Gaby Huddart on her voyage of self-discovery to Antarctica

There’s a photo of me in the wilds of Antarctica, surrounded by snow and ice, that shows quite vividly how happy I was there. I’m sitting on one end of a Zodiac inflatable boat, wrapped in warm layers and covered by a bright red waterproof, my woolly hat pulled down over my ears. I’m also grinning from ear to ear. So much so that when I showed it to my mum she said, ‘Oh, my goodness, you look exactly like you did when you were horse riding as a 12-year-old!’ And she’s absolutely right, in that photo, and in many others taken on that incredible two-week voyage, my face looks less like that of a 50-something working mum with multiple responsibilities and more like the carefree child full of energy and youthful enthusiasm that I used to be. And how many times do you get a picture as magical as that? 

It’s no exaggeration to say that the expedition voyage I did with Viking Cruises around Antarctica last November changed me. And not in the way you might expect. I’ve been lucky enough to have ticked off many wonderful destinations on my bucket list, but none of them have touched me quite as deeply as travelling to the southernmost point on Earth. There’s something about being immersed so fully in nature (Antarctica’s awe-inspiring landscape is 97 percent ice and home to penguin colonies as big as cities), and challenging myself in ways I never thought possible, that I’ll truly never forget. I can honestly say that watching gentoo penguins nesting, seeing whale tails flip magnificently out of the ocean, and discovering creatures of the deep I never knew existed from inside a six-person submarine, sparked feelings of such joy and excitement that I can still feel the buzz nine months later.

So I’d urge everyone (time and budget permitting) to step outside their comfort zones and book their own trip of a lifetime–I promise you won’t regret it! These are just some of the things that I learned that will stay with me for ever…

KEEP AN OPEN MIND

 

Like most people, as I’ve got older, I’ve increasingly become a creature of habit and more set in my ways. Holidays have tended to be to quiet islands (the Scilly Isles and Greece are firm favourites) and involve plenty of fresh air, lots of exercise, good books and lovely meals. While knowing how many friends and readers of this magazine love to cruise, I’d always felt that it probably wasn’t for me—being in a confined space with lots of other people just didn’t feel like the right fit. But when an email popped into my inbox last year about a new expedition cruise ship, the Viking Polaris, and a cruise to Antarctica to see whales and penguins in their natural habitat, and even have the opportunity to kayak among the icebergs, it stopped me in my tracks.

This was definitely a sailing with my name on it! One year on and I’m an evangelical convert, who can confidently say to others who are cruise-shy that there’s definitely a voyage for everyone–it’s simply a question of matchmaking yourself to the one that suits your passions and personality. I found my perfect match in the Viking Polaris, an expedition ship with a maximum capacity of 378 guests (lovingly cared for by some 250 crew), and travelling to the end of the Earth on her is one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. I now realise how vital it is not to automatically dismiss something as being ‘not for me’ nor to slavishly stick to the same old habits year after year.

GOOD THINGS ARE WORTH WAITING FOR

Let’s face it, we live in an era of almost instant gratification. Want something tasty to eat? You can order it on Deliveroo and it’ll be with you in minutes. Need a new dress to wear? You can have as many as you want to try on in the comfort of your own home within 24 hours. Fancy a quick burst of sunshine? You can book a low-cost flight online, hop on a plane, and be relaxing on a beach by the weekend. 

In contrast, going to Antarctica is a massive reminder of just how big the world is. But also a reminder that the most enriching things in life are worth waiting for—and that there’s pleasure to be had in the journey. Travelling to and from this southern polar region involves quite a significant amount of time. Day one is a lengthy plane ride from London to Buenos Aires (via Madrid, in my case). Then there’s a day and a night to recover in the Argentine capital before another three-and-a-half hour flight to remote Ushuaia, the world’s southernmost city at the foot of the Andes mountains.

It was here that we finally boarded our ship, the Viking Polaris, but then there were almost another two days of sailing across the legendary Drake Passage–where the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans meet–before getting our first glimpse of Antarctica. ‘There are two ways of describing this passage,’ our captain, Margrith Ettlin, tells passengers at the ship’s welcome evening, ‘The Drake lake or the Drake shakes. We’re always hoping for the Drake lake.’ Fortune does, indeed, shine on us with a flat-as-a-pancake sea that we glide across, seasickness-free. An ‘expedition ship’ it may be but in contrast to the original polar explorers, I’m enveloped in luxurious surrounds–a fabulous stateroom with avast bed, a bathroom with underfloor heating and posh toiletries, a choice of top-level restaurants, 24-hour room service, a state-of-the-art gym, and spa with pool, sauna, steam room and even an outdoor hot tub. I’m glad it takes a couple of days to get to Antarctica–the lengthy sailing time gives me a welcome opportunity to make the most of it all.

