Imagine landing on a blue-ice runway in the most remote place on Earth, journeying to the South Pole (where less that 500 people visit each year), being the first human a baby emperor penguin ever sees, abseiling down an untouched glacier, I could go on... Oh, and picture doing it all in luxury.
This isn’t a far-fetched fever dream, but a reality sustainably brought to life by White Desert – something I discovered on a recent trip to Cape Town, when I popped into HQ to catch up with Head of Marketing & Experiences, Ryan Brown.
“By bringing people in and allowing them to experience Antarctica, we’re trying to get people to fall in love with it and become advocates for it, for its protection, for its future, for the effect that Antarctica has on the world's climate and change.”
A pioneer in deep field – aka remote interior – Antarctica, White Desert has just celebrated its 20th season. And in that time, things have changed dramatically. It started small, with founder and polar explorer Patrick Woodhead leading six guests, moving by skis, and sleeping in tents you had to carry yourself.
“There are no buildings, no people, not even animals. And it just puts it all perspective. We are so small. We are such a small part of the planet, and it's so easy to get so wrapped up in your own head.”
Today, White Desert doesn’t just fly a plane once a week during the 11-week summer season from Cape Town onto the blue-ice runway in Antarctica (although I think we can all agree that’s pretty mind-blowing in itself). It provides a level of luxury you’d never think possible in the most inhospitable environment on Earth. Think massages from on-the-ground physios, saunas and ice cap plunges for the ultimate contrast therapy, full-time photographers to document your whole trip, and so much more.
“When I'm on the ice, I’m not thinking about anything else – I’m not even really thinking about my job. You just end up being so present. And I think your ability to have the time and space to do that is a real luxury.”
Lots of cruise ships can take you around the Antarctic Peninsula on the coast. But there are some places even the most impressive superyacht-inspired cruises can’t take you: the South Pole. Journeying to the South Pole and seeing its emperor penguin colonies is by far White Desert’s most in-demand experience. And while certain cruises attempt to journey here, they often don’t succeed. As for White Desert? During the last season, all their guests got to see emperor penguins.
In short: the logistics required and involved in building up the infrastructure and knowledge over time to operate at the scale and level that White Desert does is unmatched. So, let’s hear it from someone on the inside. Here’s what Ryan has to say on everything from what true isolation feels like to how to operate sustainably in the final frontier: Antarctica…
White Desert has redefined what it means to travel to Antarctica. What surprises guests the most when they arrive at your camps?
Apart from the logistics operation, I think they're actually really surprised by how comfortable they end up being. You feel like there's going to be such a hardship in the exploration, like you're going to the extremes, to the end of the earth. There's no hospital, you can't run to the store and buy another, jacket if you're cold. So, I think your survival instincts kick in with your imagination, thinking ‘okay it's going to be hard, it's going to be rough’ – but we've taken all that hardship out of it.
And we've been doing this for 20 years. We've been down there so many times that we've predicted what you’ll need and how you'll feel. The pods are all heated, you've got running water and showers, and we try to make sure everyone's dietary needs are correct and catered for. If you say to us, ‘I really only drink Johnnie Walker Black,’ we will fly it down for you. People are surprised with what we're able to deliver, given where we are in the middle of nowhere and the logistical hoops that we have to jump through.
You’ve hosted everyone from polar first-timers to astronauts-in-training. What kind of person is drawn to the end of the Earth?
We actually hosted Buzz Aldrin – and he was the inspiration behind Echo Camp. He said to Patrick, ‘this is the only place I've been that feels like the moon’. It’s the closest thing you can get to going to outer space without leaving the planet.
If I'm super generalising, you get your older retirees who are doing bucket list adventures, or a C-suite professional who’s close to retirement and doing a victory lap. He tends to be more adventurous. The wife tends to be a little more cautious – a little more nervous about what to expect. Sometimes she will opt out of an activity to stay back and have a massage, use the sauna, and read a book.
Another smaller group is young people who've made an extraordinary amount of money selling a company. They've got the money and are going to live the big life. We had one young tech startup guy who sold his company and charted a private plane for his 40th birthday – he brought all his friends and booked a camp out exclusively for the week.
