WILD WANDERERS: WHITE DESERT WHICH AWAY CAMP

Antarctica has the harshest climate on the planet. In winter, there are weeks when the sun never rises above the horizon, and temperatures as low as -98.2 Celsius have been recorded. The South Pole is somewhat warmer: it’s highest recently known temperature, recorded in 2011, is -12.3 Celsius! Rainfall is rare; when precipitation does occur, it falls to the ground as snow.

In spite of this extreme environment, which has earned it the moniker “The White Desert”, Antarctica is far from devoid of life. Blue whale, orca, and colossal squid swim in the Antarctic seas, and on the beaches you will see multiple species of penguin incubating their eggs and raising their chicks, and seal lounging on the rocks. These fantastic creatures, plus the dozens of species of birds which feed off algae and plants, thrive around the