First Time In ANTARCTICA 🇦🇶 | Ocean Endeavour | Ep 1

So we've just been called up to do the polar plunge, which means we're gonna be jumping in below freezing water right now To say that going to Antarctica is like a lifelong dream would be a lie because It's a place that growing up and every even considered you could actually go to You start to realize exactly where we are what we're doing and it's so exciting So I'm gonna be traveling there on the ocean Endeavor on an 11-day expedition This is cool We'll be setting off from a swire at the tip of Argentina crossing the infamous Drake Passage And then we'll have four days to explore Antarctica and experience as much as possible before making the journey back Yeah, I genuinely don't know what to expect from this trip. I think it's gonna be mind-blowing. I think it's gonna be amazing I certainly hope it is We are standing on a sheet of sea ice in the middle of Antarctica, this is insane Joining me on this trip is a big group of some of my closest friends and loved ones and we're all super excited to be Sharing this unforgettable experience together. Look where we are My journey began ten days ago as I flew out to Buenos Aires with my best mate James and then head down to Patagonia To have a week exploring round there. Everything that I hoped and dreamed Patagonia would be is right here. I Was traveling as part of a bespoke tour I'd organized with intrepid travel and the majority of the group are now flying down to a swire Where we'll be embarking on our voyage to Antarctica in a couple of days time The flight was only like an hour long and the views were amazing. But the final approach in was super sketchy I was actually expecting people to clap. This was a very bumpy ride in We were then transported by bus up to our hotel above the town Where all the passengers on the Ocean Endeavor will be staying before the trip, you know Patagonia was amazing But it was a very tiring full-on trip lots of hiking And so it's good to have a couple days here to rest and relax before we embark on this expedition to Antarctica I'm excited. I'm curious little nervous Especially about the crossing because to get to Antarctica from here we go across the Drake Passage which is supposed to be one of the roughest seas in the world and Apparently the conditions could be one of two extremes. You either get the Drake Lake or the Drake Shake So hopefully it's more the lake side for our experience. Maybe the Drake Shake for an hour So we just get it on video and that look cool and then rest of time. Yeah, nice and simple and easy Also on this trip, it's gonna be my 40th birthday. So what better way to get over that hump then go to Antarctica Anyway Jamie's just flown in all the way down from Winnipeg. So the two of us are gonna go explore the town The Swire is nicknamed the end of the world as it's the southernmost city on the planet With the Marshall Mountains behind it and the Beagle Channel stretching out in front The city is the gateway to exploring Tierra del Fuego. And of course for ships heading out to Antarctica It's a beautiful beautiful town. It's a beautiful day here as well. Lots of fun little souvenir shops cafes Really whole thing set up for tourists, but it's not a tacky or tonight. It's just a Good vibe to it To explore. Yes We are stamping our passports getting the cool Antarctica stamp because of course we are I'm not one for counting countries or anything like that I'm much prefer just about collecting as many great experiences as possible But having said that Antarctica is gonna be the last continent I've yet to visit. So that's gonna be pretty sweet They always say you have to have king they I don't know who they is But apparently you have to always have king crab when you're in the Swire. This is king crab and garlic and parsley sauce and this is the seafood mixed platter That's great, it's very soft very very soft not too chewy or anything great taste to it The ship we're traveling on the ocean Endeavor can carry up to 200 passengers And we've got a group of 28 people here on my tool And one of the questions I kept being asked on the ship was how the hell did you get 28 people to come to Antarctica? So let me give you a brief 90 second recap as to how we got here I've been working as a video editor in London since 2007 and right from the start of my career. I began filming my travels as a fun little side hobby Then in 2013, I quit my job and went traveling around the world with my best mate James We went through 20 countries in nine months from Hong Kong to New York And we filmed it all just with a home video camera and then I cut it into an 11 part TV style series Which I then put on YouTube with no expectations of anyone actually watching it It was just a way of sharing the videos with everyone we met on the trip But fortunately the series took off so over the next few years I filmed loads more adventures some with James others just solo backpacking and gradually my youtube channel grew and grew In 2019 with the help of my friends Darren and Bev I