Polar Extreme
Sailing through the unexplored land of Antarctica on an expedition vessel, Iroshini Chua discovers a colourful world with an ever-changing ecosystem that begs to be conserved
e saw its head peeking out of the water twice, a mere 100m away from our vessel. Then, silence. The quietude stretched for what felt like eternity, but in reality, it was just a few seconds. I could feel my heart racing as we spotted the mammal’s dorsal fin approaching our Zodiac boat. All 10 passengers on the boat instinctively crouched down and gripped tightly onto the safety rope as the fin sliced through the chilly Antarctic waters as the animal closed the distance between us with purpose. In a flash, the head of the 15m-long humpback whale soared above the water next to our boat. If I wanted to, I could easily reach out and make physical contact, but my mind was clouded with the prospect that I would only survive 3min in these icy-cold waters should our Zodiac be capsized by this magnificent animal. To our surprise, she was gentle and gracefully circled the boat. She was as curious about us, as we were about her. So far removed from any glimmer of civilisation, our extraordinary experience was concealed to the world by ancient icebergs, absorbed into our minds and carved into our hearts. No one will ever fully understand what we encountered that day except our companions on this breathtaking expedition, but that is the nature and wonder of the secrets of Antarctica.
THE LAST BARRIER
Organised by Lightfoot Travel, my expedition to the seventh continent with my husband Kevin began at the “end of the world” in Ushuaia, Argentina, the southernmost city in the world. Our luxurious abode, Arakur Ushuaia Resort & Spa, a member of The Leading Hotels of the World, is set on the edge of granite rocks and overlooks snow-capped craggy peaks and the Beagle Channel; we were privy to the same panorama from our bed. We started the day soaking in the view from the resort’s outdoor infinity pool, after which we embarked on a guided hiking trail in the Cerro Alarken Nature Reserve to explore native forests of lenga trees; the crisp fresh air relaxing, readying us for Antarctica.