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Antarctica - First Journey
by Geoffrey Carpentier
ISBN - 978-1-897475-36-2
– About the
Author
–
Testimonials about the Book
– Dedication
– Foreword
– Table of
Contents
The
mystique of the Antarctic enthralls everyone, but few dare venture to its
icy shores. But for those who do, a myriad of
questions arise - what do I wear? What will I do? What will I see? How do
I prepare? Geoff, a veteran expedition guide, brings you his knowledge and
experience through the pages of this fun and informative guide. It is
packed with interesting facts about wildlife and the many, varied and
interesting sites you might visit when down there. Detailed information on
history, ice, snow, weather, glaciers, safe travel, protecting yourself
and your possessions, effective packing and so much more certainly makes
this one of the most informative guides ever written about the Antarctic,
South Georgia and the Falklands. The book includes a rare compilation of
marine superstitions, which is both educational and in some cases
hysterical! Whether a seasoned traveller or one new to the game, this book
will undoubtedly make your dream of conquering the Blue Continent a
reality.
But wait, it’s more than that … the detail is so
thorough and the information so well researched, that this book would be
of immeasurable value to any traveller. This book will become THE resource
guide for travellers! And just in case you’re not planning on going
anywhere, this book will make a great gift or light reading for you as you
stay at home and dream of going away!
About the
Author:
Geoff’s interest in
nature began at 13 years of age when he wandered through the woods and
countryside near his Canadian home, learning about nature first hand. From
the time he went to university to study wildlife to when he worked for
Parks Canada and the Ontario Ministry of the Environment, he has dedicated
his life to protecting and studying wild things – be they birds, mammals,
insects or plants. After his retirement in 2006, Geoff headed off on a new
career path, where he put his life long studies to work – he became an
expedition and interpretive guide. He has led numerous trips to
Antarctica, Svalbard, Russia and Alaska, eastern Europe, Cuba, Borneo and
Tanzania. A prolific author, Geoff wrote a previous book on mammals, is
widely published in nature magazines and newspapers.
Specializing in both tropical and polar environs,
he has travelled the world, visiting over 55 countries on all seven
continents, where he has shared time with polar bears, Amazonian snakes
and piranhas, observed the private lives of lions, avoided riots in
Venezuela, hiked the Andes, camped with Pademelons, walked with penguins
and canoed Ontario’s northern lakes.
Geoff Carpentier
Testimonials
about the Book:
I have gone over the
book a little at a time, trying to come up with SOMETHING to suggest, but
it's all so well done that I couldn't find things to complain about! This
book is going to be so valuable for people contemplating a trip south, and
there's a perfect niche for it, since people inevitably have a huge number
of questions in mind and can't find the answers easily. It is a pleasure
to recommend this book to travellers.
Kenn Kaufman, author of the
“Kaufman Field Guide to Birds of North America”
My wife Angie and I were
fortunate to sail with Geoff to Antarctica. Geoff is not only a wonderful
teacher but has taken this gift and applied it to his book, cramming it
with useful information. It is the kind of book that you will wish you had
read before setting out on your travels and it will certainly prove a mine
of information when you have long forgotten what you learned on board the
ship.
Jonathan
Scott, Wildlife Photographer and Co-host of the BBC series “Big Cat Diary”
There are many books about Antarctic wildlife and how
to identify virtually everything that lives there, visits by cruise
vessels, preparations and planning before the big event occurs, but this
book concentrates on many things others do not, mainly for first-time
visitors. As a veteran traveler and staff member on Antarctic cruises, the
author anticipates the issues that might at first seem perplexing to
anyone planning to visit Antarctica, and covers them in detail. It is a
worthwhile purchase in order to prepare for a visit, as well as to have on
hand while there. Recommended for all first-time travelers, as well as
veterans to read what you have been missing.
John Splettstoesser, Advisor to the
International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO)
I worked with Geoff Carpentier in Antarctica during the
production of my award-winning documentary, The Antarctica Challenge: A
Global Warning. His expertise in penguin study and the changing
environment in Antarctica made for a valuable contribution to my film.