organized my first bespoke group tour with Intrepid Travel. We went to Morocco and had the best time. It was a great success Then after the pandemic I organized my second tour in Iceland and on that tour is where I actually met my wife Jamie And then over the next two years did a few more tours all over the world and gradually built up this big community of travelers Now Antarctica is a once-in-a-lifetime experience So if you're ever gonna do it, why not go with a group of friends and other like-minded travelers? And so today James is here Jamie's here Darren and Bev are here fellow Youtuber Paddy Doyle's booked on my tour and there's quite a few familiar faces from the other tours as well as some we're meeting for The first time and we're all just absolutely buzzing to be going on this unforgettable adventure to Antarctica All right, so it's the night before we embark on the boat. This is Don. That's Don. That's his tongue They were having an official welcome meeting at the hotel But it was gonna be everyone on the ship in one bar with 184 people trying to order a drink It takes about 15 minutes to order a drink in a hotel bar So I was like, why don't we just go to the Irish Club instead hang out there? So all of my group Well today is a day that we're setting off for Antarctica this morning Everyone dump their bags in the lobby and they've been transported down to the boat now They'll be waiting in our rooms and then at three o'clock They'll be transport from the hotel down to the pier to get us on the boat So this afternoon is when we're boarding. It's starting to sink in now that the ship's actually here It's starting to feel a bit real, but we've been planning this for so long and waiting for so long It's still it feels a bit surreal, you know I'm feeling very excited now at the moment is finally here. I'm excited. We're totally not gonna die I'm good. I'm all set drumming in ready to go It's 329 we're supposed to be over 330 James is not here James the last listen I left Chris with him. So I guess Good. Oh crap. Wait, I just realized what I just said Everyone's just hanging around waiting. I'm super excited to go Go Antarctica Not very often you can say that is it Well, this is it ocean Endeavor Just waiting to board. It's like a queue of buses waiting to board. How are they guys still on board? ready This is cool, it's our home for the next 10 days Everyone in our group was staying in the category 6 comfort twin rooms Which come with their own lounge two TVs and two showers. That's a nice little space happy with it But Jamie and I had received a last-minute upgrade from Intrepid as a thank you for filling up a decent percentage of the ship And so we were in the category 10 owners suite Very nice That's like a normal bath We have art we have art in our room something Picasso So we have Many fridge bathrobes for the swimming pool and hot tub These are complimentary jackets to wear outside Our view is just right the front of the boat so we're gonna see everywhere we're going this is so cool So it makes some sense to hang out with you Basically is the balcony outside our room from our room you get right out to the front of the ship That's our room **** off Okay We're leaving get to the boiler room mate the ship's not gonna start itself come on Looks like something from a Star Wars lounge or something. It's polar The Blue Lagoon Just for the record James is on the ship he is here. He just took a seasickness medication too early and so now he's asleep How many people think this is a cruise We just had the briefing about everything's gonna happen stuff There's a Drake passage apparently getting the Drake shake from tonight So and this is some of the winds that we will come up against okay, so noticing those colors The forecast is roughly four meter seas Now we got a whole bunch of drug dealing going on After the briefing we did a quick safety drill and then it was finally time to leave Excited super excited finally finally Antarctica we are leaving We feel it now we're on our way very very excited. Yes, so finally set off all groups buzzing Exactly that way I can see the Statue of Liberty already As the evening drew in we went for our first dinner on board Followed by some drinks in the lounge and then everyone went to bed as we cruised out of the Beagle Channel towards the Drake Passage Well, good morning from the Drake Passage we start feeling the waves during the night So it's like oh, here we go. We must be in a storm now And then I looked out the window and it's actually super calm I think the forecast is better than what's gonna be but later on we're gonna really really get amongst it So I went for breakfast. That was nice got like big full English everything got a full buffet breakfast going just gonna get it was moving around It takes two full days to cross the Drake Passage and then on the third morning we'll be waking up in Antarctica So each day on board the schedule is shown on the TV screens of the various activities on offer But you can really spend this first crossing day. However, you