ANTARCTICA
Antarctica - Luxury Travel Magazine
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Baby, It’s Cold Outside… | |||||
| By: Jenny Caspersonn, Issue 43 – Winter 2010 | |||||
| (Nature – Antarctica) | |||||
| FLY OVER ONE OF THE WORLD LAST UNTOUCHED FRONTIERS AND DISCOVER THE NATURAL WONDERS OF ANTARCTICA. | |||||
| There’s an orderly shuffle towards the Qantas check-in counter at Sydney International Airport. The hour is early but not rudely so. It’s a little over 60 minutes before the scheduled 8am departure but, happily, there’s no luggage to check in. No passports are required but sunglasses are recommended. This is an unusual check-in process for an unusual destination. It seems slightly incongruous that on a warm Sydney summer morning this convivial crowd is heading for one of the coldest places on earth. The continent of Antarctica is also described as the world’s driest, windiest and most isolated, where temperatures dive below 80 degrees Celsius and winds reach more than 300 kilometres an hour. Excited passengers mill about the cabin of the chartered Qantas Airbus A380. The usual in-flight entertainment is available and breakfast is served as the flight heads south over Tasmania and onward to the South Magnetic Pole. Images from the plane’s tail-mounted camera provide a bird’s eye view of proceedings. Within four hours the first scattered jigsaw of sea ice is visible. Over the next three hours this extraordinarily beautiful, inhospitable expanse of icebergs, blue white glaciers, vast mountain ranges and rugged rock ridges is revealed in all its windswept, icy brilliance. On-board expert glaciologist Ian Allison, a world recognized authority on Antarctica, educates and entertains the passengers with his encyclopedic knowledge of the polar environment and its history. Sightings include the French base at Dumont d’Urville, Commonwealth Bay (location of Mawson’s Hut) and Capes Hudson, Washington and Adare, Mt Minto, the Ross Sea and the Mertz Glacier, although the flight plan can vary depending on meteorological conditions and weather advice from the Australian and American Antarctic bases. The plane flies at 2,000 feet or 615 metres above the highest ground and loops through figures of eight to ensure optimal viewing from both sides of the aircraft. In February, when the sea ice is at its minimum, the Antarctic continent shrinks to around 13 million square kilometres, which is still twice the size of Australia. The flights are scheduled in the southern summer months when almost continuous daylight ensures Antarctic viewing is at its best. The next flight is open for New Year’s Eve 2010. Passengers can choose between eight seating classes available on the Airbus A380. Prices range from AUD$999 for Economy Class Centre seats to AUD$7,299 for First Class. An equitable rotation arrangement for window viewing occurs so that everyone has ample time for photography and sightseeing. Covering 10,160 kilometres return from Sydney it’s around 12 hours in the air - almost as long as flying from Sydney to Los Angeles – so the experience may not suit those who do not enjoy flying. But for the adventurous, curious or as a gift for someone who has everything, it’s unforgettable. | |||||
| Details: | |||||
| For bookings or further information contact Antarctica Sightseeing Flights. | |||||
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