Before you travel to the remotest place on Earth, be sure to read this
book. You’ll be glad you did!
Mark Terry, Producer,
Writer, Director – “The Antarctica Challenge: A Global Warning”
Travelers considering a trip to
the Antarctic invariably have a million questions about what to expect and
how to prepare. Veteran leader, Geoff Carpentier, has heard all the
questions and knows all the answers, and in this volume he gives
you everything you need to know, presented with engaging wit and style. If
you're planning a trip to the Antarctic Continent, or even daydreaming
about going there someday, this book is essential reading!
Kim Kaufmann,
Executive Director, Black Swamp Bird Observatory
The remoteness of
Antarctica and the Southern Ocean has been their salvation, helping to
preserve them as close to true wilderness as anywhere on Earth. But we
cannot forget the fact that, in the not so distant past, man was
responsible for the slaughter of whales and seals here on a massive scale
– millions of animals were killed. Now, as never before, Antarctica
represents a test of our resolve. For the moment, man’s claims of
ownership to Antarctica are on hold. The Antarctic Treaty governs
Antarctica on a voluntary basis: the Protocol on Environmental Protection
imposes a 50-year moratorium on extracting oil and other mining minerals.
But how effective is this piece of paper? At best Antarctica promises man
a chance to do something that he has never done before – commit to the
preservation of a vast wilderness simply because it exists. If we fail, a
priceless heritage will be lost forever.
Jonathan and
Angela Scott - Nairobi, Kenya
Dedication:
To Kim, Tamara,
Scott, Timothy and Leslie
No effort, as great
as that which was expended in producing this book, can be done without
sacrifice and encouragement by others. My wife, Kim, has been by my side
twice to the Antarctic, camped with me on the ice, swam with me in
bone-numbing water, sat with me amongst penguins and shared in so many of
the memories I will now share with you. Throughout the many months it took
to complete this book, her unfailing support, constructive criticism,
thoughtful suggestions and undaunting caring made the book what it is. My
children, Tamara, Scott and Timothy, have lived with my wanderings all
their lives and have accepted that it is something I must do. I know they
understand the compelling reasons I wander, for each in his or her own way
is a wanderer as well. And with your indulgence, I wish also to remember
and honour my “baby sister”, Leslie, who passed away suddenly during the
time I was writing this book.
Foreword:
The writer and poet,
Bruce Chatwin maintained that all human beings retain something of the
nomad, the wanderlust that must have been an essential part of humanity
from the time our early ancestors stepped out of the forests to hunt and
gather in the African savanna. The urge to set out on a journey or to see
what lies over the horizon is as much a part of our being as the affinity
my wife, Angie, and I feel for nature when we travel to places like the
Serengeti or the Masai Mara in East Africa or to our other great love,
Antarctica.
Africa and
Antarctica are poles apart in terms of scenery and wildlife, even though
they were joined together 200 million years ago as part of the
supercontinent Gondwana, which included what is now Australia, India,
Africa, Madagascar, New Zealand, New Guinea, Arabia, Antarctica and South
America. As much as I love Africa’s sunny climate, warm friendly people
and its spectacular wildlife, by the time I first visited Antarctica in
1991, I was ready for a change. By then I needed a new photographic
challenge. So, when I was offered the chance to travel to Antarctica, I
jumped at the opportunity. With a name like Scott, I had always felt a
connection to the icy Southern Continent. Scott of the Antarctic, as
Captain Robert Falcon Scott became known, had failed in his attempt to
reach the South Pole ahead of the Norwegian party led by Roald Amundsen.
Scott reached the Pole on 17 January 1912 then perished with his four
companions on the return journey, an event that sealed the Antarctic’s
reputation as the most inhospitable place on Earth. Antarctica is defined
by the exploits of men such as these. You can feel their presence out on
the ice and you will shudder with respect and admiration at their
achievements and their failures. Their stories have a sense of unreality
to them – rather like the Continent itself. Merely sharing the same name
as that other Scott was good enough for me, even though we are unrelated.
