Day Tripping In Antarctica: Fly There
Passengers hardly notice as the compass needle wobbles. They?ve just passed over the Magnetic South Pole on a day-long flight over Antarctica. Thousands of yards below your jet, you can see the ice-covered sea, its surface molded into frozen waves by the constant, bitter winds as they sweep unobstructed over the barren panorama.And even at the height that you will be flying at, you will be able to see waves of snow flakes as they make their trek to the icy sea, floating like pieces of flotsam on the ocean.
After an exhausting trek of 2,030 kilometers and 134 days, a group of explorers were the first to ever arrive at the South Magnetic Pole in 1909. Today?s flight reached the South Magnetic Pole a mere four hours after having left,. Passengers were treated to a several hour air tour over the planet?s last frontier, Antarctica. Comprehensive information on antarctic cruises is found on there.
The Magnetic South Pole is the point at which several magnetic force lines collide. These forces greatly affect compasses as airplanes fly over Antarctica. It’s a gyroscope, as well as a satellite guidance equipment, that allows a jetliner to maintain it’s course. The magnetic South Pole, and the better-known geographic South Pole, are about 2,500 kilometers away from each other. Explorers got to the geographic pole in the early 1900?s. Tourists who take this flight are repeating the feat of a well-known American aviator who was the first to fly over both North and South Poles back in the 1920s, bragging about being a man who had fulfilled his destiny while sitting down.
On the outside of the jetliner, the Antarctic winds blow fiercely around the craft. While inside the passengers enjoy the icy view while sipping wine in their vacation garb of T-shirts and shorts. All the passengers have been excitedly conversing since icebergs were first spotted just three hours from.It seems as if all the sightseers are trying to find the best vantage point from which to see the icebergs from the plane?s windows.
More and more icebergs are seen as the Antarctic coast gets closer. Seeing the glacier?s meeting the sea is awe-inspiring to the passengers, who have been sharing windows so that everyone can get a good photo or video. Prepare to be amazed at the Trans Antarctic Mountains, whose large mountain snow caps seem to jut into the air for miles and miles. See this antarctica trip information for a deeper understanding.
What these tourists are experiencing, is a revitalization of aerial tourism that prospered in the Antarctic many years ago, when two of the biggest air carriers provided routine jumbo flights that soared above this dark and frozen land. There are other things to see besides frozen mountains, icebergs, glaciers and icy coasts, the passengers also get a glimpse at history as they fly over an abandoned French research base that was ruined years ago by a great tidal wave. The South Magnetic Pole, whose first visitors were geologists, sits relatively close to this former base.
