Spectacular Icebergs in Lemaire Channel , Antarctica. The Lemaire Channel is a narrow gap of water that runs for approximately 11km between the Antarctic mainland’s Kiev Peninsula and Booth Island. This spectacular channel is just 1,600 metres wide at its narrowest point. With steep glacial cliffs on either side , not only is it scenic, but the protected waters are usually as still as a lake, a rare occurrence in the storm-wracked southern seas. Sometimes the icebergs in the channel are so big that they block the passage of ships, resulting in captains having to backtrack.
The channel was first traversed in December 1898, when the Belgian Antarctic Expedition passed through. Adrien de Gerlache , the Expedition leader named it for Charles Lemaire ( a Belgian explorer of the Congo in Africa) , who had nothing to do with Antarctica.
At twice the size of Australia , Antarctica is Earth's southernmost and fifth largest continent . It is also usually the coldest, driest, and windiest one.
Getting there is still not easy. I wanted to avoid the usually stomach churning journey from South America via Drakes Passage, so decided to fly from the bottom of South America to an island on The Antarctic Peninsular. There are no permanent flight schedules, you simply have to go when the weather provides a safe window of opportunity . Landing on one of the shortest runways on earth, which also happens to be gravel, is a hair-raising experience. Once on land, you then have to walk along the runway down to the water’s edge in order to hop aboard a Zodiac for the short trip out to Boat . Describing the amazingly beautiful yet fragile the environment is difficult. My simplest descriptor is “Gob Smackingly Beautiful”. Your first sighting of an iceberg as you sail south towards the continent, is one not to be forgotten.
