No Peeing on Land To further safeguard the wildlife and environment, vessel-based visitors are not permitted to go to the toilet (or eat), on land; even in the vicinity of research stations or historic sites.
Sometimes there is just no shelter, and we just have to ask those we are with to face the other direction until we are done. There is no cover anywhere on an ice-covered, Antarctic lake. We also have to pee in bottles (using pee funnels for some of us) to keep nutrients out of the environment.
To keep Antarctica as pristine as possible all impacts from human presence have to be kept to an absolute minimum, this includes human wastes. The field camp has an out-doors toilet that consists of a 'poo bucket' with a polystyrene lid and a 'pee barrel' which has a funnel on top.
Crucially, the Protocol prohibits commercial mining and protects vulnerable areas, animals and plants. The Antarctic Treaty does not prevent tourists, military personnel or scientific researchers from being present in Antarctica, but they do require an appropriate permit from a Treaty Party.
As Antarctica is a pristine environment untouched by humans, all operators and guests must follow the Leave No Trace principles, which state that nothing can be left behind.
Antarctica is guarded to protect its unique environment, and conduct scientific investigations. Also, it is guarded as a political symbol of cooperation among different countries, dating back to the Cold War period. Military activity is banned here, the guarding is through legal and political means.
It should really go without saying, but you cannot go around touching the penguins. Penguins are tiny birds that are susceptible to human interference, and the last thing they want are some annoying touros getting down into their nests and trying to pick them up.
Dental infections can become dangerous quickly—so quickly that those who develop a wisdom tooth infection while in Antarctica may not be able to reach proper medical care before serious damage occurs.
It is not illegal to visit Antarctica or to explore the continent. However, the treaty that prevents military use or ownership of the continent sets strict guidelines for gaining permission to mount an expedition, usually for scientific purposes.
This is because navigation and imaging satellites are focused on where there are people to make use of them - not unpopulated areas like Antarctica. Google Earth uses satellite imagery from a raft of different satellites.
“Summer residents at South Pole Station are restricted to two, two-minute showers per week.” That is… not a lot of shower! Let's break it down. Two showers, two minutes apiece, per week.
The short answer is no, your mobile phone will not work during your tour of Antarctica. While we've come a long way from the earliest expeditions when explorers could only send snail mail via other ships, Antarctica is still a remote and wild destination with a telecommunications system to match.
The Endurance Expedition was a British mission to cross the Antarctic on foot in 1914-17. Launched in August 1914, the expedition became one of the most famous survival stories of all time after the expedition's ship, Endurance, became stranded and then sank during the voyage to the Antarctic.
Let's start with urine. In Antarctica, you can't pee wherever you'd like, due to environmental protection laws. We can only pee, or dump our pee, in designated areas, marked with a 'pee flag. ' The coordinates of the pee flags are logged in a database.
The water is pumped into two holding tanks. Water saving appliances are installed wherever possible, but each person on station is asked to use as little water as possible. Expeditioners are limited to 3 minute showers. When water supplies are short, expeditioners are asked to only shower every second or third day.
In fact, nearly 3% of the ice in Antarctic glaciers is penguin urine.
Antarctica doesn't belong to anyone. There is no single country that owns Antarctica. Instead, Antarctica is governed by a group of nations in a unique international partnership. The Antarctic Treaty, first signed on December 1, 1959, designates Antarctica as a continent devoted to peace and science.
The short answer is, no, it's not illegal to fly over Antarctica. But there are practical considerations that make it challenging for regular airlines to navigate across the land. In many parts of Antarctica, there's limited or no infrastructure, no landing strips, and obviously no refuelling stations for planes.
At least 11 children have been born in Antarctica. The first was Emilio Marcos Palma, born on 7 January 1978 to Argentine parents at Esperanza, Hope Bay, near the tip of the Antarctic peninsula.
One of the most common questions people ask is: do expeditioners need to have their appendix removed before going south? The answer is no. But doctors who are wintering at Australian Antarctic stations do have to have their appendix removed. This is because there is usually only one doctor on station during winter.
Appendix removal is a necessary precaution for the handful of people who stay longer-term because the nearest major hospital is more than 1,000km (625 miles) away, past the tip of King George Island and on the other side of the Southern Ocean's icy swell.
Operating mostly by feeling around, Rogozov worked for an hour and 45 minutes, cutting himself open and removing the appendix. The men he'd chosen as assistants watched as the “calm and focused” doctor completed the operation, resting every five minutes for a few seconds as he battled vertigo and weakness.
You Can't Hug the Penguins
These minimum distance rules avoid causing birds and seals any concern or distress. Moving quietly and slowly is the best way to take in the splendour of your surroundings while observing these amazing creatures as they go about their daily business.
As has been pointed out by many others, adult penguins aren't anywhere near as cuddly and while you may sometimes pet them under supervision, hugging them would be ill advised. One thing penguins do love, however, is playing with string and bubbles.
Penguins have no special fear of humans and will often approach groups of people. This is probably because penguins have no land predators in Antarctica or the nearby offshore islands. They are preyed upon by other birds like skuas, especially in eggs and as fledglings.