If you had a free round-trip ticket to anywhere where would you go?
If I had a free round-trip ticket to anywhere in the world, I think I’d return to Antarctica.
We’ve been fortunate to visit some extraordinary places, but Antarctica was probably our best holiday. It was a profoundly moving experience. Profound because of the sheer scale and beauty of the landscape. Moving because of the impact that climate change and human activity is having on the natural world.
Some places stay with you long after you’ve left them. Antarctica is one of those places.
This time I’d love to visit the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and Elephant Island, roughly retracing part of Sir Ernest Shackleton’s extraordinary journey in 1916.
After his ship, the Endurance, was crushed by Antarctic ice, Shackleton and his crew eventually reached Elephant Island. Knowing that rescue was unlikely, Shackleton and five companions set off in the James Caird, a seven-metre lifeboat, sailing 1,300 kilometres across some of the world’s most dangerous seas to South Georgia.
After crossing the island’s mountainous interior to find help, Shackleton eventually returned to rescue the 22 men who had survived four and a half months on Elephant Island.
I’d love to visit Point Wild, where those men waited. The coastline is forbidding, with steep rock and ice cliffs exposed to the Southern Ocean.
Imagine standing there, knowing what those men endured, watching the horizon for a rescue that might never come.
What fascinates me about Shackleton isn’t simply his courage, but his determination to bring everyone home. His original ambition was to cross Antarctica. When that became impossible, his purpose changed. His greatest achievement became the rescue of his companions.
Our first visit to Antarctica left us overwhelmed by the beauty and scale of the natural world. I’d love to return to experience that wonder again, but also to encounter more of the human stories woven into this extraordinary landscape.
We went to Antarctica the first time to discover a place. I’d love to return to discover more of its history.
If you had a free round-trip ticket to anywhere, where would you go?
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