Antarctic Holidays
Antarctica is one of the most inhospitable and underdeveloped regions of the planet and as such, doesn’t have any “residents” apart from the wildlife, so everyone who goes there is a visitor for a short time. There are two groups of visitors that can have an impact on the region, tourists and those who go as part of a national Antarctic programme.
Visitors to Antarctica
Most tourists visit the Antarctic Peninsula and offshore islands to see the scenery, the wildlife and some of the historical sites of the early explorers. A small but increasing minority are now looking for other activities in Antarctica - sky diving, iceberg-climbing, diving, ski walking - which may pose difficult safety issues in the future as well as push tourism in to more and more pristine areas.
In terms of numbers, the tourists greatly outnumber national programme personnel 26,000 as against 4,000 in the 2005/2006 season for instance (there were 27,324 tourists who visited Antarctica in the 2004/2005 season).
Most tourists arrive on ships, which sail between the `gateway’ ports (Christchurch in New Zealand, Hobart in Australia, Ushuaia in Argentina, and Stanley in the Falkland Islands) and Antarctica. Cruises normally last between 7 – 14 days and sail during the austral summer months of December to February.
Tourists by their nature want to visit the most picturesque and wildlife rich areas of Antarctica, and one such location is Port Lockroy, on the Antarctic Peninsula.
Port Lock Roy view by POAC Andy Johnson
Port Lockroy is a beautiful natural harbour offering shelter and a secure anchorage to large vessels. After its discovery in 1903, it was used by whalers and a number of early Antarctic expeditions.
During the Second World War, a British base was established at Port Lockroy as part o f `Operation Tabarin’. This was a top-secret Royal Navy operation designed to provide intelligence on German naval movements, meteorological information and a strategic British presence. The base was built on Goudier Island and began operation on 16th February 1944. The following year `Operation Tabarin’ became the Falkland Islands Dependencies Survey (FDS), which operated the base until it was closed in January 1962. Following its closure the base became derelict and for many years few people visited it.
Following a survey of abandoned British bases in 1994 by the UK Antarctic Heritage Trust (UKAHT), Port Lockroy was designated an Historic Site under the Antarctic Treaty in 1995. A conservation team renovated the buildings in 1996.
Currently, Port Lockroy is operated during the austral summer months (November to March) by a two person team working for the UKAHT. They continue conservation work, carry out long-term monitoring of the wildlife and open the base to visitors.
Port Lockroy has proved very popular with both the tour industry and with tourists. The area is attractive scenically, with a chain of mountain peaks and a glacier forming the backdrop to the base. There are numerous gentoo penguin colonies and several relics of the whaling industry, such as whale bones and old anchor chains, to be seen. Following the clean up and conservation of the base buildings, visitor information was created, giving visitors an idea of what life was like on a research station in the 1950s. The UKAHT team also guides visitors around the site, providing additional interpretation. The base is also a Post Office and visitors can purchase souvenirs, stamps and mail cards and letters home. The project is self-financing.
While tourists may only spend a relatively small time at sites like Port Lockroy, it is by its nature relatively “high-impact” time – compared to a scientist or electrician say who probably spend most of their time on a permanent or semi-permanent base. Also under IAATO rules, no more than 100 visitors can be landed at one time. But that can mean the larger ships simply land batches of people in rotation over the course of a day and this can represent a number far greater than the entire compliment of many Antarctic bases.
Shackleton's hut at Cape Royds by Nicola Dunn
Concern about manmade pressures on the continent has been a growing concern for many years in Antarctica as an older example of manmade environmental impact is Cape Royds, home of Shackleton’s hut and the southern most Adélie rookery. Between 1956 and 1975, the number of penguins at Cape Royds declined sharply because of the many helicopter flights to and from the area. The site has since been protected; access to the actual breed colony restricted and penguin numbers have recovered.
Next >>
|
Tourism in Antarctica Navigation
Quick Facts
Introduction
Antarctic Holidays <<
Adventure Tourism
IAATO Guidelines
Long Terms Conservation of Antarctica
|
