Chad Carey understands what a privilege it is to be a ‘dream maker’.
He sees first-hand how his guests feel as their Antarctic travel dreams and ultimate bucket-list adventures play out.
And their joyful reactions are business affirming for him.
“I normally host a trip, so it’s amazing for me seeing the passengers interacting (with Antarctica) for the first time,” the Chimu Adventures co-founder says.
Scroll down to see WomenKind Australia’s The Conscious Leader Antarctica Expedition cruise offer with sports legends Dawn Fraser and John Eales, and leadership expert and author Catherine Molloy aboard
“I remember going to South Georgia once and we had this early landing on a beach that was completely packed with wildlife.
“We could barely get off the Zodiac (inflatable boat) because there were so many fur seals and penguins and I was just watching everybody getting off and jumping for glee.
“That’s still probably my favourite memory down there.
“A lot of people come to us and say, ‘It’s our seventh continent – we’ve got to go there’ and ‘it’s the place that I’ve wanted to go for 20 or 30 years’.
“We’re very privileged to be in this business and be able to do these sorts of things.
“Those experiences I have ashore of seeing people come ashore for the first time, I still appreciate that it is a dream-making experience for most people.
“That’s, I guess, the reason why I stay in it because you see that so many people do come back happy.”
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Sunshine Coast-based Chimu Adventures, the Antarctica and Latin America travel specialist, is about to celebrate its 20-year anniversary after humble beginnings as a concept Chad and long-time mate Greg Carter scribbled down on beer coasters.
They wanted to fill a niche and create a tour company specialising in adventure tourism. Chimu Adventures went on to become one of the first travel operators in the world to offer cruises to Antarctica, and has stood the test of time and pandemic lockdowns.
Chad, a former engineer, is preparing for his 11th trip to the world’s southernmost and least-populated continent. He’s actually ‘seen’ the region about 20 times, after the company was forced to pivot during COVID-19 by organising scenic flights instead of the significantly longer cruises leaving from South America.
He knows that few places evoke such a sensory overload in travellers as seeing Antarctica up close.
Whether a first-timer or multiple adventurer, the fifth-largest continent (nearly double the size of Australia) never fails to take the breath away.
And that’s not simply because it is the ‘coldest pole’ (the average summer temperature at the South Pole may be -28 degrees Celsius but on the Antarctica Peninsula, more than 3000km from the pole, the temperature normally hovers around 0 degrees in summer).
Extreme weather conditions and glorious isolation create an ideal home for multitudes of marine creatures – humpback, minke, orca, southern right and blue whales, chinstrap, Adélie and gentoo penguins (even possible emperor and king penguin sightings), seals, seabirds including petrel, skua, tern, king cormorants and gull, as well as myriad fish species.
But Antarctica’s ethereal beauty is what produces sudden gasps, burns into the mind’s eye and leaves a lasting imprint on the heart.
Spectacular ice formations in a palette of blues, towering ’bergs, massively thick ice sheets, a spine of mountains soaring up top 3000 metres in height (technically joining South America’s Andes Mountains by a ridge below sea level), thunderous calving of glaciers, rocky islets and ice shelves around the finger-like peninsula create a diverse landscape that can be grossly unexpected, or at least humbling in its presence.
To stand on deck and gaze out to the jaw-dropping scenery could never be enough. This is a place to explore, discover, learn about and connect with as active participants.
That’s what Chad believes sets Chimu Adventures’ Ocean Endeavour cruises apart.
He says the passengers want to be active, taking up activities such as sea kayaking, snowshoeing, ice camping, stand-up paddleboarding and hiking, as well as the photography and lecture programs, to fully immerse themselves in the Antarctic experience.
“They’re normally inquisitive people who want to know about science and who want to know about nature,” he says of his passengers.
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“They’re not there for a flop-and-drop holiday.
“Quite often they have a good education background as well, because they are there to learn.”
And what they soon learn is that the destination is worth the journey, no matter how many times you visit.
The degree of change within the summer cruising season from November to March, the different locations visited, the varying ice conditions and fluctuating populations of wildlife all play their part.
“Every time you go back, even if you visit the same location, it can feel completely different,” Chad says.
“This year I’m going on a Falklands and South Georgia trip. They’re sub-Antarctic islands, halfway between South America and Antarctica.
