March with the Penguins: Discover Antarctica with White Desert
A journey to Antarctica is a bucket-list item for intrepid travelers, and most choose to go on a cruise ship. However, White Desert provides a land option to fully immerse yourself in this otherworldly destination.
Photo courtesy of White Desert
What’s on your travel bucket list? Explore hidden alleys in European cities? Walk the Great Wall of China? Climb Machu Picchu? These are all worthy bucket-list items, but here’s one only the most pioneering of travelers will consider braving: a trip to Antarctica.
Exploring the “Last Continent”
For centuries, the “Last Continent” has held a special place in our imaginations, and yet even now—long after the first explorers reached the South Pole—access to the interior of Antarctica is reserved for very few. Most people who do make it to this region come on a cruise ship, but White Desert provides an alternative option, allowing you to get to know this frontier in a deeper way by staying on land.
Photo courtesy of White Desert
With group sizes limited to 12, you will never have to deal with hordes of people, instead enjoying this exciting new destination in the privacy of a small group with only expert guides. The season in Antarctica is very short, only lasting from late November to February, and it’s important to plan a trip like this well in advance.
White Desert
After a five-hour flight from Cape Town in a luxury Gulfstream plane, you’ll arrive in a place that is both surreal and majestic. From iridescent ice tunnels to vertical spires of rock, from endless horizons to oceans scattered with icebergs, this is a place unlike anywhere else on the planet.
Photo courtesy of White Desert
Established 15 years ago by record-breaking polar explorers, White Desert offers you an environmentally-conscious choice that prioritizes the sensitive environment and incredible animals that surround you on your journey. Your trip will be completely carbon neutral, meaning you can explore this astonishing place without feeling guilty for your impact on it.
While White Desert has several itineraries, some shorter and some longer, we think this fabulous Emperors and South Pole journey will provide you with a great idea of what White Desert is all about and what their explorations of Antarctica entail.
Emperors & South Pole Itinerary
9 days, including one day in Cape Town
Day 1
Cape Town, South Africa
After only the most comfortable of flights arranged by Poe Travel, you’ll arrive in Cape Town. If you’ve never visited, it’s a great idea to add on some extra days in this fantastic city before your journey, especially to help with the jet lag. Today, you’ll meet with the team from White Desert for a safety briefing ahead of your journey to Antarctica, which will set off tomorrow. This is where the team will check all of your polar clothing and prepare you for your flight south.
Day 2
Depart for Antarctica
Fly over thousands of icebergs on your 5-hour flight across the Southern Ocean to Antarctica in your Gulfstream 550 plane. During the flight, you will enter the Polar Circle and encounter the continuous daylight of the Antarctic summer. After landing on the ancient blue ice of the runway, you will be transferred to your luxury camp at Whichaway and take a gentle hike around the Oasis to settle in.
Camp Spotlight: Whichaway Oasis
Schirmacher Oasis, an ice-free area that contains over a hundred freshwater lakes, lies on the edge of the Great White Continent. This is where you’ll find your home for your Antarctic adventure: Whichaway Oasis. This luxury camp consists of a collection of hi-tech polar domes set on the shores of a frozen lake and encircled by a magnificent 200-foot icefall. The camp is warm and comfortable and provides the perfect base for daily activities and relaxation.
Whichaway is made up of seven heated, state-of-the-art bedroom pods designed for the comfort of two guests (though they can be partitioned for solo travelers). At just over twenty feet in diameter, they are spacious and have a writing desk from which you can record all your memories, a wash area, and a toilet. While the pods’ exteriors are made from cutting-edge materials, inside you will find a relaxed, old-world feel that harks back to the golden age of Antarctic travel. After all, you should feel every bit as intrepid as those original explorers!
Elsewhere in the camp, you’ll find a shower pod, a kitchen, and three centralized pods that make up the reception, lounge, and dining room, where the experienced team of chefs, hosts, and guides will take care of every little detail so that you can focus on soaking up every moment of your adventure. After a busy day of activities, you’ll definitely work up an appetite, and the hearty breakfasts, elegant lunches, and three-course dinners featuring only the finest South African produce will mean you’re well-fed even at the end of the world.
Day 3
Whichaway, Oasis
Settle into your life at your luxury camp and do as much or as little as you’d like. Activities range from yoga, massages, and gentle treks to exploring the incredible ice waves, summiting a nunatak, ice climbing, and even abseiling. On quieter days, you can hear talks from the knowledgeable polar explorer staff about some lesser-known history of Antarctica and their own world record-breaking expeditions.
Day 4
Atka Bay Emperor Penguin Colony
Fly two hours across Antarctica, taking in beautiful views of nearby mountain ranges and coastline, before landing at the emperor penguin colony at Atka Bay. You can now count yourself amongst the very few who have ever witnessed such a spectacle, observing the real-life stars of March of the Penguins.
Day 5
Ice Waves & Arctic Truck Safari
Spend the day exploring the ice waves below Whichaway Oasis, delving into the series of ice tunnels which are as surreal as they are beautiful. Later, you’ll be whisked off on an Arctic Truck safari, winding your way through snow and ice to an incredible vantage point from which you can take in the panoramic view over the waves you’ve spent the day exploring.
Day 6
The South Pole
It’s an early start this morning that we are sure you will find well-worth it. Head out on your Basler BT-67 aircraft, flying over stunning mountain ranges before landing at 83° South to refuel. After a walk on the High Polar Plateau, you will continue to the South Pole, where you will have plenty of time for photos and a chance to stamp your passport before flying back to 83° South and overnighting in the great wilderness of the Plateau.
Day 7
Celebrations at Whichaway Oasis
After a night under canvas, enjoy a hearty breakfast before boarding your plane once more to return to Whichaway Oasis, the flight providing the perfect chance to appreciate the immense scale of Antarctica. When you return to camp this evening, you’ll enjoy a three-course champagne dinner to celebrate your massive achievement of visiting the South Pole.
Day 8
A Hike to Remember
It’s your last full day on this life-changing journey. To enjoy it to its fullest, set off on an adventurous hike along a winding cliff-face, affording you stunning views over pressure ridges of ice that have been folded over millennia by the ocean, truly imparting the ancient wisdom that this place holds. Your world-class mountain guides will lead you on this challenging hike, ensuring your safety at all times.
Photo courtesy of White Desert
Day 9
Return to Cape Town
Your last memories of the Great White Continent will come as you look out of the window of your Gulfstream plane as you head back to the vibrant energy of South Africa. On arrival, you will be transferred to your hotel, where you will have to chance to relax and reflect on your Antarctic adventure. You can choose to stay in Cape Town as long as you like, and of course we can make any arrangements you might need there. When you’re ready, you’ll fly home in comfort, unable to shake the images from your mind of the astounding land of ice you’ve just explored in-depth.
As we mentioned before, the season in Antarctica is short, and spaces on trips to White Desert book up well in advance. They do still have some availability for November and December 2021 as well as January 2022 between this itinerary and some of their other offerings, so there is no time like the present to let us know!
If you would like to get away to White Desert (or anywhere else in the world), simply contact us, and we will set you on your way.