About This Program

Fly direct from Cape Town to Antarctica and witness newly hatched Emperor Penguin chicks taking their first steps, explore ethereal Blue Ice Tunnels, and hike glaciers on Earth's last true wilderness.

This extraordinary 6-day expedition with White Desert — the world's only luxury operator flying guests directly into the Antarctic interior — offers an experience available to fewer than 200 people per year. Fly 5.5 hours from Cape Town across the Southern Ocean, landing on a natural blue-ice runway deep within Dronning Maud Land. From your base at Whichaway Camp or Echo Base — futuristic heated pods set against infinite white horizons — you will fly by Basler aircraft to Atka Bay, home to one of the world's largest Emperor Penguin colonies. In November, thousands of newly hatched chicks take their first wobbling steps from their parents' feet, creating one of nature's most intimate and extraordinary spectacles. On another day, hike two hours across pristine icefields to discover the Blue Ice Tunnels — cathedral-like chambers of ancient compressed glacial ice glowing an intense sapphire blue. Scale a nunatak with expert mountain guides, try ice climbing, and toast your achievement at Wolf Fang's Ice Bar with cocktails chilled by 10,000-year-old Antarctic ice.