Antarctica was a magical experience. I never saw such astonishing landscapes before and so much marine life. I can never be thankful enough to Oceanwide expedition, silvertip expedition and diving management, Kelvin Murray and Erin McFadden for making this experience happen and realising one of my biggest dreams.

The journey began in Ushuaia in Argentina, commonly regarded as the southernmost city in the world. Ushuaia is the key access point to Antarctica peninsula and it is where our ship, the MV Plancius, was waiting for us. The MV Plancius is one of the 4 boats owned by Oceanwide expedition. It is a large and comfortable boat. I particularly liked the spacious observation lounge with large windows, giving excellent opportunities to enjoy the scenery and wildlife.

The atmosphere on board was very interesting with passengers coming from all over the world from 20 to 78 years old! We were all different but  connected by the same enthusiasm for exploring Antarctica. Students from St Andrews University, Scotland, were also on board in order to complete one of their modules in marine mammals science. They were sampling sea water, recording underwater sounds and doing  a birds and mammals survey. It was a very nice opportunity for us to assist and attend additional lectures to listen to the whales we just saw!

Each morning started with a nice and early wake up call from our expedition team leader Kelvin Murray. After which all the boat happily woke up to enjoy the daily activities as kayaking, walking or diving. The expedition would not have been as nice without the fantastic crew and the polar passionate expedition team.

I was part of the divers group and had the chance to dive twice a day, each time in a different spot. One of the dive site, below the polar circle was actually a true exploration dive! Unknown dive site are the most exciting ones!

The water was -1 degree celcius in average. I was diving dry with a Fourth Element Xerotherm thermal base layer and a Halo 3D as an under suit that actually keep me really warm. Only my hands were a limiting factor as they would froze quite quickly.

I truly loved polar diving. I enjoyed each dive but I must admit I have one I will particularly remember. The sun was shining and we were planning to dive around a shallow iceberg near to Peterman Island. As soon as we reached the bottom we rolled into 3 crabeater seals playing. As we continued the dive along the beautiful iceberg’s shapes, we also had our first leopard seal sighting! Quite an unforgettable dive. Diving around an iceberg is a funny experience. You can  hear the ice melting and cracking. Also, as it is made of freshwater the salinity around it drop so… same as your buoyancy! We needed to be careful to not sink as a rock while approaching the iceberg. 

 

But Antarctica diving is not only about ice. We had the chance to dive a Norwegian wreck, the Gouvernøren which is fully covered with colourful life! During our expedition we also had the chance to meet penguins,  giant isopods, star fish, fur seals, whale bones… Polar diving is a way more colourful and interesting that I had expected.

 

After diving we landed to see the landscape and the wildlife on the different islands. We had a walk on Deception Island which  is still classed as an active volcano with its most recent eruption taking place in 1970. We  visited the Ukrainain research station Vernasky and saw hundreds of penguins and fur seal sat Mikkelsen Harbour.

Along the cruise we had the opportunity to see many cetaceans: humpback whales, fine whale, pilot whales, peal dolphins and hourglass dolphins. The most spectacular sighting happened on the last day where we saw a pod of orca hunting a huge lion seal around the boat! I was so impressed how fast those big animals were able to disappear to reappear at the other side of the boat. They are truly made to hunt and don’t look as friendly as I had imagined.  

Of course, the cruise was great to spot a variety of birds as well. We spotted different species of petrel, albatross, skua, gull and tern. 

Antarctica is definitively a magical destination and this trip will remain in my memory forever.