Antarctic Birdwatching on the Marina Svetaeva

Further to my last post, the Marina Svetaeva is now going to be joined by another special guest in Antarctica this season - renowned birder Dick Filby.  Having travelled repeatedly to Antarctica over the past 20 years, and founder of the Rare Bird Alert news service, Filby will be on hand to share his experiences and in-depth knowledge of the region's birds, wildlife and conservation. 

During your voyage you may be lucky enough to see chinstrap, Adelie and gentoo penguins; wandering, royal, black-browed, grey-headed and light-mantled sooty albatross; both giant petrels, southern fulmar, cape, snow, soft-plumaged, blue and white-chinned petrels; Antarctic and slender-billed prions; Wilson’s and black-bellied storm petrels; common diving petrel, Antarctic shags and snowy sheathbill; Chilean, brown and South Polar skuas plus Antarctic terns... Just don't forget to pack your binoculars!!

Dick Filby will be joining the following departures:

Classic Antarctica - 27 January 2011
Peninsula, Falklands & South Georgia - 6 February 2011

With plenty of deck-space and a resident photography expert, the Marina Svetaeva is the ideal vessel for wildlife watching - and for those wanting to escape a 'bird-addicted' partner then the ship also offers a massage therapist, sauna and a range of spa treatments - something for everyone...!

Getting Creative in Antarctica

This Antarctic season we are delighted to be joined by watercolour artist David McEown and photographer Daisy Gilardini  on board selected departures on the Marina Svetaeva.

During your Classic Antarctica voyage, David and Daisy will run presentations and workshops to help you make the most of your creative skills.  They will also be on hand during shore landings to offer practical advice with your sketches and photographic queries.

David and Daisy will be joining the following departures:

28 November 2010
08 December 2010
18 December 2010

Prices start from £4744 per person in a twin cabin with shared facilities - but if you book by 15th September you can take advantage of our special offer on the 8th December departure:  pay a set price of just £4,119 per person for the best cabin still available on the ship!

Contact our team for up to date availability and best airfares - limited places available so book now!

Scott Centennial Events

This year sees the launch of a number of events to commemorate Scott’s tragic 1910-1913 Terra Nova expedition for the race for the South Pole, which culminated in the death of Scott and his 4 companions on their return from the Pole. 

Following successful exhibitions at Brantwood House and the Queen’s Galleries earlier this year, the Scott Polar Research Institute Museum has just re-opened boasting a freshly rejuvenated space which tells the story of the polar regions through innovatively designed and lit displays, use of film and still photography and multilayered audio-guides. Here you can see the last letters of Captain R.F. Scott and his companions, the four expedition diaries of Sir Ernest Shackleton, the Antarctic photographs of Herbert Ponting and extensive records, artwork and artefacts from the British search for the Northwest Passage.

The HMS Scott is currently docked in Cardiff B
ay and will re-enact the sailing of the Terra Nova later today, 100 years after the original event.  Exhibitions and events at The National Assembly for Wales, the National Museum of Cardiff and the Dundee Heritage Trust will continue to run throughout June.  This series of nationwide events will lead up to a National Service of Commemoration at St. Paul’s Cathedral in March 2012 and an exhibition at the Natural History Museum in London. A complete list of international centenary events are posted and regularly updated at www.scott100.org 

New Volcano Charter - Your Holiday is Protected

Here at Discover the World we are committed to providing you with the best possible service and understand that the recent air travel disruption may have highlighted some travel concerns. To offer you reassurance in your future travel plans we would like to advise you of our new clear and transparent travel policy.

New Volcano Customer Charter – Applicable to all our Destinations

This comes into effect in the event of any further ash cloud disruption where an airline does not provide this equivalent level of care and assistance.

Flight Cancellations

In the event that it is not possible for your outward flight(s) to operate within 24 hours of the scheduled departure time we will do our best to rearrange your holiday for a later date or if you prefer, receive a full refund of the holiday costs that you have paid to us (excluding any travel insurance premium).