Mention Antarctica
to most people and you can almost hear their teeth start to chatter. It
conjures up images of some kind of hell on Earth, icicles hanging from
beards, fingers numb with cold, a journey blackened by the Antarctic
winter. But the frozen south that Captain Scott struggled so mightily to
conquer wasn’t the Antarctica that fascinated me. I was captivated by the
Antarctic Peninsula, the Continent’s slender tail that reaches north
towards the tip of South America, which in summer attracts penguins and
seals in their millions to its rugged shoreline.
Visitors normally
travel to Antarctica between November and March - the Antarctic summer -
when the ice retreats sufficiently for the seals and sea birds to clamber
ashore and breed. Though it can be cold, particularly when the wind picks
up, there are times when the sky is clear blue and you smother yourself
with factor 50 sun block in an attempt to keep the ultraviolet rays at
bay. Having been born in Africa, Angie feels the cold a lot more than I
do, but it wouldn’t stop her from visiting this magical Continent.
Many people begin
their safari to Antarctica with a visit to the Falkland Islands, offering
glimpses of Magellanic penguins, raucous, burrow-nesting birds that peer
out at you from their burrows in the soft dark earth. Gentoo penguins –
the most northerly of the brush-tailed penguins – breed here too, and
though there is a small colony of spectacular king penguins that nest
among the flocks of sheep on the East Falklands, you will have to visit
the remote and ruggedly beautiful Subantarctic island of South Georgia if
you wish to see king penguins in numbers. South Georgia is the Serengeti
of the southern oceans and biologically part of Antarctica. A visit to St.
Andrew’s Bay or Gold Harbour will leave you speechless – if conditions are
suitable for landing. The island is fringed with grey pebble beaches where
thousands of king penguins and hundreds of gigantic elephant seals crowd
the foreshore, the land rising steeply to reveal snow-capped mountain
peaks as the perfect photographic backdrop. It is also one of the nesting
sites of the most majestic of all sea birds, the wandering albatross that
plies the seas on an eleven-foot wingspan. The massive presence of Sir
Ernest Shackleton – the explorer’s explorer – hovers over the island too.
The legendry Antarctic hero - and Scott’s great rival - lies buried here
and tradition dictates that those who visit his grave at the old whaling
station at Grytviken raise a glass in his honour. The ‘Boss’ would have
approved.
The uncertainty of
what you might or might not see is all part of a journey to Antarctica.
Travel here means expeditionary cruising and there are no givens. An area
does not reveal itself at once; it takes time and patience to savour the
seasonal changes that give character to a landscape. But no two years are
the same: each month brings changes, which is one of the reasons we keep
returning. If you arrive too early then you see penguins building and
repairing nests, but no eggs. Our favourite time for photography is
December and January when the chicks have hatched, little bundles of
fluffy down peeping from beneath their parent’s brood pouch, more
appealing than any children’s toy. Activity is frenetic and the noise of
tens of thousands of birds at a breeding colony is deafening, a strident
cacophony of sound. Yet each voice is different in pitch and tempo,
sufficient to act as a unique signal to help maintain the pair bond
between adults and to allow chicks to distinguish their parents from among
the crowd. Whale watching too is a highlight of any journey to Antarctica.
Whales gather in the Southern Ocean to feed during the summer, migrating
north again as the winter closes in. Some of the best sightings are later
in the season in February and March, when you are virtually guaranteed
good views of humpbacks and if you are lucky you will see orcas (killer
whales) too.
At the height of
summer visitors are out on deck at ten o’clock at night – often later –
the sun arching towards the horizon only to emerge again a few hours
later, bathing the snow and ice in a pinkish glow. The Continent helps to
instill a sense of wide-eyed wonder at our world: inhospitable yet
alluring, bigger and more powerful than man and his inventions. It is not
just the whiteness. The appeal of Antarctica is multifaceted: the
landscape, wildlife and history combine to make a journey there a unique
experience. To visit is like turning the pages of a classic piece of
literature, each day revealing a new layer of awe and complexity.
Antarctica swamps the senses.
