"Antarctica is otherworldly, like nothing I've ever seen before. Stark, cold, beautiful desolation." - Mark Hoppus
So, I am lucky enough to start this entry sat on a private yacht somewhere between a couple of icebergs in Anarctica. No, seriously.
[Never thought I would get to say that!!]
So, I am lucky enough to start this entry sat on a private yacht somewhere between a couple of icebergs in Anarctica. No, seriously.
[Never thought I would get to say that!!]
A year to the day after I left the UK for Namibia, the Namibians send me to Antarctica. [To be clear, not to get rid of me]. Two of the San people who we work with have featured in a long running art (photography and film) project – in fact the most viewed installation in the world.
The next part of the project was based in Antarctica and they needed someone to help them get there safely, keep them company and make sure they were ready for their role. A couple of weeks before the trip I was asked to accompany them.
"'Red Knot' is a film that I shot in Antarctica almost three years ago on a boat. It was a film that was improvised and it had very interesting circumstances while making the film, obviously. We were on a small boat bobbing around in Antarctica. It was a really remarkable experience." - Olivia Thirlby
The weeks leading up to the trip were hectic crazy, with re-prioritising everything, working hard to get as much done as possible and the additional tasks of getting visas, kit and logistics for all of us sorted for the trip itself.
The next part of the project was based in Antarctica and they needed someone to help them get there safely, keep them company and make sure they were ready for their role. A couple of weeks before the trip I was asked to accompany them.
"'Red Knot' is a film that I shot in Antarctica almost three years ago on a boat. It was a film that was improvised and it had very interesting circumstances while making the film, obviously. We were on a small boat bobbing around in Antarctica. It was a really remarkable experience." - Olivia Thirlby
The weeks leading up to the trip were hectic crazy, with re-prioritising everything, working hard to get as much done as possible and the additional tasks of getting visas, kit and logistics for all of us sorted for the trip itself.
"The line between disorder and order lies in logistics..." - Sun Tzu
So, the 9th Feb came around so quickly, all packed up [nervous] and ready to go. We picked the ladies up from the village amidst lots of hugs and cheers, everyone was excited for the trip.
We checked in at the airport and waited for our first flight of many, and we waited and we waited. Eventually we boarded and off to Jo’berg we went. One of the girls was recognised about three times on the way there, which I think she quite liked, but also made her a little shy.
"The cool thing about being famous is traveling. I have always wanted to travel across seas, like to Canada and stuff." - Britney Spears
"The cool thing about being famous is traveling. I have always wanted to travel across seas, like to Canada and stuff." - Britney Spears
We got to Jo’berg and transferred flights, as we were about to board the stewardess called attention to one of the security team – we were pulled aside to explain why two san bushmen were travelling with a British lady to Antarctica (lots of questions and lets just say I don't think trafficking was the furthest thing from their minds). As our passports were scanned and documents copied I started to feel claustrophobic at the thought of the small room I suspected we were about to be shepherded into. You can only imagine what they were thinking as the security guard said "something doesn't quite add up here"- yes the whole thing is rather out of the ordinary.
"The suspicious mind believes more than it doubts. It believes in a formidable and ineradicable evil lurking in every person." - Eric Hoffer
"I love the idea of spies in love. How would it work between two people who were so programmed to lie and be suspicious, who have a whole life based on pretense ?" - Tony Gilroy
When we got off the plane it seemed to transpire that the friendly and helpful young gentleman in front of us seemed to work for the UK civil service and casually inquired as to the length of our journey and the nature of it, he stuck quite closely with us off the plane and into the passport hall – always nice to make friends, even if their interest in you is perhaps more professional than personal.
"If a car behind me makes the same turn I do twice in a row, no doubt in my mind: I am being followed..." - anon
"Just because you are paranoid doesn't mean there isn't someone out to get you" - my mum
We headed into the passport hall and split into our queues – me the British, and them international. I slid through no problems and waited on the other side for the fun to begin. The ladies did very well, with little English and a complex journey to explain. I stood on the side lines awaiting being called. Eventually the officials waved me over to explain the situation. You can only imagine the questions!! San Bushmen? Antarctica? With a photographer? Day hotel? Bus to Luton? Where are her parents?..... Yes please do get the paperwork out. As they copy down details, phone numbers and ask more questions at about 6am in the morning. Just as I thought we were good to go and I headed through the green ‘nothing to declare’ channel I get pulled over again – where are you from? Where have you travelled from? Where are you going to? Are they with you? Could you step to the side please? Let me see you passport…just as I start to picture a long life in a small room on false charges...
