While some rung in the New Year with fireworks, and others with litres of liquid courage, there was a group of travellers that made history by cruising to an area that hasn’t been explored in over seven years.
Around 46 people made the historic journey with Chimu Adventures during a cruise to Mawson’s Huts in Cape Denison.
In case you didn’t know, the area has been closed off to cruise ships for the last seven years due to thick blockades of ice. However, on New Year’s Eve, the ice gave way to allow the small expedition ship, Akademik Shokalskiy, to take tourists close enough to see some of the huts and the Memorial Cross, which were built back in 1911-1913 as part of the Australasian Antarctic scientific expedition.
Image: Chimu Adventures
Cruisers experienced a stormy journey as they travelled from Hobart across the Southern Ocean to the huts that have survived for over 100 years despite the exteme cold and windy conditions.
Following Akademik Shokalskiy‘s visit, the thick pack of ice closed off the Commonwealth Bay passage once again, blocking cruisers from accessing the huts again.
Image: Chimu Adventures
According to Mawson’s Huts Foundation, fewer people have visited the huts than have climbed to the summit of Mount Everest.
Click here for more information on the cruise.
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