If your scheduled return flight(s) are cancelled and it is necessary for you to remain in your destination and if the airline does not make these arrangements for you, then we will provide you with accommodation and meals until such time that we or the airline can make alternative travel arrangements. This may include returning you to an alternative UK airport via an alternative route, in order to repatriate you to your original UK departure airport.

Holiday Alterations / Rerouting

If you are on holiday and it becomes necessary to alter or reroute any of our holiday itineraries then we will make these arrangements for you at no additional cost. 

To read our complete new Volcano Customer Charter and conditions please click here.

Please contact our specialist team if you require any further advice.

Icy Artworks!

If taking photos isn’t your thing, an original artwork is a great way to bring a bit of the ice home as a constant reminder of your trip of a lifetime – and makes a great talking point in your living room!  There are a number of excellent artists out there who are experts in capturing the unique light of the ice and the quirks of the creatures that inhabit the harsh polar landscapes.

David McEown, for example, is a graduate of the Ontario College of Art and Design and is a director of the prestigious Canadian Society of Painters in Water Colour.  David has travelled to both the Arctic and Antarctica, teaching the basic techniques of watercolour painting and creating his own inspiring pictures – his blog is a great record of his adventures.

Talented American Linda Besse travels the globe painting wildlife as she goes, and I was lucky enough to travel with her to the Antarctic Peninsula and gain an insight into how she works.  You can choose from the oil paintings of penguins that resulted from our voyage, or a range of Arctic paintings featuring life-like polar bears, caribou and moose.

Another favourite of mine is Kiwi Grahame Sydney, who has created a vast collection of paintings of New Zealand’s South Island.   In addition to this he has twice been a guest of Antarctica New Zealand, spending time at Scott Base where he found the freezing temperatures forced him to abandon his preferred mediums of pencil and watercolours in favour of photography. His aim was to retain his own unique style in a medium that is easily accessible by all, capturing a minimalist view of the frozen landscapes here.The resulting images are gathered in Sydney's book, 'White Silence'   

“Art is experience distilled through the personality, and in the remarkable, sterile and subtle world of the Ice I found mirrored a great deal of myself." - Grahame Sydney

And if your budget won’t allow an original artwork then maybe these guys will inspire you to create a masterpiece of your own...?!

Capturing the Memory...

When I first started travelling, many moons ago, it was all about trying not to lose countless rolls of used film and then spending a fortune on developing photos and buying fancy albums to store them in... As a keen photographer and a complete technophobe, I had my doubts when digital photography arrived - but I was won over when I borrowed a friend’s excellent digital SLR for my Antarctic adventure. 

I have since invested in my own digital cameras and love the ability to be able to take endless experimental shots, most of which can be deleted at no expense and occasionally some of which are surprisingly successful!  But the downside is – how to display these great images?  Storing them online is all well and good, but you can’t beat flicking through an album.  But it can get pricey to process so many images as prints... 

So the answer? – well, the latest craze sweeping the DTW offices is the wonderful world of Photobox .  This excellent website allows you to select your favourite photos and create your very own coffee-table style book.  The end result looks incredibly professional, is a great alternative to more traditional albums and is just as cost-effective.  You can choose from a variety of sizes and styles for your book, can add captions, select your page lay-outs and create your very own masterpiece.  Photobooks make great gifts and great souvenirs, the ideal way to record your memories so that you can re-live your adventures time and again…

Images of Antarctica

You may be sick of the snow after the past few weeks but there’s something far more appealing about the pristine white landscapes of Antarctica, than the grey slushy nightmare that is trying to commute in 2 inches of snow in the UK!

For a fresh view on the icy splendours of the far south why not visit the University Gallery in Colchester, Essex, to see Chris Dobrowolski’s exhibition of contemporary artwork, investigating the myth of the heroic explorer.  Dobrowolski spent the last Antarctic season based at Rothera Station in Antarctica as the British Antarctic Survey’s Artist in Residence.   The exhibition runs from 26th February to 27th March, admission free.

