South Pole & Emperor Penguins

South Pole & Emperor Penguins

This is an exceptional experience for travellers with an appreciation for geography, history, wildlife and remote wilderness.

This seven day adventure will take you from cosmopolitan Cape Town to the southern most point on earth. Included is a flight across ice shelves and sea ice to the Astrid Emperor Penguin Colony on the edge of the Nivl Ice Shelf.

We will depart Cape Town on a five and a half hour flight to Novo Airstrip in Queen Maud Land. From Novo Airstrip we will transfer by Arctic Truck to our very comfortable lodgings at Oasis Camp.

Our flight to the South Pole is in a Basler turbo prop (a modified DC-3). On route we will stop at FD83 to refuel and give the pilots a rest before flying on to the geographic south pole where Roald Amundsen first set foot on 14 December 1911.

A Twin Otter will fly us to the Astrid Emperor Penguin colony. The flight affords magnificent views of the Schirmacher Oasis, the Lazarev Ice Shelf and icebergs trapped in the tapestry of sea ice below. Our pilots will set us down on the Nivl Ice Shelf for the short walk to the colony where we will have the enormous privilege of observing these majestic birds at close quarters.

Our accommodation is the recently refurbished and very comfortable Oasis Guesthouse, a short drive from Novo Airstrip. Here we will enjoy delicious meals and warm lodgings. There are also some fantastic ice features to visit close to Oasis Camp including an ice tunnel in the Lazarev Ice Shelf and an ice wall some 45 minutes drive from camp.