A Trip to the End of the World: Exploring Antarctica

[Matthew] We've landed in a landscape virtually unchanged

since the Ice Age.

A plateau of thick, crunchy snow

flanked by 30 meter high white cliffs

dancing with vivid blue veins at the edge of the inky ocean.

Immediately, a line of emperor penguins breaks away

from their distant colony.

They're snaking their way

directly towards us to investigate.

It is very unlikely that these birds

have ever seen a human before,

but their curiosity is somewhat relentless.

I'm Matthew Buck, and I'm in Antarctica.

About as far out of reach as it gets.

[gentle dramatic music]

After a five and a half hour flight from Cape Town

in an adapted cargo plane,

we land on a three kilometer long ice runway

where we quickly change into our polar gear.

It is already minus 10.

We drove across the brightest white landscapes

that meet on the far horizon, the bluest of blue skies.

25 minutes later, we arrive at the Ultimate Oasis camp.

The camp consists of four buildings,

and our building is called Storm Petrel,

named after the bird we will see glimpses of

flying over the camp.

The sun doesn't set here at this time of the year.

It just dips into a semi twilight from 9:00 PM to midnight,

changing the landscape from blue and white

to pale pink, lavender, and orange.

Four layers on and everything but my eyes are covered.

We hike to the clifftops revealing a breathtaking view

of the frozen sea.

It is 75 kilometers to the closest moving water from here.

This feels like we are on a completely different planet.

Our host greets us with an icebreaker, a Paloma,

possibly the best one I've ever been served.

We ate perfectly barbecued filet of beef,

roast carrots with sesame seeds,

and all paired with some truly excellent

South African wines.

Three courses every night and a different menu each day.

Today's starter is tempura sardines

with a beautiful lemon aioli,

as well as a beetroot and avocado mousse.

[Matthew] I did not expect the food in Antarctica

to be this excellent.

Our guide Ethan is taking us to the ice cave today.

It's a high cave of ice fields, rock stream landscapes,

and quite a climb down a cliff

to reach the edge of the frozen sea.

We arrive at the mouth of the ice cave.

As we make our way through, the color changes.

We start at white and hit every imaginable shade of blue.

[Ethan] These ice tunnels are formed by melt water

flowing through them, and are not static features.

They're dynamic, they change year to year.

We can walk in and out and kind of get lost

in this really magical landscape.

[Matthew] As we rush it forward,

the passage narrows considerably

and my dormant claustrophobia awakens.

So I return to the white light at the mouth of the cave.

Here I'm greeted by five Adelie penguins.

The rules here are to always keep a minimum of five meters

away from the birds.

They were not, however, making it easy.

This feels wildly surreal.

I'm drinking in everything again and again,

and I realize how rare this opportunity is.

Upon our return,

I head to the traditional Russian banya at the camp

replete with dried eucalyptus branches and a schvitz hat.

Later in the year, the frozen lake right outside

will thaw just enough for guests to take an ice cold plunge.

Fortunately, I am too early.