How I Travel

Chasing a goal of visiting all seven continents, Christine and Tim Worms embarked on a cruise to Antarctica with Jacada, following in the footsteps of famous explorers Shackleton and Scott. Terri Dunbar-Curran spoke to them about their adventures on the white continent.

You’ve visited some quite diverse destinations. What is it you love most about travel?

We love experiencing different cultures, expanding our horizons, and widening our perspective and our view of the world. Trying new foods, meeting new people, learning about history and standing at the sites of famous events all give us a thrill. Adventures, such as hiking in Patagonia, visiting remote areas of the world like Antarctica, and seeing wildlife up close in their natural habitat on safari are awe-inspiring experiences. You read about a place and dream about seeing it in person one day. Travelling allows you to experience that wonder firsthand.

Our Jacada trips have been the perfect combination of adventure, unique experiences and being pampered.

What drew you to Antarctica?

We hadn’t always had our eye on Antarctica specifically, but we set a goal to visit each of the seven continents. This trip allowed Christine to achieve that goal along with seeing loads and loads of penguins, whales and seals. It felt like a huge adventure to travel somewhere so remote that most people will never experience. Antarctica is one of the few places on earth that is largely untouched and unspoiled by large numbers of tourists.

We felt like we were following in the footsteps of famous explorers like Sir Ernest Shackleton and Robert Falcon Scott. As a matter of fact, we were lucky to have the grandson of Robert Falcon Scott (aptly named Falcon Scott) as a crew member on our cruise ship.

Tell us about some of the highlights of your trip.

One of the reasons we have travelled again and again with Jacada is that they always do such a great job of tailoring each trip to both of our interests and catering to our sense of adventure. Their attention to detail helps create opportunities on our trips that we hadn’t even considered.

One example was being a part of the kayak team on our ship. A limited number of guests on the cruise were able to explore via kayak rather than in a zodiac. We were blessed that the weather and water conditions allowed us to kayak almost every day. On our very first trip a curious minke whale circled and rolled around our group for about 15 minutes. We hadn’t even taken one stroke with our paddles and we were up close and personal with the wildlife.

Another amazing experience was the opportunity to camp overnight on the Antarctic ice. We were responsible for choosing our campsite within a designated area and avoiding the local residents, the seals. We pitched our tent and settled in for a night which turned out to be surprisingly cosy (seriously).

The Penguin Post Office in Port Lockroy was another highlight. You can send postcards from here to anywhere in the world. Everywhere you turned there was another penguin or penguin chick. We are pen pals with two children from a family we befriended in France so we took the opportunity to post letters to them from this unique location.

Finally, there were amazing moments while simply sailing on the ship. Weather and ice conditions were in our favour and our ship was able to cross the Antarctic Circle. At one point we were the southernmost ship in the entire world! We were also able to watch in awe as our captain navigated the Gullet – a narrow, ice-choked channel surrounded by steep, snow-covered cliffs. The scenery was simply spectacular.

Was there anything that really surprised you during the trip?

Considering how remote Antarctica is, we were amazed by how it was teeming with life – albatross and other sea birds, krill, penguins, whales, seals, algae. It was amazing. We surprised ourselves by making a last-minute decision to participate in the Polar Plunge. Neither of us thought we were interested in tying a rope around our waist and jumping into the cold Antarctic waters, but how could we pass up this once-in-a-lifetime, crazy opportunity?

At the conclusion of our trip, as we headed back to Ushuaia, we discovered just how rough the Drake Passage could be! The crew warned us that we would experience the “Drake Shake” with winds at 50 knots. People actually rolled out of their beds in the middle of the night. From our perspective, it simply added to the adventure of the trip.

How do you tackle the unexpected when you’re travelling?

We have enough trips under our belts to know there will be hiccups, challenges and cancellations. As frustrating as these events may be, we have learned to zig and zag and look at these moments as an additional part of the adventure. Good communication with Jacada and their local travel partners has resulted in excellent alternate options when these uncommon bumps on the road have occurred. We have grown as travellers and we both have learned to better “go with the flow”.

How did it feel experiencing a part of the world that many people don’t get to see?

We felt so fortunate that we were able to take this trip of a lifetime while we are still active enough to take advantage of all of the opportunities, activities and adventures.

Our advice to anyone following in our footsteps is to plan ahead, as some activities have very limited capacity. Don’t be afraid to try something new and out of your comfort zone like jumping into the frigid Antarctic waters, speaking with the locals and asking questions about their culture, or trying new food. Every new thing you try is an opportunity for personal growth. We have always loved to travel and it has been a priority in our lives. The memories are priceless.

Are there any other destinations you’d like to check off your list?

Yes! Tim still needs to travel to Asia to fulfill his goal of travelling on all seven continents. Christine has visited Asia predominantly for work and is hungry to explore more of the locales and culture in this part of the world. Asia will be our next amazing odyssey and we continue to add new places to our list.

All aboard

Head off on your own epic exploration of Antarctica on one of our favourite cruises.

Sylivia Earle

The super-modern Sylivia Earle offers a luxury journey with sustainability at the forefront. The ship is named after highly accomplished marine biologist, oceanographer and explorer Dr Sylvia Earle, known for her long-standing conservation efforts for marine protected areas and ocean wildlife. Purpose-built for undertaking expeditions to some of the most remote places on Earth, the vessel boasts 70 comfortable cabins and numerous observation decks from where you can marvel at the icy scenery.

Magellan Explorer

Antarctica 21’s Magellan Explorer is a stylish Antarctic expedition vessel that welcomes 73 passengers in 38 cabins. Elegant modern interiors are the work of a renowned interior design studio based in Santiago, with the forward-facing observation deck leading to the bow a great place to spot marine wildlife. The ship also has a fleet of ten Zodiac boats, well suited for disembarking and wildlife watching in small guided groups.