A land of extremes

ANTARCTICA is the highest and driest continent, with an average elevation of more than 7,000ft and little significant rainfall since the cold freezes water vapour out of the air. Minuscule precipitation often takes the form of ice crystals known as angel dust

— Mean temperatures range from 5C on the coast in summer to minus 70C in the interior in winter. The coldest temperature recorded on the Earth’s surface was minus 89C at the Russian Vostok research station in 1983. During one expedition the temperature fell to minus 59C and men’s teeth cracked in their mouths

— Wind speeds can reach 200mph and waves more than 100ft high have been recorded off the Kerguelen Islands

— The ice sheet that covers more than 98% of the continent extends for more than 5m sq miles, almost twice the size of Australia. On average it is 1.5 miles thick

— Navigational hazards include violent changes in the weather, shoals, blizzards and icebergs

— Optical phenomena include mirages – a mountain range may appear to rise into the air and objects far over the horizon loom into view – imaginary suns and moons, and solar and lunar haloes

— There are an estimated 300,000 icebergs in the Southern Ocean at any one time, with leviathans measuring up to 60 miles long

— More than 40 research stations are operated by more than 25 countries. The first tourists arrived in 1957, when a PanAm flight from New Zealand landed briefly at McMurdo Sound

— The ice sheet contains almost 70% per cent of the world’s fresh water. If it melted, the oceans could rise by more than 200ft

Wild and wonderful

THE LARGEST animal that lives permanently on land in Antarctica is Belgica antarctica, a wingless midge about half an inch long. However, the air, land and sea teem with seasonal visitors. Some of the stars:

— Wandering albatross: a wingspan of more than 10ft allows them to cruise for hundreds of miles without rest. Other species in the albatross family include southern royal, black-browed, yellow-nosed, grey-headed and light-mantled sooty

— Giant petrel: scavengers on land and sea. Will kill birds as large as king penguins and fight over seal carcasses. Smaller varieties such as snow and cape petrels follow ships

— South polar skua: the world’s most southerly bird – several have turned up at the South Pole. Breeding birds will fly with claws outstretched at the heads of any human beings who approach nests

— Penguin: the emperor penguin, the world’s largest, stands more than 3ft tall and weighs about 6st. The Adélie is black and white with a distinctive white eye ring. Macaronis and rockhoppers have distinctive yellow tassels sweeping back from their foreheads

— Seal: Antarctica has the world’s biggest seal, the southern elephant seal, with males growing up to 16ft long and weighing more than two tons. There are also fur seals and leopard seals, fearsome predators that have been known to attack human beings

— Whales: blue whales cruise the Southern Ocean and the fringes of the ice shelf. Other species include the sperm whale, of Moby-Dick fame, with its enormous head and narrow tooth-filled jaws, while humpback whales are noted for their calls, said to be love songs. Killer whales, also known as orcas, have distinctive tall dorsal fins

Pioneers and heroes

ADVENTURERS who explored Antarctica in centuries past include:

— James Cook: completed the first circumnavigation of Antarctica in 1773 but was prevented by fog and snowstorms from sighting land

— Thaddeus von Bellingshausen: Estonian admiral became the first person to sight the continent, on January 27, 1820

— John Davis: American sealer believed to have been the first person to set foot on Antarctica, on February 7, 1821

— JulesSébastian Cesar Dumont d’Urville: led a French expedition in 1837-40 that sailed farther south than anybody had before

— William Spiers Bruce: led a Scottish expedition that established the oldest continuously operated scientific base in Antarctica in 1903

— Roald Amundsen: Norwegian explorer who became the first man to reach the South Pole, on December 14, 1911

— Robert Falcon Scott: reached the South Pole on January 18, 1912, to discover that Amundsen had beaten him to it by 35 days. He and his team died on the return trek

— Sir Ernest Shackleton: led his men in small boats to Elephant Island after their ship Endurance was trapped by ice on an expedition to cross Antarctica in 1915. He and five companions then took a boat through 800 miles of stormy seas to South Georgia, where he trekked over mountains to get help for his comrades. All were rescued

Top tips for travellers

THE WORLD’S biggest nature reserve, Antarctica has been kept relatively pristine thanks to minimal human incursion. Tour operators and visitors are bound by the Antarctic Treaty to keep it that way.

Vessels are prohibited from discharging plastics, oil and noxious substances, and required to handle the discharge of sewage and food waste in ways that do not cause pollution.

Guides are under orders not to land or walk on moss beds or lichen-covered scree slopes and visitors are instructed not to feed, touch or handle birds or seals, or to approach or photograph them in ways that cause them to alter their behaviour. Special care is needed when animals are breeding or moulting.

The ice continent is a land of extremes, and visitors should be properly equipped for the voyage. Specialist tour companies advise the following:

Health: passengers unfit for long trips for any reason, including disability, heart or other health conditions, are advised not to travel. In the event of an emergency, passengers may have to be evacuated by air at considerable expense. Comprehensive medical insurance is highly recommended. There is a possibility of rough seas and even passengers not normally susceptible to motion sickness may feel it best to bring preventive medication.

What to pack: some tour companies provide padded parka jackets, which are essential. Take a waterproof jacket for when the weather is too warm for a parka, and waterproof trousers and rubber boots for landings by inflatable boat. The layer system of clothing is best, including thermal long underwear, thin and thick long socks, T-shirts, long-sleeve shirts, woollen or fleece sweaters (fleece is lighter and dries more quickly than wool), two pairs of waterproof ski gloves or mittens, woollen hats, walking shoes with rubber soles or lightweight hiking boots, and a bathing suit (for on-board saunas and hot-springs dips).

Also carry a water-resistant backpack for cameras and other equipment, ziplock plastic bags as added protection for cameras, a good pair of binoculars and a walking stick for uneven terrain.

Taking photographs: pack the minimum amount of equipment but double the amount of film or memory cards you think you may need. Cold weather may cause batteries to fail, so pack extras.

Tourists can visit Antarctica only from November to March, when there is up to 20 hours of daylight and the mean average temperature on the peninsula hovers around 0C. There are many clear, sunny days but overcast skies and poor visibility do occur.

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