I regularly dream that I have somehow made it down to Antarctica.
In my last dream I was attending a domestic social event on board a ship and I found a berth available for $6,000. I decided I would be able to come up with the money somehow and I sailed down with them.
In my dreams, Antarctica has often been terraformed and there are young pine forests and permanent houses. There are more young people there because they are being encouraged to foster a lifelong interest in scientific research.
There is inevitably a thrill as the icy shores come into view. It's finally happening!
And then I wake up.
The other day I was driving to Christchurch and on my way into the city I came across a building called "Antarctic House."
Of course I had to go in.
This is the offices of a specialized travel agency for polar expeditions by ship.
One of the ladies showed me a travel plan beginning in New Zealand, covering its sub-antarctic islands and making landfall at the Ross Ice Shelf.
"How much is that one?" I asked.
"About $24,000.00 US per person," she said.
And therein lies the major roadblock to my dream.
I have thought of volunteering to be a deck hand or offering to be a travelling companion for an insanely wealthy individual who feels they have "done it all" but neither of this options is likely to happen.
Not long ago the UK was looking for brave individuals to man their Port Lockroy post office and do some penguin counting and I was dying to apply but Nick wasn't keen on living without me for five months (It's like he's in love with me or something).
I don't dare start a crowd funding page because those things seem to be for creative projects and good causes and me really, really, really wanting to see Antarctica just because doesn't seem to fit the criteria.
In my final year of law school I plan on studying Antarctic legal issues so maybe I can hitch a ride down with some of our biology students who are on their way to do a science.
In the meantime, I suppose I'll just savor the weird converted winter land that constitutes the Antarctica of my dreams.
In my last dream I was attending a domestic social event on board a ship and I found a berth available for $6,000. I decided I would be able to come up with the money somehow and I sailed down with them.
In my dreams, Antarctica has often been terraformed and there are young pine forests and permanent houses. There are more young people there because they are being encouraged to foster a lifelong interest in scientific research.
There is inevitably a thrill as the icy shores come into view. It's finally happening!
And then I wake up.
The other day I was driving to Christchurch and on my way into the city I came across a building called "Antarctic House."
Of course I had to go in.
This is the offices of a specialized travel agency for polar expeditions by ship.
One of the ladies showed me a travel plan beginning in New Zealand, covering its sub-antarctic islands and making landfall at the Ross Ice Shelf.
"How much is that one?" I asked.
"About $24,000.00 US per person," she said.
And therein lies the major roadblock to my dream.
I have thought of volunteering to be a deck hand or offering to be a travelling companion for an insanely wealthy individual who feels they have "done it all" but neither of this options is likely to happen.
Not long ago the UK was looking for brave individuals to man their Port Lockroy post office and do some penguin counting and I was dying to apply but Nick wasn't keen on living without me for five months (It's like he's in love with me or something).
I don't dare start a crowd funding page because those things seem to be for creative projects and good causes and me really, really, really wanting to see Antarctica just because doesn't seem to fit the criteria.
In my final year of law school I plan on studying Antarctic legal issues so maybe I can hitch a ride down with some of our biology students who are on their way to do a science.
In the meantime, I suppose I'll just savor the weird converted winter land that constitutes the Antarctica of my dreams.
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