I went on my first overseas trip in 2011, a year after I finished high school. It was only a short trip to Bali, but I caught the travel bug and haven’t stopped traveling since! Every trip I go on makes me want to travel more. It’s only been in the last few years that Antarctica and South Georgia Island sparked my interest, so my partner and I decided to bite the bullet and book it. This trip led me to ticking off all seven continents by the age of 30!
Visiting Antarctica with Silversea Cruises
We cruised with Silversea and I couldn’t recommend them enough! We spent 19 days on board the Silver Wind and visited the Falkland Islands, South Georgia Island and Antarctica. Being a travel agent, I put a lot of time into researching which company I thought would be best for us, and what we wanted to do while we were traveling to Antarctica and South Georgia.
My rating of Silversea is 11/10! Silversea is a 5-star luxury, all inclusive ship. This was important to us, as we wanted to participate in kayaking and ensure that we would be able to maximize our time on land. When comparing Silversea to other cruise lines, they ended up being cheaper than some of the more basic ships by the time you added on all the extras.
And when I say luxury, I mean it – it was spectacular! We even had a butler which made coming home very hard! Every single staff member was incredible, the food was to die for and they did everything they could to ensure we had the best experiences when on landings or excursions.
My Experiences at South Georgia Island
We visited South Georgia Island for three days and did two landings/zodiac excursions a day. We did plenty of wildlife spotting, exploring the coastline and a few short hikes. South Georgia is one of the most unique and remote places on Earth, and I’m glad we spent the extra money to visit. It’s a rare opportunity to be able to see these wild animals in their natural habitat.
The weather of South Georgia Island was also fascinating to experience, as it’s something I’ve never witnessed before. One minute it’s sunny with 5 knot winds and then an hour later there would be a snowstorm with 40+ knot winds. It’s definitely not a destination for the faint hearted!
Wildlife Encounters at South Georgia Island
At one point in South Georgia, we were looking at a colony of over 100,000 King penguins. It was extraordinary! Unfortunately, we weren’t allowed to make a landing here due to the outbreak of Avian influenza, but we still did a zodiac excursion and still got to see them up close. It was mind-blowing seeing all these animals just existing with each other, with not a care in the world. We saw leopard seals hunting penguins, and at one point an Adelie penguin jumped onto the zodiac for protection from a seal trying to eat it!
Tips for Antarctica & South Georgia Island
Make sure you choose the ship/cruise that suits your needs best. The most important thing to know is that Antarctica has strict regulations as to how many people are allowed to be on shore at a time. Ships with over 500 passengers are not allowed to make landings at all. The smaller the number of passengers that you have on a ship, the more time you will get to spend on landings. The average ship size is 150-200 passengers, but there are some with much smaller numbers and some with much bigger.
As mentioned earlier, the weather is completely unpredictable in Antarctica and South Georgia Island – so be prepared for changes to your itinerary and pack lots of layers! Of course it goes without saying that journeys to this part of the world aren’t cheap. But I assure you it’s worth every penny. When you realize how truly remote you are, you’ll understand why the costs are so high to visit such a remarkable part of the world!
Special Memories I’ll Cherish Forever
To finish, I would like to share with you some of my favorite memories from this trip. I still remember the exact moment that I took my first step onto South Georgia Island and I was in absolute awe! Even one of the guides looked at me and said: “Wow, I just watched your face light right up”!
It’s the first place I’ve been where my jaw involuntarily dropped. It wasn’t like one of those moments that people fake for Instagram. I genuinely couldn’t believe that I had just stepped foot onto an island with King penguins, elephant seals and fur seals – all less than a meter away from me. We also spent Christmas Day and New Years Eve in South Georgia. It was so cool being able to bring in the new year in complete daylight but snowing at the same time. And a white Christmas in the summer?!
That said, the most special moment was when my partner proposed to me in Antarctica. The staff went out of their way to make things extra special for us. They helped him coordinate everything so that we could have a moment alone and then gave us a private zodiac excursion, which was pure magic! The seas were calm, it was snowing and it was just us sitting out there in silence – listening to the glaciers, and watching whales and seals in their natural habitat. It truly was a trip I’ll never forget!
If you would like help planning your trip to Antarctica and South Georgia Island, feel free to contact me at Tara.buderim@helloworld.com.au. As a travel agent, I can help you pick out the right cruise/ship that will match your preferences and ensure you have a once-in-a-lifetime trip!