...free to go.
"If a car behind me makes the same turn I do twice in a row, no doubt in my mind: I am being followed..." - anon
"Just because you are paranoid doesn't mean there isn't someone out to get you" - my mum
We headed into the passport hall and split into our queues – me the British, and them international. I slid through no problems and waited on the other side for the fun to begin. The ladies did very well, with little English and a complex journey to explain. I stood on the side lines awaiting being called. Eventually the officials waved me over to explain the situation. You can only imagine the questions!! San Bushmen? Antarctica? With a photographer? Day hotel? Bus to Luton? Where are her parents?..... Yes please do get the paperwork out. As they copy down details, phone numbers and ask more questions at about 6am in the morning. Just as I thought we were good to go and I headed through the green ‘nothing to declare’ channel I get pulled over again – where are you from? Where have you travelled from? Where are you going to? Are they with you? Could you step to the side please? Let me see you passport…just as I start to picture a long life in a small room on false charges...
...free to go.
We took a taxi to the hotel to get a couple of hours sleep, eat, shower and relax. Body clocks all over the place we got some down time. As we had ten hours-ish to kill mum and a couple of friends came to meet me for lunch. I am sure I was dire company as I was all over the place, but it was lovely to see them and catch up, it had been too long – it almost felt like a dream though as it was so surreal and we were so tired.
"Remember that the most valuable antiques are dear old friends." - H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
"Remember that the most valuable antiques are dear old friends." - H. Jackson Brown, Jr.
All too quickly we were up and off, to the bus station at Heathrow to wait for a bus to Luton. Living in Namibia makes you much more used to travelling distances to get anywhere, so an hour or so on a bus to Luton was fine. We had gone from Namibian sunshine to Luton’s snow, eeek! I think Luton was actually colder than Antarctica!
"I shall not die of a cold. I shall die of having lived." - Willa Cather
At Luton. it took a lifetime to explain that we were not flying on a commercial plane, but had a private charter booked, where did we need to go?, how did we get there? etc etc. Turns out we were flying with Harrods aviation. They had no car to pick us up, so we waited for a bus in the snow. The bus dropped us a good distance from the lounge and we had to walk back up the hill, suitcases dragging snow in the cold. As we trekked up the hill the older lady I was accompanying was having real trouble as her suitcase was scrapping up kilos of snow on the way, making things almost impossible. We finally got to the lounge, to lovely service and all the hot chocolate we could drink.
"The saddest thing I can imagine is to get used to luxury." - Charlie Chaplin
We met the photographer, the other model and some of the guests. No questions of what I was doing with these people this time and within an hour we were straight on the plane. As we had never flown on a private charter before someone mentioned that there may not be food on the flight as the plane was quite small and advised we smuggled in some apples and crisps- how wrong we were...
"The art of the cuisine, when fully mastered, is the one human capability of which only good things can be said." - Friedrich Durrenmatt
Harrods aviation is like flying in Harrods food hall, antipasti platters, fruit platters, seared tuna salad, cheeses, meats, tiny little cakes, you name it they had it. 12 of us flying at 45,000 feet in a tiny lounge with reclining, swiveling leather seats and all the delicious food you can eat - we nearly came home with the plane it was so good!
"The foyer at Covent Garden looks like Harrods food hall has offered up its dead" - Jonathan Miller
After a very brief refuel in Brazil we were back in the plane
and before you knew it (and after a seabass dinner) we landed at RAF Mt Pleasant (Falkalnds Islands).
On the ride over from Mt Pleasant to Stanley I got chatting with one of the Nat Geo exped leaders who was asking about where I worked, he mistook me for a biologist, which made me realise I have picked up a scary amount about animals since starting my job.
"Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family." - Kofi Annan
Once in Stanley we were dropped at our accommodation, a nice, yet sparse, house in the town centre. Making a plan to forrage for food (and discovering one of the people sharing the house had remembered arctic boots and a satellite phone, yet forgotten her knickers) we headed out for a walk and then for dinner. We bumped into about ten of the others and all had dinner together in a lovely restaurant before some much needed sleep for some of us (and a bit of a crazy night in a pool bar for the others). Next day we were on the boat.....
