Tag: Wildlife

Epic Adventures

South Georgia – the greatest wildlife spectacle on Earth

South Georgia is often described as the Serengeti of the Southern Ocean. It’s a title that speaks of the outsized attractions of this thin speck of an island, because when it comes to wildlife, South Georgia truly is the real deal. If you’ve ever considered the Galapagos Islands, the mountain gorillas of East Africa or […]

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Epic Adventures

Does South Georgia belong on your Antarctic itinerary?

Heralded as the ‘Galapagos of the Southern Ocean’, the stunning island of South Georgia is packed with both history and wildlife. For anyone who has ever watched a David Attenborough series on heaving king penguin colonies or battling elephant seals, it is likely to have been filmed on this remote island. My first trip to […]

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Planning & Tips

What’s the difference between a traditional cruise and a Polar expedition cruise?

Over the last several decades the cruise industry has become ever more popular, with companies expanding their fleets and creating mega-ships able to carry over 6,000 passengers. These vast liners act as floating hotels offering a luxury experience at sea. Running parallel to this, under a different guise, is another cruise industry that is lesser-known […]

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Planning & Tips

A photographer’s guide to Antarctica

As a travel photographer, I’ve been lucky enough to photograph some of the most beautiful places on Earth. I’ve journeyed to the deserts of Tunisia and Morocco, crawled through thick rainforests in Australia, and explored hidden temples in Cambodia and Laos. My camera has been my constant companion throughout these adventures, documenting my experiences like […]

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Epic Adventures

The Best Time to Travel to Antarctica

Antarctica’s white wilderness has an irresistible magnetism for adventurous souls the world over. Around 40,000 travellers make the journey to the 7th continent each year in search of life-affirming and perspective-changing experiences, and they don’t return disappointed, but when is the best time to go? There are a host of reasons to voyage to one […]

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Antarctic cruises

Shackleton: death or glory

In 2013 Seb Coulthard took a small wooden boat into an unforgiving sea, and along with five other spirited adventurers, attempted to follow in the footsteps of the legendary polar explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton. Shackleton’s voyage was remarkable, a real test of endurance. Seb’s adventure was the first re-enactment, using traditional equipment, of part of Shackleton’s […]

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Reviews

Iceberg Graveyards, Slumbering Humpbacks and a Polar Circle Party: Swoop’s Alex on returning to Antarctica

What was it like to visit Antarctica again? Antarctica is so magical that it always feels very special and a great privilege to be there. Two main things struck me this time: firstly just how different the same places can look under differing light conditions and at different times of the season. Secondly, the sheer […]

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Antarctic cruises Reviews

Adventure in the face of adversity

Erik Geerts contacted Swoop to help him arrange an Antarctic adventure for him and his daughter, Natascha. Our Antarctica expert, Alex set about tailor making a once-in-a-lifetime trip for them both. Little did Alex or Erik know that a Chilean strike at Santiago Airport on the day that they were due to travel could threaten […]

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