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PostHeaderIcon 7,000 Feet of Ice

Should you go out and travel, do you want a place that is as pure as it was back in the day? Some tourists are going to the end of the earth to find it, and to satisfy the highest goal of tourism a visit to a place where no other tourists have ever been. At the south end of the world lies Antarctica where New Zealand and South America sightseers plan to meet up.

For this continent found in 1820, the only visitors since then have been explorers, sealers, and scientists. An ice blanket running at about 7,000 feet prevent as much traveling as possible even in a place the size of the United States and Mexico combined. With ships strengthened to deal with the impact from ice, they sail through the stormiest seas to get there. Seldom does the temperature go above freezing and there are also 24 hours of sunlight every day.

Being the first visitors on the south of the Antarctic Circle and 2,000 miles south of and New Zealand in the Mcmurdo Sound area were the 14 men and 12 women. A long time ago was when British explorers settled here and faced unthinkable hardships and death and this now is the location of a US Navy facility which has 800 sailors and scientists. Consider summer in the south, it will definitely make it the winter in the Northern Hemisphere.

With the exception of two airline stewardesses who landed here briefly in 1957, no women have ever set foot in this part of the world. However, there were no celebrations from the Navymen at McMurdo Station when the women arrived on the continent. Actually, the sailors did not appreciate having this affect what they could boast about back home which was not needing to look at women.

Those from McMurdo are not as eager to see the arrival of tourist ships in January and February. From the sailors, civilian technicians, and the scientists come the point of view that they were the ones chosen to perform special assignments here. Everything from the romance to the edge of Antarctica may be lost to tourists. Everything from warm pants, mittens, a red parka, and kodachrome will come from the travel service but additional services include laundry, seasick pills, tips, and drinks.

Since 1955, Antarctica has been continuously occupied by American scientists and US Navy personnel who support their research. Nine scientific stations are also located here and on adjacent islands and they are maintained by other nations. For the Navy, what will the tourists do? They have no jurisdiction over the people that come here, says the commander of naval forces in Antarctica, for no territorial claim is present. This does not mean that they have no control too when it comes to their stations.

Restricted from entry are those who are not self supporting. No problem like this is match for a well quipped ship. Securing those on board means following some safety precautions. The tourist agency has provided us with a copy of their operational plan and I am satisfied that they meet the test of safety.

There are a lot of things to see and do here including the first nuclear power reactor in Antarctica and visitors can attend services at the Chapel of the Snows, visit the ship’s store, post exchange, or have a few drinks at the enlisted clubs. Other than hikers, the group also comes with bird watchers and conservationists, and so the possible activities they may be engaging in include searching for penguin rookeries and places where seals, skua gulls, and killer whales stay in not to mention exploring several of the huts left by early explorers.

Visit this site for further information on arctic holidays. Here is further info on artic cruises.

Article Source: 7,000 Feet of Ice

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