Upon arrival into Trelew airport, I was greeted by a dinosaur on the terminal building....in one day I saw so much wildlife from Rheas (similar to Ostriches) to a mother and calf Southern Right Whales. An inquisitive baby elephant seal (still weighing 40kg) came rather close to me whilst I was on the beach at Estancia Rincon Chico.

In the same day I encountered strong hot sun whilst walking along a beach in Peninsula Valdes, to walking through the snow in Ushuaia. Upon arrival into Ushuaia, I kept passing the pier to see when the Antarctic Dream docked ready for my expedition the following day. It was an incredible feeling boarding the vessel knowing this was home for the next 10 nights.

Crossing the Drake passage on the outbound journey to the South Shetlands it seemed I was one of very few onboard the lovely ship! It became apparent when we arrived into calmer waters that the boat was indeed full!

When I disembarked the zodiac for the first landing (wet), I was greeted by a whole colony of Gentoo penguins. I sat down on the fresh snow to watch passing penguins, they are really rather comical and endearing. This is the best way to watch them on land protecting their eggs from birds and gathering gifts in the form of stones for their partners (occasionally taking from another nest next to theirs).

The scenery, wildlife and sheer wild spirit of Antarctica offers is one to remember! Not to mention the distress call we received from the M/S Explorer whilst we were on a rescue mission. Luckily the NordNorge was closer and all passengers were safe.

We knew we got lucky with the Drake on the way out due to being so early in the season and consequently we really experienced this on the way back to Ushuaia. A truly unforgettable experience!