Antarctica Travel Blog Nov 16th: Iceberg Challenge!
November 16th -- 6:15 am
The view from the bridge was of calm sea with light visibility of about 300 meter. At times there is light snow. The wind makes the air almost too cold to leave the porthole open in my cabin. Sailing through the shrieking 60s now we begin our look out for icebergs. The expedition leader, Mike Messiok, gave us a challenge -- first one to view a an iceberg and rushes to the bridge to announce it wins a bottle of champagne. I better start looking!
November 16th -- 6:45 pm
Location 64 Degrees Latitude and 180 Longitude
The first iceberg was spotted with the assistance of binoculars. According to radar, it was about 19 miles from the ship when it was first spotted. Now that we are in the ice, the expedition leader gave a brief lecture about the excursions we may take during the two weeks in the Ross Sea after the Kaptain Khlebnikov is parked in the ice. It is impossible to determine which excursions we will take or when we will be at the first possible stop which is Coulman Island to visit an Emperor Penguin rookery. Coulman Island is over 300 miles of ice and some open sea from our current location. Even with the ice charts and modern equipment, it is difficult to determine the best route to the Coulman Island as the wind can change the ice conditions very quickly. Breaking through ice is not easy without the correct weather conditions. During our next two weeks in the Ross Sea area, "weather permitting" will be the most common phrase on the ship.
The response from Adventure Life to my first inquiry was prompt and promising. I worked with Jamie Broeckel, Trip Planner, via text, email, and phone calls- always extremely responsive and thorough with information and explaining the process to arrange a private tour for me to Malaysia Borneo. Within about week, the booking was complete and I made decisions because of Jamie's great customer service , friendly manner, and overall competence on behalf of the company's travel expertise. Now I have an itinerary, additional Trip Planner Assistants, several links for vital information for traveling to Maylasia, etc. Still many details for Sept. trip, but now the heavy lifting is done and I can enjoy the rest of the anticipation and research!! Thanks Jamie- you are amazing!!!!
Susan Campo
3 days ago
The trip was not only memorable for the amount of animals we saw but also for the people and accommodations at the two camps where we stayed. Our first guide, BK, was a wealth of information about the animals, landscape and down to the plants and what they were used for. Everyday out was a learning experience with him. All the people at the camps were gracious and the food was excellent.
Our second camp in the Okavanga was just as good as the first as far as the staff, accommodations, food and animals. After our experience at the first camp we amazed that the high quality remained the same. Our guide, G, made sure we were able to enjoy every experience including a rush through the bush to witness a cheetah and an ensuing hunt that he heard over his radio.
In both camps there were enough guides out that if they saw something the other guides were informed which helped in seeing as much as possible. It was also nice that the concessions were large enough that we did not have vehicles following each other throughout the day.
Normally there is always something in a trip of this length that we think could be improved upon but this is the rare case where we cannot think of anything. From the time we left the States to when we returned it was one of the most hassle free vacations we took.
Perhaps emphasizing the use of the laundry facilities at the camps would be useful because of the luggage restrictions would be the only thing I can think of as an improvement to future clients.
Kenneth Dropek
4 days ago
Mary was so pleasant and professional. She made sure all of our questions were answered.