Standing up on the
bridge at night, keeping watch with the captain and his crew as the ship
crunches through the pack ice, is a surreal experience for those of us who
spend most of our lives with our feet planted firmly on the ground. A
journey to Antarctica – or to Africa – changes your life. It forces you to
take a long hard look at the state of our planet and its last wild places.
Here in Antarctica, the breathtaking beauty of the landscape, the enormity
of the ocean, the remoteness of the land, the distance travelled in
getting there – and back – are steeped with the ghosts of the early
explorers, all of whom fell under the spell of the White Continent.
So how does one make
sense of somewhere as complex and fascinating as Antarctica? Fortunately,
in my experience the quality of the on-board lecturers is second to none.
As you sail along, geologists and glaciologists explain how Antarctica
came into being, revealing ice in all its varied forms. Marine biologists
discuss the role of the Antarctic Convergence, the point where the cold,
northward-flowing Antarctic surface waters meet and sink beneath the
relatively warmer, southerly flowing waters of the other oceans (if you
stay up long enough you can actually feel the drop in temperature as you
cross the Antarctic Convergence), creating life-giving conditions that
allow the Southern Ocean to provide for huge quantities of birds and other
animals. Birders spend most of their time on deck with the ship’s
ornithologist at hand who will help identify the various species of
albatrosses, petrels and penguins and provide details of the latest
research on their behaviour. Historians, many of whom have spent months
even years in Antarctica, bring an authenticity and authority to their
tales, regaling their audience with archival footage depicting the deeds
of explorers of the heroic age – the burst of epic expeditions and
sledging journeys that took place in the first two decades of the
twentieth century and gave us the names Shackleton, Scott, Amundsen and
Mawson.
Angie and I were
fortunate to sail with Geoff Carpentier on one of our many trips to
Antarctica. I say fortunate because Geoff proved the perfect traveling
companion and mentor – funny, enthusiastic and knowledgeable. I have
always taken a keen interest in birding – I wouldn’t quite call it
ornithology – but have been slightly wary of the darkly obsessive and
mysterious world that some ornithologists inhabit. I need have had no fear
with Geoff to guide me – except for the fear of falling overboard with
laughter, because Geoff is not only a wonderful teacher but he makes it
fun too, and his interests range far beyond the identification of our
feathered friends. Geoff has taken this gift and applied it to his book,
cramming it with an extraordinary amount of information; you can read it
at your leisure, pick it up and put it down without losing the thread of
what the author is so passionate in communicating. It is the kind of book
that you will wish you had read before setting out on your travels and it
will certainly prove a mine of information when you have long forgotten
what you learned on board the ship - and it might just prompt you to pack
your thermal underwear and head south to the ice for the first time.
Table of
Contents:
Dedication – p.vi
Acknowledgements –
p.vii
Artwork and
Photographic Credits – p.ix
Medical and Legal
Disclaimer – p.x
Foreword – p.xi
Introduction – p.1
Chapter 1: Getting
Ready – Before You Go – p.14
Chapter 2: Being
Healthy, Staying Well and Avoiding Injury – p.44
Chapter 3: A Land of
Ice and Snow – p.73
Chapter 4: Behaving
While You’re Down There – p.95
Chapter 5: Penguins,
Seals, Krill and Tussac Grass – p.104
– Whales – p.110
– Dolphins and Porpoises – p.116
– Seals and Sea Lions – p.118
– Land Mammals – p.124
– South Polar Plants – p.126
– Insects, Invertebrates and their Allies –
p.128
– Fish – p.131
– Sea and Land Birds – p.134
Chapter 6: Where To
Go When You’re Down There – p.185
– Islands That Never Were – p.185
– Antarctic Peninsula – p.189
– Falkland Islands – p.242
– South America (Southern Argentina and
Chile) – p.253
– South Georgia – p.259
– South Orkney Islands – p.277
– South Pole – p.280
– South Sandwich Islands – p.281
– South Shetland Islands – p.282
Chapter 7: They
Walked This Land Before Us – p.302
Chapter 8: Getting
There and Coming Home Safely – p.321
Chapter 9: Marine Superstitions – p.327
Index of Scientific
Names Used in the Text – p.348
Author Profile –
p.355
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