Nothing in normal life can prepare you for this surreal voyage

It’s difficult to think of penguins as violent. And yet, from my position in a double sea kayak between two Antarctic islands, I’m witnessing a full-blown penguin dust-up. Above us on the rocks, two gentoo penguins are flippering, slapping and scrapping in a way that looks like it might end badly.

Finally, they simmer down, and our kayak group slides forward. We’re winding through a fantasy landscape straight out of a Dr Seuss picture book; an iceberg graveyard, where powder-blue ice shapes, artfully sculpted by the elements, remain trapped until they wither. The sea is glassy, reflecting mountain tops draped in a moving shawl of cloud. We pause for a moment of silence; motionless in a place so surreal that it’s difficult to process.

It’s one of countless pinch-me moments on the 12-day Highlights of Antarctica cruise with HX Expeditions. The journey onboard MS Roald Amundsen had promised spectacular scenery and wildlife delights, but it is the collective mood, the enthusiastic high of the passengers, that fills this trip with joy.

Turns out, there’s science in this phenomenon. Psychologists have long known that when people are pushed beyond their comfort zone, physically or mentally, and they succeed, the experience delivers a strong emotional pay-off. There’s the relief of having conquered something difficult, but when the experience exceeds expectations, there is a dopamine-triggered uplift.

Simply being in Antarctica places guests out of their comfort zones, with every aspect of this trip being unfamiliar. Take the crossing of the Drake Passage, the 1000-kilometre-stretch of tumultuous ocean between South America and the Antarctic Peninsula. Many passengers dread it, but after surviving the two-day crossing, there’s a sense of elation.

For many, touring around in a Zodiac, a rigid-inflatable tender boat, is also new. We prop on the edge of the boat as we glide to landing sites through slurries of ice, past parades of penguins and nonchalant Weddell seals. On one cruise, a humpback whale surfaces just metres away. My heart races with adrenaline as the whale dips below us, the scarred underside of its tail sliding from view.

Sometimes we Zodiac in a horizontal blizzard. Copious layers of clothing seem barely enough, and removing a hand from a glove to take photos becomes a physical challenge. But every time we step back on the ship, we grow in confidence.

Along with being out of our comfort zone, our sensory experiences seem unreal. My eyes can barely compute the giant icebergs that our ship shimmies past in the narrow Lemaire Channel, and my nose is confronted by the whiff of gentoo penguin colonies. Even my ears are sometimes in disbelief. It sounds like a whale is breathing outside my cabin, but it can’t be. My verandah door is sealed and I’m nine decks up. But stepping outside, I see it’s true – down below, a humpback inspects our stationary ship, accompanied by noisy, high-pitched wheezes of exhaled air.

The feeling of awe is ever present, that mind-stretching sense of appreciating something so much bigger than yourself. The shared wonder is the ultimate icebreaker, with strangers frequently turning to each other to talk it through, processing their adventures.

Most passengers view their Antarctica expedition as a once-in-a-lifetime trip, and as their bravery grows, they’re bagging as many dopamine-filled additional activities as the expedition team can offer.

Kayaking is a popular option, and HX Expeditions offers two separate formats, both available to beginners. The first is adventure kayaking, the 1½-half-hour guided format I had experienced with the penguin brawl. This option requires moderate fitness, and the need to wear a rubber-sealed survival dry suit.

New for the 2025/26 season is discovery kayaking, a gentler format using stable, inflatable kayaks. These are easy to climb into, and guests paddle unguided within a delineated zone, watched over by four guides in Zodiacs. As I tootled around with my partner, I relished the chance to slow right down, listening to the sounds of penguins and in the distance, the cracking of glaciers.

Kayak guide Lise Drejstel says if guests are concerned about their fitness or confidence on the water, then discovery kayaking is a great option.

“It’s only one hour, but you can go back after 15 minutes; it’s up to you,” Drejstel says. “You can sit out in the kayak and just look around. Don’t paddle at all, if you like.”

Drejstel, in her fifth season guiding in Antarctica, says her favourite part of the job is helping expeditioners unlock awe.

“Guests come in, they start paddling, and then the first penguins come jumping,” she says. “The guests are almost screaming. I can just remember my first time down here, and I was just the same, tears in my eyes.”

Those wishing to sleep outside their comfort zone are catered for, too. Conditions permitting, HX offers camping onshore in two-person tents, and in the 2025/26 season introduced the more adventurous “bivvy bag” option, a glorified swag in the snow for one. My trip takes place in late March and due to insufficient snow, neither camping activity was operating. But earlier in the season, I’m told bivvy bag campers had revelled in the solitude of staring at the southern sky, serenaded by the unfamiliar sounds of penguins.

Another foreign concept for many is the complete lack of a published itinerary. Daily activities are subject to frequent changes, dictated by prevailing winds or iceberg locations.

“Our itinerary is deliberately vague,” says expedition leader Torstein Gaustad with a laugh. He says this helps to avoid disappointment, and he hopes that for guests, learning to embrace the unpredictable is liberating. For Gaustad, the flexible nature of Antarctic cruising is part of the thrill.

“My best days are the days when we have to change everything,” he says. “I love that about this job, that we have plan B, C and D.”

On our last afternoon in Antarctica, Gaustad springs a plan that no one sees coming. Over the public address system, he announces the option of a “polar plunge”, the chance to voluntarily dip in the frigid ocean, which is bobbing with ice.

Questioning my wisdom, I find myself swapping perfectly warm clothing for swimwear, pretty confident there will be only a handful of plungers. But down by the Zodiac dock, there’s an astonishing sight: a queue.

The guests, buoyed by their success in every other adventure thus far are egging each other on. Over half of the 360 passengers on board have shown up to blast their comfort zones out of the stratosphere.

Now it’s my turn, and as I’m strapped into a life jacket, harness and retrieval rope, the ship’s doctor stands by with his defibrillator. I’m counted down and jump, albeit feebly. The cold compresses the air from my lungs and I surface, blurting out expletives. But then I’m climbing the ladder, accepting a towel, and I’ve done it. Amid whoops and cheers, I high-five the queue of strangers. Tingling from head to toe and grinning, I head straight for the rooftop hot tub.

The plunge has unleashed a ship-full of dopamine, and even non-plungers are caught up in the buzz. This expedition has seen every one of us stretch our boundaries and live the awe. The shared adventure has made us friends, and mass champagne-toasting is the only thing for it.

THE DETAILS

CRUISE
The 12-day Highlights of Antarctica cruise includes charter flights from Buenos Aires to Ushuaia, meals, beverages, landings and Zodiac cruising. Additional fees apply for kayaking, camping and snowshoeing. The 2026/27 season departures are from $15,227 a person in a Polar Outside cabin. Suites start at $23,436 a person, which includes meals at the fine-dining restaurant and premium beverages. Some suites feature private hot tubs.

FLY
Qantas and Latam Airlines fly to Santiago, Chile, from Sydney and Melbourne (Latam only). Then connect with Latam Airlines or KLM to Buenos Aires, Argentina. A private charter flight to Ushuaia meets the ship. See qantas.com

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The writer travelled as a guest of HX Expeditions.