Featured writer| 5 incredible activities you shouldn’t miss in Antarctica!
Swimming in Antarctica
First up let me introduce myself and my blog. I’m Jonny Blair, travel writer and editor at Don’t Stop Living and I’m delighted to be writing for Ian’s site Borderless Travels. I love Ian’s outlook on life and the fact that he really travels. He has been to some totally off the wall places like Mongolia and Kazahkstan. I like to get out to similar places off the beaten track – so I thought I’d write about Antarctica today for his blog Borderless Travels. It was my favourite bit of travelling in life so far and I’ve picked out a realistic 5 cool things to do in Antarctica, yes even on a low budget you can do these five…
These are my top 5 cool things to do in Antarctica (yes – deliberate pun – it’s cold there!)
Friends in Antarctica
1. Go swimming!
Yes – this is the moment you’ve been waiting for! Lose your fear of cold weather forever by getting down to your bikinis and swimming trunks and heading into the waters for an icy dip. Believe it or not, it’s not even that cold. OK so I froze for a few seconds, but life is all about adventure so why not?! We got to do our “swim” at Whaler’s Bay on Deception Island. Myself and 2 others even did it naked! We were given a free shot of Kahlua and cream straight after it! It’s often classed as the “Polar Plunge” and if you’re in Antarctica, I’d recommend it!
2. Hiking
On your Antarctica you’ll get to do some walking and hill climbing. Not exactly strenuous hikes I must add. However hiking up to the top of Cuverville Island was an absolute highlight of my Antarctica journey! The phenomenal views you get and the fact that you sweat so much, means at the top you can be warm enough to enjoy the views wearing just a t-shirt. You can get back down extra fast by rolling down the snow! You’ll pass by hoardes of penguins on route.
Jonny and group hiking in Antarctica
3. Snowball Fights
As well as building snowmen on the continent of endless snow, we had a few snowball fights! One on board the ship was certainly exciting as you couldn’t see ANYTHING in behind because we got caught in a crazy blizzard one night! But the best ones were on our first landing on mainland Antarctica. Everyone was throwing snow at each other!
4. Drinking
Just because there are not many bars about doesn’t stop you from drinking. The Vernadsky Ukraine station in Antarctica has its own pub! Plus there are two bars on board the boat which goes down well on Happy Hour. We also took our own cheap beers with us that we bought in Argentina and raised a toast as we drank them on King George Island.
Everyone should go to Antarctica!!
5. Kayaking and Cruising
My trip included kayaking as an additional option. I must admit I didn’t fork out the extra money and do it – but those that did raved about it! As an alternative I went cruising on the Zodiacs a few times, most spectacularly at Foyn Harbour and Elephant Island. Icebergs and wildlife galore. It’s such a breathtaking landscape.
Jonny Kayaking in Antarctica
If those five aren’t enough there’s also the “big one” for the extremists – visiting the South Pole! My budget didn’t take me there as it comes as a high cost, but if you do want to head to Antarctica on the cheap, check out my tips on it here: How to get a cheap trip to Antarctica.
Live your travel dreams my friends!!