Here is the point at which we discover how horrendously seasick I am - picture, white, green, clamy, shaky, pukey and unable to concentrate on anything - really not my best look. Picture this lasting 3 solid days. Combined with seasickness meds that totally knock you out. Luckily the whole boat slept through my worst moments as the seasickness medication is so strong - the most I could manage was to crawl across the corridor every hour to check on the other two and lie down again before the nausea took effect. I could hardly talk to anyone for the fear of throwing up on them. Never, ever have I felt so sick. Combine this with the rocking of the boat that never ceases and trying to hold on to the bed with all your muscles for fear of being thrown across the room and from this quite bad back pain and you are starting to get a good impression of the crossing to South Georgia. Like spending three days in a washing machine on spin cycle.
As we were filming / photographing with professionals you are not allowed to take pictures of the frame they are photographing, so (sadly) I can't show you any of that, however you will get a good impression of where we were, what it looked like and what wildlife was about.
Our first view of penguins (emperor and gentu)
very well camouflaged baby fur seal
Too cold to show too much!
South Georgia's inhospitable coastline
domestic bliss (slap)
"Did you know that when a penguin finds it's mate, they stay together forever? Will you be my penguin?" - unknown
Penguins moult after they mate, this expends a lot of energy and until they have a full coat of oily feathers back they cannot swim and thus cannot hunt to eat. This is a time you have to be very careful not to get close as moulting is stressful and energy consuming for them.
"I shall not die of a cold. I shall die of having lived." - Willa Cather
At Luton. it took a lifetime to explain that we were not flying on a commercial plane, but had a private charter booked, where did we need to go?, how did we get there? etc etc. Turns out we were flying with Harrods aviation. They had no car to pick us up, so we waited for a bus in the snow. The bus dropped us a good distance from the lounge and we had to walk back up the hill, suitcases dragging snow in the cold. As we trekked up the hill the older lady I was accompanying was having real trouble as her suitcase was scrapping up kilos of snow on the way, making things almost impossible. We finally got to the lounge, to lovely service and all the hot chocolate we could drink.
"The saddest thing I can imagine is to get used to luxury." - Charlie Chaplin
We met the photographer, the other model and some of the guests. No questions of what I was doing with these people this time and within an hour we were straight on the plane. As we had never flown on a private charter before someone mentioned that there may not be food on the flight as the plane was quite small and advised we smuggled in some apples and crisps- how wrong we were...
"The art of the cuisine, when fully mastered, is the one human capability of which only good things can be said." - Friedrich Durrenmatt
Harrods aviation is like flying in Harrods food hall, antipasti platters, fruit platters, seared tuna salad, cheeses, meats, tiny little cakes, you name it they had it. 12 of us flying at 45,000 feet in a tiny lounge with reclining, swiveling leather seats and all the delicious food you can eat - we nearly came home with the plane it was so good!
"The foyer at Covent Garden looks like Harrods food hall has offered up its dead" - Jonathan Miller
After a very brief refuel in Brazil we were back in the plane
and before you knew it (and after a seabass dinner) we landed at RAF Mt Pleasant (Falkalnds Islands).
On the ride over from Mt Pleasant to Stanley I got chatting with one of the Nat Geo exped leaders who was asking about where I worked, he mistook me for a biologist, which made me realise I have picked up a scary amount about animals since starting my job.
"Knowledge is power. Information is liberating. Education is the premise of progress, in every society, in every family." - Kofi Annan
Once in Stanley we were dropped at our accommodation, a nice, yet sparse, house in the town centre. Making a plan to forrage for food (and discovering one of the people sharing the house had remembered arctic boots and a satellite phone, yet forgotten her knickers) we headed out for a walk and then for dinner. We bumped into about ten of the others and all had dinner together in a lovely restaurant before some much needed sleep for some of us (and a bit of a crazy night in a pool bar for the others). Next day we were on the boat.....
Here is the point at which we discover how horrendously seasick I am - picture, white, green, clamy, shaky, pukey and unable to concentrate on anything - really not my best look. Picture this lasting 3 solid days. Combined with seasickness meds that totally knock you out. Luckily the whole boat slept through my worst moments as the seasickness medication is so strong - the most I could manage was to crawl across the corridor every hour to check on the other two and lie down again before the nausea took effect. I could hardly talk to anyone for the fear of throwing up on them. Never, ever have I felt so sick. Combine this with the rocking of the boat that never ceases and trying to hold on to the bed with all your muscles for fear of being thrown across the room and from this quite bad back pain and you are starting to get a good impression of the crossing to South Georgia. Like spending three days in a washing machine on spin cycle.
"One of the best temporary cures for pride and affectation is seasickness; a man who wants to vomit never puts on airs."- Josh Billings
Finally we arrived in South Georgia, which is a very rocky, craggy island which looks rather inhospitable with its snowy peaks, glaciers and choppy currents. Here we found albatross, seals and penguins and some beautiful places to shoot.
