Seize your dream to visit Antarctica now

This man has learned to develop an inclination for cold and snow having worked at the topmost part of the Trans Alaska pipeline. Hence, the retired civil engineer could not help but, well, shiver with excitement as he learned about the local university's alumni association's intention of embarking on an expedition to the White Continent, Antarctica. This made me think of it as a marvelous idea. Both real and armchair explorers aim to go to mesmerizing Antarctica despite being the coldest and least hospitable frontier in the world.

But then due to the fact that the White Continent is not an easy or cheap place to get to, lesser and lesser tourists actually get to set foot in here. Most trips to the Antarctic Peninsula originate in Ushuaia, the southernmost city in Argentina, and involve a two day, 1,000 kilometres voyage through the Drake Passage, known for some of the roughest sea weather in the world.

Experiences like this one is profound and memorable. As early as the late 1800s, voyagers have been attracted to this land first sighted in the year 1820. It was only after the year 1959 as soon as the Antarctic Pact was signed making Antarctica a haven of science and peace did commercial voyages to this natural reserve being to arrive.

Even with the gradual growth of tourism and travel, it did not soar until the Iron Curtain collapsed in the 1990s. With the lack of any money for scientific program developments, tour operators seized the chance to renovate Russian ice rated expedition ships grew for their commercial tours. People who are seasoned in touring the world always look for something fresh. On the other hand, some are adventurers wanting to be like Sir Ernest Shackleton who boasts of having the greatest survival tales in expedition history, specifically his 1914 endurance expedition.

Many nature lovers, photographers and artists become mesmerized with Antarctica's glorious beauty that also permits some action like iceberg and glacier cruise as well as landscape trekking. Get set to be thrilled once you see penguins, seals and different kinds of whales like minke, killer and humpback. As for polar bears, the circumpolar north is their home so it is not likely you will behold them.

The nonexistence of ports and docks led to people relying on zodiac boats which are rubberized and inflatable. You may now go hiking, take photos, go kayaking in the icebergs of just stand with the penguins. You could try the naturalists' knowledge as they stand around you if you ask them questions about the region's history, wildlife, marine animals even up to its glaciology.

His trip, which included eight days aboard a 5 star cruise ship and three days in Buenos Aires, was typical in that it featured several on board lectures on local wildlife and landscapes. Going to rookeries of penguins with conservationists as guides was, for him, a mesmerizing and unforgettable experience. These short legged and adorable creatures put up a show for him, and it was interesting how they were curious but not fearful at all.

But not everyone is as enthralled with Antarctic travel. Many environmentalists express worry that the number of tourists which grow every year poses harm to the delicate ecosystem of the White Continent, especially damaging the breeding process of wildlife and reducing its populace. It is noteworthy how the global alliance of Antarctic tour operators have adopted voluntary standards set to battle the adverse environmental impact tourism causes to this region. The region can be conserved if good environmental and operational practices are implemented, and all tourists, natural programs and corporations abide by these regulations.

He further states that compounding the problems are many television shows today which condition people to view as entertainment, the animals including the thousands of penguins that call Antarctica home. The presence of humans around these animals will make them less wary. A real threat can spring from this kind of lengthy disassociation from the natural world. But some conservationists are reluctant. Developing sensitivity toward the continent can be achieved by allowing more people to tour this land, he argues.