The frozen, uninhabited wilderness of Antarctica was a dream of mine to visit. Having first fallen in love with whales anything I read about them highlighted the massive numbers of huge baleen whales that used to inhabit Antarctic waters. Sadly they are now a remnant of their original population, in particular blue whales, but the sheer vastness of this wilderness still drew me in.
I first got to visit in 2013 and now am lucky enough to work there on one of the expedition ships that takes people to visit this extraordinary place.
I guess in an ideal world, one we are far from ever inhabiting, we would all leave Antarctica alone. The penguins,birds, seals and whales could just enjoy this wilderness without human interference. However this is an impossibility and so I believe responsible tourism, educating those lucky enough to get to go about this beautiful place and see its wildlife may just help ensure Antarctica has enough ambassadors fighting to keep it as pristine as possible.
The Antarctic Treaty as well as the semi-regulation of Antarctic tourism (IAATO) are at least two great examples of nations working together to try and protect something so very special for the good of the planet.
