Travelling in Antarctica - the Australian Antarctic Territory
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| Lake Fryxell, Antarctica |
Due to its proximity to the great Antarctic continent and its strong shipping infrastructure, Australia has long been a jumping off point for Antarctic explorers, scientists and lately, travellers. Roald Amundsen used Hobart, in Tasmania as his base for the first successful trek to the South Pole in 1911 and since then numerous Australian scientific expeditions have visited the continent, leading to the establishment of the Australian Antarctic Territory in 1933 and the permanent Mawson Station scientific base in 1954.
The Australian Antarctic Territory accounts for around 6,000,000 km² of Antarctic land (almost as big as Australia itself and about 12 times the size of France) but Australia's actual tenure over the continent is more of a goodwill thing than a serious political boundary, as the The Antarctic Treaty of 1961 effectively suspended all territorial claims.
Travel to Antarctica is generally restricted to organised scientific expeditions sponsored by signatories to the Antarctic Treaty and permanent bases are maintained in Antarctic for scientific purposes only. There are no tourist facilities (so you can't turn up at the information office and ask for a room for the winter) and private expeditions must be totally self-supporting. If you have your own plane and enough fuel can can fly over Antarctica, but landing is pretty much out of the question because of the various treaties and environmental concerns.
The only real way to see Antarctica is to become a scientist (involves a PhD and years of training) or take an organised tour (involves a large and healthy wallet).
Antarctica Tours
Most tours are on specialised sailing ships which operate from the south coast of Argentina. You generally need to get yourself to Argentina first and then the cruise will take you from there. It's not cheap either, most cruises will cost you at least US$10,000, however, that generally does include all food and accommodation.
A number of Australian companies run tours to Antarctica, including:
- Aurora Expeditions - offers expeditions to numerous parts of Antarctica on specialised cruise ships sailing out of Argentina. Prices start at around US$12,000
- Captain's Choice - Do limited trips to Antarctica each year, lasting a few weeks - prices start at around $11,000 per person, twin share.
- Croydon Travel - offers scenic flights over Antarctica in partnership with Qantas. Flights start at $899 if you want to sit in the centre of the plane, but for a decent view you need to pay at least $2199 for an economy seat at the back of the plane (clear of the wing) which is rotated halfway
- Peregrine Tours - Luxury cruises to Antarctica, sailing from Argentina
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