Knowing the Amazing Features of Antarctica

Having worked at Atigun Pass, the highest point on the Trans Alaska pipeline, this gentleman rather likes the snow and cold. So this gentleman, a retired civil engineer, shivered with delight upon hearing about the plan that the local university's alumni association was brewing up, specifically about an Antarctic expedition. For me, this was a superb idea. Despite the fact that Antarctica is the least hospital and the coldest place on Earth, tourists both armchair and real ones aim to venture to it one day.

But recently, less travelers are able to visit this land per year due to many financial hassles, as it is not very easy to get here. Most Antarctic Peninsula voyages have to originate in Ushuaia, the southernmost town of Argentina, then the tourists have to allot two days for a 1,000 kilometer voyage through the Drake Passage, where the roughest sea weather in the world lurks.

From these kinds of experiences, long lasting effects in your life can happen. Men traverse this land since the late 1800s after it has been discovered in 1820. But the first commercial voyages to the region didn't begin until a few years after the Antarctic Treaty was signed in 1959, establishing the continent as a natural reserve, devoted to peace and science.

Yet while the travel industry evolved, it didn't really take off until the collapse of the Iron Curtain early 1990s. As scientific program appropriation was not present, Russian ice rated expedition ships were sprouting, readily converted by tour operators for their commercial travel businesses, sensing the world of opportunity. There is a need to satiate the desires of seasoned world travelers when it comes to exploration. And then there are those who yearn for adventure like the one that Sir Ernest Shackleton came to be known for, having endured his 1914 expedition and surviving it, making his tale one of the greatest survival tales in the expedition world.

Antarctica's enthralling existence enables one to kayak around icebergs, and giant glaciers, fill the breathtaking landscape which certainly appeals to people especially to nature enthusiasts, photographers and artists. You will be mesmerized with the many whale species living here such as killer, humpback, minke and of course lets us not forget the presence of seals and penguins. The circumpolar north is home to the polar bears so don't look for them.

Without any docks and harbor developments, zodiacs, tiny rubber inflated boats had to come in and bring people to the coast. Once ashore, activities include hiking, taking pictures or simply standing among the penguins, you can also kayak amid the icebergs. Throughout the entire experience, naturalists from the expedition team are there to answer any wildlife, marine mammal, glaciology and historical queries.

Thanks to the countless lectures while he was aboard a 5 star cruise liner for eight days followed by three more days at Buenos Aires, he got to learn so much about the local landscapes and of course, wildlife. He also went on excursions guided by naturalists to penguin rookeries and he found it truly amazing and unforgettable. Such adorable creatures walked straight to him and presented him with an unforgettable number.

But then traveling to the Antarctic is not something others would be excited about. Some environmentalists worry that the growing number of tourists might damage the continent's delicate ecosystem, disrupt wildlife breeding and reduce populations. The international alliance formed by Antarctic tour operators have volunteered to abide by the regulations set to counter the ill environmental impacts that tourism does to this region. As long as the environmental and operational laws are being adhered by all tourists, natural programs as well as corporations, this region shall be pristine and unblemished.

Adding insult to the injury are shows on TV that condition viewers to see animals, especially penguins that calls Antarctica its home, as mere things to laugh about, he adds. Animals begin to ease out if they are used to the human presence. But real troubles spring from this long term disassociation from the real world. Most conservationists, though, don't agree. However, he argues that by allowing more people to come to this continent, they will develop sensitivity for it on their own.