-rimmed eyes cannot compare to the sleek, long beaks and yellow-trimmed necks of the aptly-named emperor penguin, Adélie penguins make up for the plainness of their ornamentation with a lively, playful nature, never failing to showcase their unique and charming personalities.

Imperial Antarctica: the Snow Hill Emperor Penguins

Oceanwide Expeditions recently achieved a rare feat, visiting Antarctica’s northernmost emperor penguin colony on Snow Hill Island. Typically surrounded by impassable pack ice, Snow Hill is a notoriously difficult destination in our Weddell Sea cruise itinerary, only accessible using the helicopters m/v Ortelius carries especially for this trip.

Antarctica Cities (and Five Other Things That Don’t Exist There)

Reading the title of this article, you might wonder why we’d bother writing a piece about all the things you won’t see while visiting Antarctica. But in our experience, polar tourists tend to venture to the far southern continent as much to see a new world as get away from the one they came from.

Science and Tourism: How Oceanwide Helps Study the Oceans

Since 2012, KNMI (Koninklijk Nederlands Meteorologisch Instituut – Royal Netherlands Meteorological Institute) and Oceanwide Expeditions have cooperated in deploying temperature-recording devices, known as Argo floats, at far southern latitudes. Oceanwide’s Antarctica cruises offer a unique opportunity to reach these remote areas. Up to 35 floats have so far been deployed on these voyages, and eight more are on board Oceanwide’s m/v Plancius for this season.

Chosen by the Sea: Interview with Captain Ernesto Barria

Ortelius sits dry-docked in a cavernous basin of brick and steel, lost in scaffolding like a sidelong building undergoing renovation. Men in dark blue jumpsuits and bright blue hardhats, heavy gray gloves and greasy gray boots, stomp over the rattling mesh walkways carrying hoses and lit cigarettes and bulky pieces of nautical maintenance equipment, one of which resembles a pneumatic cattle gun that, in the wrong hands, could wreak some serious havoc. Recently arrived from the Arctic, Ortelius is receiving its seasonal upkeep here in Vlissingen, a small Dutch port town near the Belgian border.

Seven Facts About Antarctic and Sub-Antarctic Penguins

There are 17 species of penguin on the planet today, but only eight penguin species can be seen in Antarctica and the sub-Antarctic islands, where we travel: chinstraps, emperors, Adélies, gentoos, kings, Magellanics, rockhoppers, and macaronis.

Three Antarctica Cruise Deals

For many travelers, Antarctica epitomizes the polar regions. But while embarking on an Antarctica cruise can be a life-changing experience, it can also be a bank-breaking proposition. Here are three cruise deals, each offering their own unique experience, that will provide you a much-coveted Antarctic adventure while minimizing the likelihood you’ll have to take out another mortgage to afford it.

Light in the Land of the Midnight Sun

The midnight sun, also known as the polar day, is a natural phenomenon seen within the Arctic and Antarctic circles. During the polar summer, the sun stays above the horizon 24 hours a day – meaning no sunrise or sunset, just constant daylight. This unique phenomenon is caused by the seasonal tilt of the Earth toward the sun during the Arctic or Antarctic summer.

15 Toothy Facts About the Atlantic Walrus

The walrus is one of the most recognizable animals on the planet, and for good reason. Try sneaking into a cinema with those tusks!

Birds of the North: 29 Arctic Birds and Seabirds

Arctic wildlife exists in a category unto itself, and for good reason. But often Arctic birds get undeservedly overlooked. Here are 22 all-too-unsung species and their most fascinating facts.

The Doctor Is In: Interview with Lauke Bisschops

Forget choosing between sprawling city hospitals and small boutique clinics, subways compared to streets, ambulances versus Uber versus your own speeding automobile. When you’re cruising in the Arctic and Antarctic, the nearest hospital is a long way off, and in terms of the health care, everyone has access to the same kind – and the same person. During her voyage around the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard, Dutch polar cruise doctor Lauke Bisschops told us all about her experience treating injuries, illnesses, and a surprising lack of sea sickness.

Under the Northern Lights of Greenland

Driving towards the port in Akureyri, I recognized Plancius from miles away. This was the ship that once took me to the end of the Earth, the ship that inspired me to give up everything back home and begin a new adventure. Now resting peacefully, she waited for her next expedition into the rough open sea. Seeing her again felt like meeting an old friend, bringing back the fascination, laughter, and epiphanies I had while sailing with her in Antarctica. Now that I was going to the northern end of the world, I couldn’t wait to be reunited. I hurried on board, eager for the adventure ahead.