The Disco Ball Traveler

Antarctica! The land of no bears!

Ahhhh, a trip of a lifetime, and rightly so. The vastness of the landscape, huge mountains jutting out of the sea, floating icebergs bigger than our ship, whales, seals, birds and of course PENGUINS, allll the penguins. The expedition experience was exhilarating, with my tour balancing education, zodiac exploration and onboard activities quite nicely (highly recommend).

This was another trip I endlessly obsessed over which tour to pick, what to pack and trying to prepare for every single potential scenario I would be in – because of the unknown. I didn’t know anyone who had been on a similar expedition, so I set myself wild on the internet, scouring all the corners of the www’s, and was happy I had done so. Because wow, there was so much to learn and golly this trip was worth it. Did I need a thousand pairs of socks and a third pair of thermals? No. Did I really want to camp outside on the cold snow and pee in bags? Maybe?

For these posts it’s important to know some history and governance of Antarctica, because it comes into play throughout the planning, selection and actually taking these types of trips. A good grounder for sure!

Antarctica is governed by the Antarctic Treaty, signed by 12 countries in 1959 to help define the land as “a natural reserve, devoted to peace and science.” This has now grown to almost 50 countries, all with either research stations or a travel component to their interest. They meet once a year and talk shop at the Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ATCM) – concerns, trends, impacts on environments and/or their collective mission. The ATCM parties provided formal visitor guidance in 2011, which the International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators (IAATO) follow.

Ahem, you still with me? IAATO uses this guidance and expands it specifically to formulate and help tour operators follow these rules. Ultimately, the goal is to help preserve the land and surrounding waters. For example, less than 100 visitors are allowed at a landing at each time. You must keep distance from wildlife at all times. Your equipment must be vacuumed and sterilized before landing. I’ll get into this in detail, but you get the gist. For more specifics, contact your tour provider, or for more general information on IAATO, click here.

Okay so let’s go! In these posts, I’ll review how I selected my expedition as a solo traveler, what I packed, and a review of the actual experience. So buckle up, disco ballers – This one’s gonna be funnnnn!