Winter wonderland

"Ironically, in this desert where no trees grow, where the wind howls at speeds of up to 300 kilometers per hour, where rain rarely falls, 70 percent of the earth’s fresh water supply lies cruelly locked in shelves of ice. This is Antarctica, the most lonely, cold, dry place on earth, once part of the super continent called Pangaea which included India,” writes Nauzer Batlivala, one of the members of the International Antarctic Expedition 4 (IAE 4), comprising 50 enthusiasts from different countries.

With a love for the outdoors and adventure, Calcutta based Batlivala was one of the first two Indian venturers on the Raleigh International Expedition to Chile in 1995 and one of two Indian gold awardees at the International Gold Award Training workshop in Indonesia, the same year. In 2002 he was chosen to represent India with Mission Antarctica at the World Summit for Sustainable Development in Johannesburg, notes a press release.

Recalling his visit to Antarctica a year ago, Batlivala narrates: "When we finally reached the relative safety of our first Antarctic destination, we learned that an unexpectedly severe blizzard with a wind speed of 70 knots had demolished the yurts (special tents) that had been erected for our stay on Bellingshausen Russian Antarctic Base on King George Island.

"At our next port of call, Hope Bay, where the Argentine Research base Esperanza is located, global warming caused our ship to be encircled by icebergs that had broken off from the Larsen B Ice Shelf. In the last century Whalers’ Bay on Deception Island had been a whaling station where hundreds of whales were killed for their blubber (oil) and baleen (whalebone). Thousands of seals and penguins were massacred as well. Then the volcano on the island erupted and all human habitation ceased. Today only huge, smelly whale oil storage tanks and massive whalebones remain.

The Antarctica experience (clockwise, from left): mushroom iceberg; elephant seal; icescape; Nauzer Batlivala (in yellow) and team leader holding the Indian national flag; a gentoo penguin (Photos: John Luck www.2041.com)

"We finally hit the Antarctic mainland at Neko Bay after crossing the Errera Channel where the first of many Gentoo penguin rookeries awaited us. These flightless birds are a treat to watch. At Paradise Bay near Almirante Brown Station we boarded an inflatable Zodiac (rapid ship to shore boat). After a breathtaking tour of the surrounding cliffs and ice caves of the glaciers around the island, we sighted our first minke whales.

"We visited the Iceberg Graveyard, from which icebergs formed over millennia float away to a slow death. These natural sculptures of various shapes and sizes, textures and colors ranging from green to different shades of azure and blue evoked an awed silence punctuated only by the clicking of cameras. Populated by Crab-eater and Fur Seals who laze around on exposed floes, this part of the frozen continent resembles a wonderland.

"At the Cuverville Island penguin rookery Gentoo penguins showed great interest in my Orange Gore Tex trousers which were of the same color as their favorite food, krill, a species vital for supporting most other forms of life on that continent. Krill is fast disappearing due to global warming and the subsequent melting of ice caps.

"Our last ports of call were Danco and Petermann Islands where depleted penguin rookeries are under constant threat from the changing environment. Some penguins, especially the Adelies, are being displaced by Chinstraps and Gentoo in their search for favorable nesting sites. Climatic changes are resulting in the growth of microscopic plant life, with Antarctic Grass and Pearlwort, two vascular plants, now found on Petermann and Deception Islands.

"‘Mission Antarctica 2041’ was conceived to educate and raise awareness of the need to preserve the world’s last great wilderness for future generations. Starting with a small but symbolic step, in January 2002 Mission Antarctica clea­ned up and recycled 1,000 tons of scrap metal and barrels of waste from Belling­shausen Russian Antarctic base, reclaiming the land for the original inhabitants of the continent — penguins and seals.

"We returned from the trip keenly aware of the need to protect our world by mobilizing public opinion and awareness of the Antarctic Treaty due for renewal in 2041.”