like You can relax in the Compass Club and read a book from the library There's also a spa sauna and a gym if you want to be more active Don't know if I'll be using it especially going across the Drake Passage In the main lounge there's talks on throughout the day from the various scientific experts on board So you can really educate yourself about what you're about to see in Antarctica And yeah, some of the talks were slightly more engaging than others. Can you don't need to remember all this? If you fancy taking out a new mortgage There is Wi-Fi available on board or you can save your cash for the boutique shop with lots of lovely souvenirs and useful items You may have forgotten Now if you want to see the captain in action, you can head up to the bridge It's the bridge of the boat. There's like a little roped off area. I have to come in and see how it all works I'm just trying to film and also stand up whilst the ship's rocking which is quite hard But really the best way to spend your time is out on the deck and keeping an eye out for any wildlife We've got all these things like albatross flying around, lots of wildlife to see Mark spotted a whale first thing in the morning, so I'll cut to your photo now Mark Then later on Chris got this amazing shot from the front of the ship Feeling good, all the Seasick tablets are working so far We've taken tablets, we've got wristbands, we've got patches behind our ear So we're just going for all of the above to make sure it works out alright But the boat's great, super comfy, most of the crew seem to be doing alright, all things considered So Paddy just did his joke and no one got it, but can you guess the movie? It's Jurassic Park I was thinking like Forrest Gump or something Well that famous jello scene in Forrest Gump I gotta get more jello Jenny and I were like jello and carrots Let's see if Wiley can do a better take I can smell it, I can smell it That one was better Yeah, Wiley's always been like I got the hair for it Yeah, the waves are starting to pick up a little bit this afternoon Going down these corridors can be quite interesting And then we put it in a tube, in a rocket like a tube And then those samples As the evening drew in, there was the end of day briefing at 6pm, followed by dinner And then as the sun went down, we started seeing some icebergs on the horizon Then we spent the rest of the evening just enjoying some drinks together in the lounge You're still the one I kiss, goodnight Good morning folks, good morning Last night we got no sleep at all The ship was rocking so much These curtains here were just like all back and forth all by themselves So the lights going on and off There was one point about 2am where we hit a really big wave We're lying in the bed and Jamie just got thrown out of the bed And I nearly got thrown on top of it Cupboard doors were opening, chairs were moving around the room So very, very, very tired after that But it'll all be worth it once we're there I'm sure We have caused the polar event, or the Antarctic convergence And this means that we are biologically now in Antarctica Luckily as the morning progressed, the waters began to calm down Bit of a drake lake today, it's been pretty smooth so far And we're getting closer and closer to Antarctica So we should actually be alright from here on out Got a lot of faffs to do today, sort of preparation, briefing, sorting out clothes All that kind of stuff Just come down to the mud room to make sure everything fits Had to get my boot switched to the one size two boot Yeah, just all the prep for tomorrow now So when we get on the zodiac it's ready to go How are we feeling? Awesome, we're ready to go How's the crossing been? I didn't throw up too much I didn't sleep much last night, the room was all tossed around But we're here Oh, there's a whale, there's a whale So we're just ordering dinner Three massive icebergs right here They're so huge Oh, there's an even bigger one over there Bloody hell, that's like an island, that is an island Oh god, there is an island, that's huge Apologise for the crappy quality clips on my phone As we're sitting here, more and more icebergs are appearing on the horizon So I just get a sense that we're nearly there And I think everyone's getting more and more excited I am, I'm actually starting to sink in where we're at, where we're going Tomorrow will be the end Antarctica, how the **** are we in Antarctica, it's crazy Yeah, that evening just kept cruising on down further south And you know, went to bed, had a decent few hours sleep And then I woke up quite early, like before 5am Opened up the curtains, and suddenly Antarctica was there It's hard to find any words to do this justice Just the sheer scale of it, it's just so beautiful Or inspiring Staying on the whole journey down here doesn't feel like we're at the bottom of the world It doesn't feel like we've travelled that far But now it's seeing just all the ice, just everything around you It's just, you're starting to realise exactly where we are, what we're doing And it's so exciting