“They’ve got amazing wildlife, and they’ve got a lot more vegetation. So, it’s a completely different experience altogether.”
Unlike other holidays in exotic places, Antarctica has no ‘on/off switch’.
“It’s always ‘on’,” Chad says.
“If you’re on a regular tour, you might do a Jeep journey in the afternoon and come back to your hotel and relax. And that’s it. You know your day is over.
“Whereas I’ve been out and it’s been midnight – I’ve seen a pod of orcas chasing seals and everyone is out on deck watching because it’s still sunlight at that time and you’re still part of it.
“Or a pod of orcas comes along or there’s a magnificent iceberg – there’s always something to see.
“It’s so immersive that you feel you’re part of it 24 hours a day, which I don’t think you get in many other places on Earth.
“If it is stunningly amazing, like there’s a pod of 15 orcas on the bow at midnight, we will wake people up. You can sleep later. You need to take those experiences when you can get them.”
In the ‘Arctic v Antarctic: which is better?’ debate, Chad says there’s no contest.
“The Arctic is an ocean surrounded by continents whereas Antarctica is a continent surrounded by ocean, and although they are both polar regions, they are very different,” he says.
“Antarctica has those dramatic landscapes because it is a continent – especially the peninsula that we go to.
“There are some dramatic landscapes like that in the Arctic as well, but not on the scale of Antarctica.
“And then the wildlife is completely different: polar bears in the north, penguins and leopard seals in the south. You have whales in both locations.
“The scale of everything is what blows your mind.
“You get an appreciation of that to a certain degree in the Arctic but it still sort of feels like you’re on planet Earth – whereas in Antarctica, the connection is a bit more tenuous.”
For Chad, Antarctica is almost like the ‘final frontier’ in tourism – a place where travel never feels like a commodity because of the solitude and being thousands of kilometres from any form of civilisation.
“You go to Jordan and you do Petra and everyone does the same thing but Antarctica is the last place on Earth you can go and feel like you are on a real expedition,” he says.
“You’re not on a packaged holiday.
“You don’t have many trips like that left on the planet.”
THE ITINERARY
The Conscious Leader Antarctica Expedition, supported by WomenKind Australia and Chimu Adventures, is a feature of the 11-day Antarctica cruise aboard Ocean Endeavour from January 27 next year.
The adventure begins with an overnight stay and embarkation in the dramatic setting of Ushuaia, the most southerly city in the world at the base of South America. Passengers are full of anticipation of the ‘White Continent’ ahead as they set sail through the Beagle Channel on their way to conquering the infamous, unpredictable Drake Passage. There’s always an exhilaration at the initial sight of land, and guests will feel like true explorers as they encounter the spectacular frozen wilderness of the South Shetland Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula over the next four days and become enchanted by mountains, glaciers, icebergs and wildlife in the serene silence and beauty of Antarctica.
Ocean Endeavour is a small expedition ship – with an ice-strengthened hull and advanced navigation equipment for the world’s remotest polar regions.
It is also ideally suited to adventure travellers who want a truly immersive journey that gets them onto the ice quickly, with multiple loading points, for a wide range of expedition activities such as sea kayaking, snowshoeing, ice camping, stand up paddleboarding and hiking.
Immerse yourself in the natural environment and have close-up encounters on and off the water with wildlife at penguin rookeries, seal and bird colonies, and whale feeding areas, with the help of the 20 Zodiacs used for exploration and remote landings.
For the adventurous, take a kayak and drift among the sea ice and sculptured icebergs, spend a night camping under the stars or snowshoe in the footsteps of past pioneers.
The experience will expand your mind as it broadens your horizons.
Along the way, you can also take part in the citizen science program led by Ocean Endeavour’s expert team by observing, recording and reporting on natural phenomena that you witness, as part of a collaboration project with Antarctic scientists.
And opportunities exist to take a photography program or learn about Antarctica’s history and biology from passionate guides, including special guest Dr Grahame Rosolen, principal research scientist with CSIRO, who is undertaking research into galactic cosmic radiation.
Travellers will learn about the science of space weather while also observing Dr Rosolen and his cosmic ray detectors in action, helping to better understand the influence of the Earth’s magnetic field on solar flares, and improving satellite operations and communications.
