"Visit an historic site" Top 5 Page for this destination Antarctica Things to Do Tip by tiabunna

Many parts of Antarctica are rich in the history of early exploration. Remember that Antactica was first circumnavigated by Cook in 1772-1775, and not sighted until 1820. The first visits were ship-based by explorers or whalers, and not until 1898 did a small party led by Carsten Borchgrevink winter over (at Cape Adare). World War 1 brought an end to the 'Heroic age' of exploration, which lasted until 1916 with the rescue of Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition and, often overlooked, the subsequent rescue of that expedition's Eastern Party at the Ross Sea.

If you are fortunate enough to visit an historic site (such as Mawson's Hut in the photograph), be prepared to queue if entry should be possible. It is not recommended to have crowds inside. It also is the rule to photograph but not to touch anything: it is important that any artifacts are preserved.

Mawson's Hut is at real risk of being destroyed by the extreme climatic conditions in Commonwealth Bay - some timbers have been abraded to less than half their original thickness by wind-blasted snow travelling at over 200kph. To prevent that happening, a volunteer organisation has been formed to carry out essential stabilisation works. They now have been operating with government and private support for several years. If you go here you will see their website, with recent photos and progress reports.

Address: Many locations around the coast of Antarctica