So we're going to be landing over here, we're going to get the Zodiac across to there We're just going to walk around Hello, this is a message for sea kayakers in true expedition style So we're just waiting to get called up We're going to head down there, load up on the Zodiacs Going to land in Antarctica We have been summoned, heading down to the mudroom now Antarctica, go! What's up? Ready? The time has come Ready mate? I think so I'm excited I'm actually a little hot at the moment Let's go, go, go, go How you feeling? Good, excited? Yeah Sorry Chris, it's full Very, very exciting Let's go! Goodbye! You're losing already! Before we were going to actually head onto the land We were going to have a bit of an explore and cruise around the bay My name is Albert, I'm going to be your first driver So it's my pleasure and honour to give you all the annoying commands of what you have to do And especially what you shouldn't be doing on board, ok? It's going to be bumpy, but it's not dangerous, don't worry And if you start hearing that there's a lot of noises underneath It's just because we're going on top of the ice We were already blown away by everything we were seeing up close from the Zodiac But then just up the ante, we spotted a humpback whale So right in front of us, and you can see its tail We've been drifting around and we've just spotted a humpback whale Nearly caught it on camera Hopefully he's not being shy Come and say hello! Don't be shy! You'll be on YouTube! There he is! I'm not going for it, and I'm going to tell you why Because of the trumpeting And it's usually a sign of distress There you are! If we want to see it, the best thing is for us to try to keep the distance We were super lucky to see one on our first Zodiac Yeah, it was off in the distance at first And then it went down for a while So we started moving towards the land And then suddenly it came up right beside us I was really trying to bond the area How was that, Jamie? That was amazing! I think you're pretty happy with it Good start, mate! You can go home now! We'd had all that excitement with the whale But of course, we still hadn't done the main activity of this morning Which is actually land on Antarctica About to step foot on Antarctica for the very first time We're officially on Antarctica Amazing! First steps on Antarctica Right, seven continents Yeah, we did it, finally We did seven together then Seven continents in 11 months That's the 7-11 Seven out of seven, mate Seven out of seven Six out of seven Oh, never mind Eight out of seven Seven out of seven Well done It's not about counting a list, but seven continents How are you feeling, buddy? Great! Surprisingly not that cold either No, it's fine We're two days of being sick I'll do it again It's recording now I don't even know what I'm going to say I think that's the best start call But also, look at the penguin It's a penguin So, folks, behind us we have lots and lots of breeding Gentoo penguins So about 905 pairs at the last count And there's a couple of different ways to view them So if you want a kind of vigorous walk I'd recommend following the flag path that way You're going to be able to gain some elevation Always following the flags We're never going off the flags We're waiting to do a little walk up around there But the penguin's blocking the path We have to keep our distance One single penguin Blocking the path For about 50 people I want to hug you back, little dude I couldn't appreciate how much was behind That big iceberg that we drove up to until now Yeah It's good having the ship there just for a census girl Otherwise you could think this lagoon's quite small And it's like, wait a minute It's like you're on another planet or something It's incredible It's the nearest thing to being an astronaut And going interstellar onto an alien planet So incredible Did you see the whale? Yeah, yeah, yeah I've seen the kind of things you only see on David Attenborough And it's right in front of us Oh, making out She's like, I'm not in the mood Too slow I'm going to buy me a drink first Here we go Come on, love Coming after us They all want to get on the Zodiac They had the boutique shops open there Off some souvenirs Just got back from our first Zodiac Out into Antarctica And man, that was incredible So incredible And we got so lucky as well Wow Everyone's just kind of lost for words You see it from the sun and they're going This is just ridiculous So beautiful Yeah, great first morning out in Antarctica And we're back out again this afternoon We're going to go around to a different bay, Paradise Bay Head out there, explore And then tonight we should be camping Camping in Paradise Bay So, yeah, loving it As we ate our lunch We began cruising around to Paradise Bay And we'd originally planned to do another landing There this afternoon But the conditions weren't quite right for it So the crew decided to offer us An alternative activity So we just got the announcement That we're going to be doing the polar plunge this afternoon I thought we might be doing it Like two