#701 Paradise Harbor and Brown Station, Antarctica

Early 1900s whalers were so impressed with this stunning harbor that they called it Paradise, and with its amazing icebergs, beautiful reflections of the mountains and ice, glaciers calving into the water, gentoo penguin colony, shag nests in the cliffs, and many different seals on icebergs and rocks, it is an apt name. A large inlet of Andvord Bay, Paradise Harbor (a.k.a. Paradise Bay) is protected by the arc of Lemaire, Cramer and Bryde Islands (see a post on the Lemaire Channel here)

For intermittent periods from 1951 Argentina maintains a base here (Brown Station, formerly known as Almirante Brown) for meteorological and biology studies and campaigns to the interior, and had a very impressive scientific lab setup, but fed-up personnel supposedly started a fire in one of the buildings in 1984 so that they would have to be evacuated. An 8-person summer-only base (similar in nature to Port Lockroy) is used sporadically now, but the main creatures living on the site now are a colony of Gentoo penguins who live amongst the buildings. Over 100 different scientific studies were conducted by the Argentine Antarctic Institute in the areas of "biology, zoology, botany, biochemistry, animal and human physiology, pathology, bacteriology, weather, aurorae, environmental nuclear radiation, glaciology, oceanography, and ecology".  Chile's Gonzalez Videla Base is also on the same harbor.

The view from the hill (84m) behind the station is spectacular. A broken memorial stone commemorates Jostein Helgestad who died in 1993 on a private expedition to the South Pole when his snowmobile went into a crevasse.

Blue-eyed shags and other sea birds love the red-tinted copper-rich cliffs around Brown Station

Source: Lonely Planet Antarctica 5th Edition 2012
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brown_Station

#845 Port Lockroy, Antarctica

Seal Brains recipe for those living in Antarctica.

One of the coolest museums I've ever been to was extraordinary not because of what was in it, but where it was -- it was in Antarctica! With the cans of food, girly posters on the walls, the old wooden stove, and the recipe book open to 'Seal Brains on Toast' it was intended to be a glimpse of the past when the station was manned permanently (now it has 4 volunteers living there for the summer season only). It has a copy of the sleds used to cross to the South Pole out in front and even a gift shop and post office. The volunteers do not leave the island and have no boats (I want that job!) and the house was painstakingly restored to represent life as it was. 

Using for whaling in the early part of the 20th century, a whale skeleton's ribs dot the landscape of a nearby island. It was a British base through World War II and remained as a research station until 1962, even enjoying visits from the royal family. It lies on tiny Goudier Island, near Wiencke Island in the Palmer Archipeligo north of the Antarctic circle near the Antarctic Peninsula. One of the most amazing things in the museum that I remember seeing was the story of a tsunami that hit, when the residents went onto the roof after the bay was sucked dry! Can you imagine being in a place like that when there's an event like that!

The best thing of all, though, was the penguins that have made the island their territory and their little pathways and constant noise and smell meant it was truly a home. 

 

Because they are a charity supported by the British Antarctic Trust perhaps you would like to donate here.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Port_Lockroy
http://www.antarctica.ac.uk/living_and_working/virtual/travel/lockroy.php

#882 Lemaire Channel, Antarctica

While it may appear to be a very large channel, in bad weather its possible to have to navigate the small (1,600m wide at its narrowest), iceberg-filled area in fog and clouds so low you can't see either side -- if you can pass through at all due to the ice. Nicknamed by visitors as 'Kodak Gap', it is a spectacular, narrow passage between the Antarctic Kiev Peninsula and Booth Island. It was named by De Gerlache for a fellow Belgian explorer (of the Congo!), the first to traverse it 1898. Such high cliffs (3000m) on either side make for spectacular scenery, making a large ship appear nothing more than a toy.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lemaire_Channel
http://www.antarcticconnection.com/antarctic/travel/locations/lemaire_channel.shtml

#892 Deception Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica

Called Deception Island by the whalers that had their base there because they said you could see it from the outside, and not know there was a massive hole and bay on the inside. They also called it deceptive because even when you in there was a bay, you'd think it would be sheltered but the wind rustling through meant that it wasn't actually as warm and safe as it appeared. The opening ¨Nelson´s Bellows¨ is around 200m wide with a large rock in the middle just below the surface, making it a dangerous entrance (the wrecks on the beach are testament to this!), and it is an active volcano, with its 1967 eruption covering much of a British base still there. A tractor was buried in the sand, the graves are well-buried, and the remains of the whaling colony and later settlements were covered with lahar. Argentina and Chile maintain a presence here, as do the penguins.

While you a no longer allowed to dig yourself a hole in the warm sulfur filtered beaches, you can still take a polar plunge there and feel moderately warmer than you might elsewhere! Chinstrap and gentoo penguins may stop on the beach while you look at the remains of the whale bones, wooden oil barrels, and metal bone boilers, and a run down barracks. The airplane hanger remains (it was the location of the first flight in Antartica), though you'll be hard pressed to find the runway, roughly sketched out on a rise as it was. Fascinating stories, and an amazing place!

 

#993 Antarctica

What could be more amazing than an entire massive continent with volcanoes, mountains, minerals, ice, animals and sheer bulk that belongs to no single person, but to everyone in the world held in trust for future generations to enjoy and savor? There are no permanent residents, and 1959's Antarctic Treaty was truly a revolutionary concept of world powers actually sharing and protecting the environment! Military action and mining is prohibited -- what bliss!

With amazing superlatives like coldest, driest, windiest, and highest average elevation, and first confirmed sighting only as recent as 1820, it's isolation, cold temperatures, and inaccessibility will continue to preserve it and to challenge explorers in the future.

In recent decades it has become more possible for the average person to visit in private icebreaker boat tours leaving from Argentina and Chile, although, of course, significant savings are required!

Spectacular!

Oh, did I mention the amazing animals? Seals, penguins, whales, algae, birds, etc, etc!

Sorry, no pictures -- it's on my to do list, and I've booked a cruise for December 2012, so will update this when I do!

UPDATE: Here are some Antarctica posts: Deception Island (#892), Lemaire Channel (#882) Port Lockroy (#845)

Information source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antarctica