As we were filming / photographing with professionals you are not allowed to take pictures of the frame they are photographing, so (sadly) I can't show you any of that, however you will get a good impression of where we were, what it looked like and what wildlife was about.
Here are some snaps from South Georgia....
a giant petrel (nicknamed Stinker birds as they are aggressive predators and scavengers)
Our first view of penguins (emperor and gentu)
fur seals
very well camouflaged baby fur seal
adult seal
penguins
"It's practically impossible to look at a penguin and feel angry" - Joe Moore
many seals on a rock - all babies
This was all seen in the little bay we first arrived in, we found a beach and started the photography shoot in the afternoon, the younger of the two models was used at the top of a hill which took ten minutes to navigate, myself and Grandma stayed at the bottom - that trek would not have been great for her, especially as she was not needed in the end. Here are some of the things from the bay we were in...
Grandma on the beach in her polar gear
Too cold to show too much!
Lots of penguins all close up
gossiping like old ladies in a tea shop
close up baby fur seal
South Georgia's inhospitable coastline
kisses
domestic bliss (slap)
"Did you know that when a penguin finds it's mate, they stay together forever? Will you be my penguin?" - unknown
big seal (and yes these chase you)
albino seal - not so many of these ones
After this shaded bay we headed to another part of South Georgia and the day afterwards took some footage and stills on the top of a hill in the tussocks with albatross. Part of the message of the photographers work is conservation, how people from different cultures, our many environs, endangered animals and nature all matters and is part of a wider eco-system that all rotates to keep the earth in balance. However, in order to get the footage we had to stray a little off the path into the tussocks, careful not to disturb the wildlife etc we set about our work. The whole thing had to become a covert mission as one of the exped guides was keen to stick by the rule book in a rather jobsworth fashion. This made me laugh as the day before I saw her herding seals and penguins up the beach and clapping and shouting at them before they had even approached her, when the guidelines are clear you let the animals go first, step back for them and stay out of their way not disturbing them in the course of your business. I was about to ask one of the other exped leaders to have a chat with the lady flouting the rules and chasing the seals when I found out she was the lead exped guide. She sadly had one set of rules for herself and a bit of a power trip for everyone else. The upshot was that despite we were disturbing the wildlife less than she, we had to keep her away in order to be able to film what we needed for the project and find a happy compromise that worked for both photographer and nature alike. She was kept on the beach having an hours conversation about albatross in order to keep out of the way, by someone who knew all the answers to the questions he was asking. Every time she tried to come up we had a watch party who would shout 'albatross' and we would all hide and move round equipment to put her off the scent - very funny!
view off the back of this section of the island
For the next couple of days we anchored in a little bay where the beach had hundreds of thousands of breeding pairs of penguins. We were shooting using the penguins, glacial rivers, glacial backgrounds, seals and all the props (including a wooden kayak and big skin coats). Here are some shots of that location...
This juvenile penguin is loosing his fluffy brown baby down (background glacial river and thousands of penguins)
For those of you who have ever smelt baboon, cheetah or seal poo - penguin poo is on a par.
"I got poo on me!" - Joe Dirt
bit of a blurry one - but can you see the little grey baby on one of the penguins feet?
Penguins moult after they mate, this expends a lot of energy and until they have a full coat of oily feathers back they cannot swim and thus cannot hunt to eat. This is a time you have to be very careful not to get close as moulting is stressful and energy consuming for them.
curious little chaps
Elephant seals - these guys are massive! where the baby fur seals act like cheetah cubs and chase you (especially when you have your back turned) but the moment you stare at them and take a step forward they back off, the elephant seals don't even bother you as they know they could end you if they wished.
Here is a video of the seals playing in the glacial river we were using to shoot in. A couple of the guys spent the whole day in the river dragging the wooden kayak about setting it up for the shots with the models in it and catching them before they ended up out at sea! The sound in the background is the call penguins make once they have decided they are now mated for life.
[Excuse the shaky camera work at the end!! If the video does work I will upload a few more]
Our last view of South Georgia was a bit of a blurry one out of the porthole of the ship - here is where Sir Ernest Shackleton is buried.
"I seemed to vow to myself that some day I would go to the region of ice and snow and go on and on till I came to one of the poles of the earth, the end of the axis upon which this great round ball turns." - Ernest Shackleton
Cue our next crossing and more seasickness.
"We must free ourselves of the hope that the sea will ever rest. We must learn to sail in high winds." - Aristotle Onassis
See you in Part II...
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