I went to Antarctica During Covid!!

Now I know this may sound crazy since I'm from Australia and our government has locked us down since March of 2020. The only way you can travel to another country at the moment is if you have an exemption. Now I don’t have that, so how did I get to see my sixth Content? Thankyou Antarctica Flights!!

I went on a scenic flight with a company called Antarctica Flights who have been operating flights out of Australia for the last 26 years! But.. today is a very special day!! Today the 22nd of November 2020 I am apart of history! For the first time, Antarctica Flight and Qantas will be flying a 787 Dreamliner over the continent! This is first of its kind to flight over the windiest and coldest continent in the world!

In terminal 3 I can see on the departure board Mystery Charter Flight boarding at 7am. As I prepare for a non-stop 13 hour flight I am just so excited to board a plane and to feel the lift off. I was supposed to travel to Europe back in July 2020 but unfortunately Covid canceled it! So I haven't been on a plane since September 2019!! In 2019 I really caught the travel bug and in 2020 it had just been waiting to burst!

As I went through security I waved goodbye to my parents!! Even though I would see them in around 13 hours it was still an adventure!

Making my way through the airport, is was so quiet, it felt so weird! But once I got to my terminal things started to become exciting! To see so many people getting ready to go on the plane was incredible! Before entering I had a temperature test and a desk was set up in the middle of the area with workers handing out our tickets!! I was so lucky that I received a window ticket!! There was even a penguin there to welcome us!

Once everyone was on the plane we took off on our big Adventure!! It was about 5 to 6 hours before we had our first glimpse of ice and boy was it worth it! As we got closer to land our wonderful guide Peter Hicks talked us through what we were seeing.

Our first major landmark was Cape Adare. Captain James Ross discovered Cape Adare in January 1841 and named it after his friend the Viscount Adare. The first buildings erected by Carsten Borchgrevink at Cape Adare were erected in 1899 and are still standing today. They are now recognized internationally as a significant historical sight.

Our next landmark was Mount Minto! This mountain is elevated 4165m off the ground! That is 1937 meters higher than Mount Kosciuszko! In 1988 the Australian Bicentennial Antarctic Expedition were the first people to climb the large mountain!

Then we went to Mount Melbourne as dormant volcano!! I was lucky to get a photo/video just before the clouds came in!!

After that we swapped seats. I went into the middle isle and got to listen to our guide talk us through where we were going. Other places we visited was Mount Murchison, Coulman Island and Tucker Glacier! I found the seat swapping nice and easy and it gave everyone a chance to see the sights while being fair to everyone!

We were given some great food throughout the flight and we even had an on board auction with some amazing items up for grabs!

We got back to Sydney at 9:40pm. After an amazing day I can honestly say to anyone thinking of doing this flight. DO IT!! You will not regret it! How many people can say they have flown over Antarctica!

I had an incredible time and I know flights are coming up soon for the end of the year! So book it in as soon as possible!

I took a little video of my time on the trip so check it out below!