or three days in, maybe until my birthday But apparently it's happening right now So I've been looking forward to this I've really wanted to do this But it's going to hurt I just thought I'd have more time To mentally prepare for it But nope, we're jumping in now You're not doing it Sucks Go team, go Right, it's a sex change We're going to do it I'm not going to go first In fact, I think Carl should go first If I don't mind, it means I'm first to the hot tub James, how are you feeling? Super excited I can't even tell by the tone of my voice I was napping across the river The water outside is about Minus 1.5 degrees Celsius Or around 30 Fahrenheit And when you jump They attach you to a bungee rope Just to make sure that they don't lose anybody How was it? Hot See you later Carl See ya How was it? Freaking freezing We're watching the guys jumping in Do we have FOMO guys? No, we do not have FOMO Here goes Carl Watson The man, the myth, the legend Here we go Jesus Christ It's like in Titanic Fountain daggers stabbing your right foot I have to say though That my jump was spectacularly ---- I went to do a cannonball And ended up panicking and rushing it My knees got nowhere near my body And I limped into the water Carl Watson! James did his big dive in And Jamie just strolled down And did this lovely jump and wave for the camera How was the polar plunge? Amazing actually It was really cold But you're only in for 10 seconds And then you're out And you feel amazing afterwards It's freezing, let's not get around the fact It's absolutely freezing But you get over it so quickly It's just jump in, out Dry, shot of vodka, done But hey, we've done it Look guys, it's lovely It's beautiful, it's actually quite warm You'll be fine How was it? Amazing Beer please How was the jump? It was good Apparently I jumped really far out Which was a bad move I survived It was a head rush And then when you go out Gasping for your air A little bit disoriented And then you go out, drink a shot And you're the happiest person So yes, definitely do the polar plunge Congratulations! So it's 8pm at night We were supposed to be doing camping tonight Camping out on the ice Which I was going to drop out of Because I am feeling a little bit under the weather Just needed a good night's rest Rather than sleeping on ice But then I got cancelled Because there was too much ice around the island We were going to sleep on We wouldn't have been able to get there and get back So they've decided to put on an evening zodiac for us So we're going to go just cruise around for an hour In the Paradise Bay And it's a really nice evening Really good light out there So who knows what we'll see But it should be very beautiful Do you agree? Thank you everybody We're calling for Minky's please Go go go Minky! We are Minky's Hey folks, did you all polar plunge? Yes So we're going to get close to this area To see if we can see any seals But we will not go closer Than necessary to the glacier Can you see how Huge the chest is The torso How strong it is She needs to drive those pectoral fins That's why the chest is so large As well We're going to turn around So the others also get a good view Chewy He's like an old man trying to get out of bed In the morning The light out here tonight is Absolutely perfect I'm surrounded by All these mountains and glaciers And the scale of them is just Hard to comprehend It's just beautiful There's an old guy Which I admire a lot He's been doing this for so long That he goes beyond the specifications This is what the penguins do That species of whale He just dives a lot into the experience And he goes into this concept of We are but nothing We are absolutely nothing When you look at the scale of time And the things that happen here And how long they last And the years that have been there Then you realize that actually We are but nothing We're just a tiny, tiny Leaf on a cloud The pole is very important If we're here such a short time We might as well do a polar plunge Life is so short The pole mess is even shorter It's been a long week We've got a colony of Gen 2 penguins here That have taken over this research facility It's 9.31 and it's still so light The zodiac's been craned up for the night Thank you very much That was a good ride We'd had an unbelievable first day In Antarctica And it's a good example of how flexible you have to be out here One minute you think you're doing a landing But instead you're jumping in freezing cold water Then you think you're going camping But end up on a beautiful evening Zodiac cruise So you really just have to go with the flow Depending on the conditions But the crazy thing is We've already experienced so much Yet this is only day 1 of being in Antarctica We've still got another 3 to go So next up we're going to be going kayaking This is insane We're going to be landing on sea ice We're going to see loads more wildlife We'll explore a volcano island We'll have a sunset barbecue on the ship We're at the bottom of the world Having a barbecue And there's going to be a big surprise on my birthday