June 2020

Last February I had the chance to participate in an incredible voyage to Antarctica, in particular to the Ross Sea and McMurdo Sound on MV Ortelius. Th trip started at the port of Bluff on the south island of New Zealand. We visited the sub-antarctic island of New Zealand (Auckland Island and Campbell Island), then stopped at Balleny Islands and finally explored McMurdo Sound including the emblematic Dry Valleys. Finally we navigated through thick ice in the Ross Sea towards the final destination of Ushuaia in Argentina – in theory. Then the Corona virus struck and we were not able to disembark in Argentina but instead had to continue for another 6 days to Montevideo, Uruguay, where we were escorted by police directly from the ship to the airport. It was like coming back from another planet back to a different earth.
You can see images of this amazing trip here.

We had 3 helicopters on board the Ortelius. Due to unfavorable weather conditions we could only make very few flights in Antarctica. However one of them was so spectacular, that I decided to create a video. At Robertson Bay (near cape Adare) we flew partially very low over giant glaciers and incredible mountain scenery. I hope you enjoy the flight.