EMBRACE WONDER

 

It’s impossible not to talk in clichés when describing what it feels like to spot your first whale at sea. However many David Attenborough documentaries you’ve watched on TV, nothing can prepare you for seeing one with your own eyes. And, with announcements whenever there’s a sighting, there’s happily no chance of missing one. We’re just a day into our journey across the Drake Passage when there’s the first sighting of a humpback and everyone rushes out on deck. The slow, deliberate movement of these vast, prehistoric creatures as they dive, flipping their tails above the surface, is both majestic and mesmerising. Remarkably, better still comes a day later when we’ve just reached Antarctic waters and someone’s spotted a blowhole from the deck. Within the few minutes it takes to wrap up and head outside, we seem to be quite literally surrounded! There are whale tails, spouting blowholes and fins as far as the eye can see. Apparently we’ve come across a huge pod of fin whales (the second longest species) and I’m not alone in my gasps of wonder and yelps of pure delight. Complete strangers on the ship are laughing together, unanimously enraptured as we gaze at nature’s beautiful spectacle.

RELEASE YOUR INNER CHILD

Remember the unbridled thrill you got as child when you played with a puppy, or got up close to any animal? Well, those feelings still lurk within us and I felt them bubble up every time I got close to penguins–which, joyously, was an almost daily occurrence. On our very first day in Antarctica the conditions were right for going out on Zodiacs to Half Moon Island, site of a chinstrap penguin colony. Within moments of landing, these plump little creatures were waddling all about us, busy in their daily tasks. We were there in late November (spring in Antarctica), which is their mating season and time to nest. They didn’t give us human visitors a second glance as they marched back and forth importantly with pebbles in their mouths. The ship’s scientists, who accompanied us on every landing, also pointed out two other species on the island, the smaller, more elegant Adélie penguins and gentoo, which turned out to be my favourites as they simply burst with bravado. This was particularly evident the next day during a Zodiac trip along the coast of the Aitcho Islands. 

Looking behind our rubber boat, we saw we were tailed by a small army of cheeky gentoos, entertaining us with their acrobatics, porpoising in and out of the water in what seemed like a well-rehearsed synchronised swimming display.

FEEL THE FEAR AND DO IT ANYWAY

We all have things that scare us and I have a phobia of confined spaces, which means I’ve always tried to avoid them. But on board the Viking Polaris is an extremely high-tech, multimillion-pound submarine that just happens to be yellow and named Ringo. Up to six guests at a time can dive to the seabed and view what lies beneath. Ringo requires good visibility and calm waters to operate and just a few days into the sailing, conditions are perfect, so I’m given the chance to travel in my very own yellow submarine. I’m so determined to grasp this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and use every fibre of my willpower to keep my fear in check. As we plunge 140 metres down to the seabed, lit by the sub’s powerful floodlights, our pilot Daniel says: ‘Just think, you’re the first people ever to see this part of the planet.’ That’s a humbling thought as we look out at the krill, starfish and a prehistoric creature that looks like it belongs in an Alien movie. Admittedly, we didn’t see the rare giant phantom jellyfish that some other passengers witnessed in a different part of the seabed, but I’m so pleased that I didn’t let my fear get the better of me and had an experience that will stay in my memory bank for ever.

ORDINARY PEOPLE CAN DO EXTRAORDINARY THINGS

 

It turned out that going down in a sub wasn’t the only remarkable feat we Polaris passengers achieved in Antarctica. There’s never a precise itinerary for a voyage, due to the rapidly changing and unpredictable weather. So every day the captain pores over charts and analyses weather reports, to work out where best to take the ship to get good visibility and calm waters. Which means it was purely by chance that the conditions were right for our ship to pass near Breakwater Island and land there in order to witness its thriving population of gentoo penguins. In fact, by that evening, we realised it was not just lucky but miraculous as the ship’s scientists confirmed this was both a previously unrecorded penguin colony and a new landing site. So we were the first humans ever to have set foot on the island. A pinch-me moment if ever there was one.

STAY CURIOUS & KEEP LEARNING

Prior to this trip, I can honestly say the most I’d really thought about ice was that I liked a few cubes in a G&T! Of course, as a David Attenborough devotee, I’ve watched programmes about glaciers and polar wildlife, but would have thought that ice is just ice. One of the major surprises and delights of this voyage was seeing and learning about the numerous different kinds of ice. I’d anticipated seeing icebergs, which were, indeed, awe-inspiring in their vastness; sculptural shapes in vivid blues and brilliant whites. 

But I’d never come across the term ‘brash ice’ before, so when the captain announced one day that passengers should go on deck to see a brash ice field, I didn’t know what to expect. The sight of millions of ice fragments floating on the ocean was incredible but it was the sound that really stayed with me–a very gentle tinkling and quiet snapping as the pieces of ice slowly shifted and cracked on the water’s surface. Pancake ice, sheet ice and grease ice were further varieties we experienced–the latter being when snow settles on the icy sea’s surface, creating what looks like an oily layer. 

And it wasn’t only ice that we learned about. With more than 20 scientists carrying out vital research projects (Viking funds a professorship at the University of Cambridge into polar marine geoscience), and giving lectures on everything from phytoplankton to cetaceans, this was a truly mind-expanding adventure. And that, as chief scientist Daniel Moore says, is a key aim of the expedition: ‘Antarctica is a continent that gives us hope. So much of it is pristine with huge amounts of wildlife, proving there is still something worth protecting. There’s so much we can learn from this region and everyone who visits becomes an ambassador for it and for safeguarding its future.’

This piece originally appeared in the October 2023 print edition of Good Housekeeping UK