THE MYSTERIOUS land of Terra Australia remained elusive for centuries. Historical cartographers noticed most of Earth's landmass was concentrated in the northern hemisphere, and they theorised a continent at the bottom of the planet to balance it out. Although this theory was a bit flawed, many expeditions headed south. Australia and New Zealand were discovered, but neither were far enough south to balance out the landmass to the north. Eventually the elusive Antarctica was discovered, but it quickly became apparent that unlike the habitable lands of the northern hemisphere, the new continent was far too cold to consider settlement. Antarctica has remained the world's last great wilderness to this day.
This journey begins in Ushuaia, the world's southernmost city at the bottom of South America. I join a cruise ship heading across the famously notorious Drake Passage. Through the fog the mysterious Melchior Islands appear, offshore from the Antarctic Peninsula. From there we continue to head southward escaping oncoming bad weather until eventually crossing the Antarctic Circle in Detaille Bay. |