The 8:1 passenger to expedition crew ratio is among the highest in the industry to maximise guests’ engagement with the team’s professionalism and expertise and heighten their Antarctic cruising experience.
Ocean Endeavour is also well-appointed, with the comfort and facilities expected of a top-class hotel.
A spacious lounge and bar areas and top-deck observation room with panoramic windows, library, polar boutique and lecture theatres ensure plenty of room to enjoy the company of fellow travellers, as well as spaces for quiet time to reflect on the day’s activities.
Enhance personal wellness with health and fitness amenities including a gym, spa treatments and yoga classes, or head out onto the deck areas to soak up the scenery from comfy lounge chairs, the saltwater pool, saunas and hot tub.
Berths on the Ocean Endeavour WomenKind cruise, departing January 27, 2024, are:
- Category 3 Twin Interior Cabin, $10,300 per person
- Category 4 Twin Porthole Cabin, $10,800 per person
- Category 5 Double Window Cabin, $11,475 per person
- Category 8 Superior Double Cabin, $12,930 per person.
The price includes: one-night accommodation in Ushuaia, pre-cruise; a cabin on board the ship; all meals while on ship; all scheduled landings/excursions; guiding and lectures by an English-speaking expedition leader; all port fees; all landing fees; an expedition jacket provided; a pair of expedition boots for use during your voyage; and arrival and departure transfers in Ushuaia.
For bookings and inquiries, call Lisa at Chimu Adventures on 5370 1600 and ask for the ‘WomenKind Special’ or email australia@chimuadventures.com.
For more on cruises to Antarctica, visit chimuadventures.com.
THE EXPEDITION OF A LIFETIME
Three leading lights will be sharing their knowledge, insight and stories of success on board this voyage to ensure guests are as awestruck inside Ocean Endeavour as they are by the scenery outside.
Catherine Molloy is author of The Conscious Leader and best-selling The Million Dollar Handshake, and an award-winning international speaker, who previously ran a global training company across 12 countries and has been recognised as a Global Goodwill Ambassador for her humanitarian work.
Catherine uses her industry experience in areas including sales, leadership, body language, customer service, retail and banking, plus her futuristic thinking, to help people overcome the greatest challenge in business today: refining the way we consciously lead and communicate for influence and authority.
Each day of the exploration, guests can unpack skills used, understand strengths required and how to combine them with their own top qualities to lead successfully.
Dawn Fraser is Australia’s greatest Olympian, who was named World Athlete of the Century at the World Sport Awards in 1999 and Athlete of the Century by the Australian Sports Hall of Fame the same year.
Among her other achievements are 1964 Australian of the Year and being made a Member of the Order of the British Empire in 1967.
Dawn was appointed as an Officer of the Order of Australia (AO) in 1998 for service to the community, for sport and her work with organisations for people with disabilities and for the environment.
John Eales is one of Australia’s all-time rugby greats and former Wallabies captain, who counts two successful World Cup campaigns (including captaining the Wallabies to victory in 1999) among his sporting accolades.
The author of two books (Learning From Legends: sport and business versions), John was made a Member of the Order of Australia (AM) for services to the community and rugby, named the 2002 Queenslander of the Year and awarded Legend status in the Sport Australia Hall of Fame in 2020 among his highest accolades.
The trio are adding their collective support to WomenKind Australia Inc – a membership-based, not-for-profit, non-denominational, apolitical organisation – that aims to help women reach full potential in their personal and professional lives.
The Conscious Leader Antarctica Expedition is backed by WomenKind and Chimu Adventures as part of a goal to raise $120,000 for an eco cottage with full wrap-around support as transitional housing for women in need in the Noosa area.
DID YOU KNOW?
Most people know that Antarctica is the world’s southernmost continent, surrounded by the Southern (or Antarctic) Ocean and containing the geographic South Pole, with a landmass almost wholly covered by a vast ice sheet.
But did you realise that among its many superlatives, it’s also the world’s fifth-largest and highest, driest, windiest, coldest and iciest continent.
Although mostly a polar desert, the continental ice sheet contains about 29 million cubic km of ice, equivalent to 90 per cent of the world’s ice and containing 70 per cent of its fresh water in frozen form.
Scientists believe that if this ice melted, sea levels around the globe would rise by almost 60 metres.
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