Diana Preston is an author and freelance travel writer who first became interested in Antarctica whilst conducting research for her book about Captain Scott's Antarctic expeditions, 'A First Rate Tragedy'. She is especially interested in tales of exploration - the book she wrote with her husband Michael about 17th century pirate and explorer William Dampier, the first naturalist to visit the Galapagos, entitled 'A Pirate of Exquisite Mind' was published by Corgi in April of this year. She is also interested in people who expand our mental as well as our physical horizons - her book about the men and women who unravelled the mysteries of nuclear physics - 'Before the Fallout - From Marie Curie to Hiroshima' - will be published in July by Doubleday.
Extract from ‘Adventures in Antarctica’, Sunday Telegraph 26th December 2004
“Seven years ago aboard a Russian research vessel I was genuinely worried I would not survive to see the publication of my book about Captain Scott. The vessel was headed for Cape Evans on Ross Island in Antarctica - 77 degrees South. It was from their hut here that Scott and his companions started on their fatal journey to the South Pole in 1911. Our ship had run into a vicious blizzard with 140-knot winds and sixty feet waves which hurled chunks of ice the size of boulders against the hull. For forty-eight hours the Russian captain stayed chain-smoking and unshaven on the bridge to hold the vessel against the wind. A life-raft went overboard and with a shrug of Tolstoyan fatalism he radioed far-away Moscow that the activation of the raft's transponder as it hit the water did not mean we had sunk - yet. Eventually, with a rapidly icing, and thus dangerously top-heavy superstructure, the captain took the risk of turning the ship northward again. As we came beam-on to the wind, the heavy seas seemed close to swamping us but we made it.” Click here to read her full story
Want to explore Antarctica’s deep south yourselves?
Quark Expeditions is giving adventurous travellers a unique chance to take part in history on their ‘Great Antarctic Explorers: Search for the Far South’ voyage in January 2006. The aim is to break Roald Amundsen’s near century-old record for achieving the most southerly position ever reached by ship and is Quark’s only 2006 visit to the open waters closest to the South Pole.
The first man to reach the South Pole, Roald Amundsen, sailed aboard the Fram in February 1911 to a position of 78º 41’ S. Although nearly a century has passed, no ship has yet surpassed that record. During this Great Antarctic Explorers voyage, Quark Expeditions will attempt to set a new record and add to a long list of firsts that the icebreaker Kapitan Khlebnikov boasts in its expedition history.
Departing from Lyttelton, New Zealand, where Robert Scott and Ernest Shackleton made final preparations for their Ross Sea adventure, resident specialists will help passengers spot whales, dolphins, rare Hooker’s sea lions and yellow-eyed penguins from the open-air decks of the Kapitan Khlebnikov. The voyage then starts on a course that traces the paths of historic explorers, including the waterways crossed by Russian explorer Admiral Thaddeus von Bellingshausen, leader of the first expedition to sight the Antarctic continent. Other highlights include visits to century-old base camps, including Scott’s Discovery Hut.
The voyage then takes you through the Bay of Whales - the closest area to the South Pole accessible by a vessel - in a historic attempt to attain the most southerly position ever reached by ship. Continue through the Ross Sea and the remote Balleny Islands, which are virtually inaccessible to traditional cruise ships. Here you can visit the World Heritage Site of Macquarie Island that is home to the majority of the world’s population of Royal penguins.
Quark Expeditions’ 2006 Great Antarctic Explorers: Search for the Far South voyage departs 20th January – 14th February 2006. Prices start from £7,565 per person based on three sharing and £10,593 based on two sharing. Please note that flights are not included. Flight and stop-over options are available starting from £1,227 per person (including taxes).
For further information please contact our Antarctica experts on 01737 214250, email antarctica@discover-the-world.co.uk or visit www.pole-to-pole.co.uk/voyage12
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