Cookson Adventures is taking five travellers to the Southern Pole of Inaccessibility this December, a spot in Antarctica so remote that it sits further from the ocean than anywhere else on the continent. Very few people have ever made it there, and the welcome committee consists largely of a frozen bust of Vladimir Lenin.
The expedition marks 20 years since polar explorer and Cookson Adventures founder Henry Cookson first reached the Pole of Inaccessibility without mechanical assistance. Back in 2006, Cookson and three companions hauled and kite-skied their way across 1,700km of Antarctica, finally arriving on day 48.
This time, things will be considerably less character-building.
The 11-day trip kicks off in Cape Town on 5 December, with guests flying into Antarctica before bunking down at Ultima Camp.
From there, they’ll travel deeper into the continent aboard a ski-equipped DC3, then spend two days crossing the Antarctic plateau in adapted 4WD Arctic Trucks and sleeping in temporary expedition camps.
Eventually, they’ll reach the Pole itself, where temperatures typically hover between -35°C and -40°C. Sticking out of the snow is the bust of Lenin, left behind by a Soviet expedition in 1958 and still staring towards Moscow. Cookson Adventures plans to set up dinner beneath it, which should comfortably win any future round of ‘weirdest place you’ve eaten’.
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There are also glacier hikes, ice baths and a visit to an emperor penguin colony before flying back to civilisation.
But there’s one very expensive catch. The expedition costs AU$476,000 per person for a group of five. Ouch. Suddenly that overpriced airport sandwich doesn’t seem that bad.
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