Alternatively, explore the first-hand perspective of those early ‘heroic explorers’.  The Guildford House Gallery in Surrey is hosting an exhibition of photographs taken during Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s fatal attempt to reach the South Pole 1910-13.  Captured by Herbert Ponting, ‘camera-artist’ on the expedition, the images reflect all aspects of the expedition, from the spectacular landscapes to the trip preparations and scientific research  carried out during their epic adventure. Comment from modern polar explorers, scientists and relatives of Scott’s original team accompany the photographs.  ‘With Scott to the Pole’ is running until  28th February, admission free.

For those of you in Edinburgh ‘The Heart of the Great Alone’ exhibition at the Queens Gallery, Palace of Holyrood House also features photograph’s by Ponting from the same Terra Nova expedition 100 years ago, as well as a range of dramatic images taken by Frank Hurley during Sir Ernest Shackleton’s memorable expedition on the Endurance in 1914-16.  This expedition saw Shackleton lead his men to safety after losing their ship to the ice, one of the most incredible stories of survival against all odds.  The exhibition is running until 11th April, tickets from £5.50.

If you’d prefer to create your own memorable images then it’s time to start planning your own expedition – we still have spaces available for the last few remaining departures this Antarctic season!   Please contact our team of experts for the most up to date availability and special offers.

100 Year Old Whisky Found in Antarctica!

A century after it was stashed away, Sir Ernest Shackleton’s whisky supply has been uncovered in Antarctica!   The NZ Antarctic Heritage Trust have been carrying out restoration work on Shackleton’s Hut and have uncovered 5 crates of Scotch whisky and brandy. Restoration workers originally found the crates under the hut's floorboards in 2006, but they were too deeply embedded in ice to be removed.  Now they may be able to try and retrieve some of the bottles, although the rest must stay under conservation guidelines agreed to under the Antarctic Treaty. 

The crates were buried beneath Shackleton's Antarctic hut in 1908, for his expedition to the South Pole   The expedition ran short of supplies on their long trek to the Pole from Cape Royds and they eventually had to turn back about 100 miles short of their goal. Shackleton's expedition sailed from Cape Royds hurriedly in 1909 as winter ice began forming in the sea, forcing them to leave some equipment and supplies, including the whisky, behind. However, no lives were lost.

Richard Paterson, whose firm supplied the Mackinlay's whisky for Shackleton, said: "If the contents can be confirmed, safely extracted and analysed, the original blend may be able to be replicated. Given the original recipe no longer exists this may open a door into history."

'End of an Era' voyages selling fast - book your cabin now!

As the renowned ice-breaker Kapitan Khlebnikov commences her final voyages, places are already fast becoming limited. This fantastic collection of polar itineraries offer your last chance to sail on this unique vessel. 

The Kapitan Khlebnikov, the world’s most legendary polar expedition vessel will retire from passenger service in March 2012.   To mark the occasion and signify the 'End of an Era' of extraordinary expedition cruising, a collection of new and remarkable itineraries has been created in both the Arctic and Antarctic for the 2011/12 seasons. 

Our last ever Epic Antarctica voyage is now already fully booked, but you can view the remaining 'End of an Era' voyage options here.

 

Fire and Ice: Volcanoes in Antarctica

As we wait to see if Hekla will blow her top in Iceland any day now, you might be interested to read the tale of a volcanic eruption from the other end of the earth...

Alexandra Pratt's 'The Day the Island Exploded' is the story of a young man's survival whilst working for the British Antarctic Survey in 1967.  The young man in question is Graham Seear, Pratt's father-in-law, who was based at Deception Island in the South Shetlands when the island began to erupt.

To come face to face with an active volcano exuding poisonous gases, black ash falling like snow and ominous rumbling noises would be enough to get the adrenalin pumping in any situation; to encounter such a threat whilst trapped on a small island surrounded by the Southern Ocean, 2000km from the rest of the world, must have been terrifying.  Fortunately Seear lived to share his adventures, and although the resulting book is aimed at children, it's still very informative and contains some fascinating photographs of the event.

For those of you who have travelled to, or are planning to travel to, the Antarctic Peninsula, you will be familiar with Deception Island as one of the popular landing sites for most Peninsula voyages.  It is one of the only places in the world where ships can sail right into a restless volcanic caldera, and its geothermal activity is in evidence from the moment you set foot on its steaming beaches.  At least the penguins keep their feet warm here!