The third bucket is families – most of the exclusive-use groups we have are families – and then some friend groups and couples. We had one boys’ trip this year – and for this upcoming season, they're sending all their wives.
But the majority of people don't end up coming and saying, ‘I couldn't do it’. We always have three guides for every four people who cater to your speed, ability level, and how daring you are. The beautiful thing is you get people coming and pushing their limits and walking away saying, ‘I didn't think I could do that’. And that's really incredible. It’s giving them something you can't buy. That exact sense of accomplishment, pride, and confidence – that's a really special part of it that doesn't go as talked about.
What does true isolation feel like – and why do you think so many high-achieving people crave it?
I think it's about control. Putting yourselves in environments where you don't have control is attractive, challenging, and elemental. It's a survival instinct kind of thing – a controlled and calculated risk. It’s that kind of extreme that takes you out of your everyday, which is hard to come by now. There are very few things that really feel different to the way you live your life.
And to talk about the silence, it is eerie because there's no noise. It's absolutely silent. It's just wind – if the wind is blowing. So, when you're out trekking across a glacier, it's just the sound of your crampons on the ice. And that stillness can be unsettling for people who might have anxiety around being alone with their thoughts. But I find it also deeply calming. I feel like there's like such peace in it that – you're removed from all those other disturbances and distractions in your in your normal life.
Sustainability is central to White Desert’s ethos. How do you balance ultra-luxury with operating in one of the planet’s most fragile environments?
It's really challenging and expensive, but it's the right thing to do. We've been carbon neutral since 2007, and we try every year to raise the bar for ourselves in terms of our footprint. For example:
Two of our camps are off-the-grid and fully solar powered. So we're able to harness the beauty of 24-hour sunshine.
We’ve put in a really progressive waste management and water treatment facility. It's the same quality that you would find on private yachts and luxury boats. So we've gone beyond what the IAATO rules are in terms of greywater management.
No single-use plastics. When we send everything down through our cargo team, we take everything down into as minimal packaging as possible, and try to use as much reusable, so most of our stuff goes in plastic crates that we reuse, and ship back and forth.
Of all our waste – human and food – 75% of it is recyclable or compostable. We're continuing to challenge ourselves on what that footprint is, but it's pretty impressive.
There are some things we want to do better on, one of which is education on Antarctica. So we're busy project planning for that now – more educational talks and opportunities like creating a full-time ornithologist to come and go with you on every penguin trip, to talk to you more about penguins, the geology of Antarctica, and history of Antarctica.
In a world where luxury often means more – more access, more speed, more excess – what does luxury mean at the bottom of the world?
On one end, if you're sticking with material things, coming back from a six-hour hike where you've trekked across rock, over glaciers, and into valleys, coming back to a warm cup of hot chocolate can feel like a luxury. It's not so much about the expense, it's about the convenience.
But ultimately, the greatest luxury is time. The ability to leave your life and come this far – all the way to the bottom of the earth – and be in Antarctica without distractions. For a long time we didn't allow Wi-Fi – it was expensive with satellites and whatnot, and we wanted people to disconnect and lean into the experience. But we've got Starlink now because people’s jobs and lives are demanding. But we do encourage you to disconnect when you can, to lean into the experiences and be without all your normal day-to-day distractions, requirements, and responsibilities.
It's pretty special. When I'm on the ice, I’m not thinking about anything else – I’m not even really thinking about my job. You just end up being so present. And I think your ability to have the time and space to do that is a real luxury.
Explore White Desert’s core journeys…
Baby Penguins & Blue Tunnels
When: early season.
Cost: $75,250 USD.
An experience that’s never the same twice – from witnessing baby penguins taking their very first steps to wandering through newly formed blue ice tunnels.
South Pole & Penguins
When: high season.
Cost: $115,500 USD.
White Desert’s most popular itinerary. You’ll journey to the South Pole, where very few people ever set foot on, and visit an emperor penguin colony.
South Pole & Blue Rivers
When: late season.
Cost: $105,000 USD.
This new itinerary combines White Desert’s signature journey to the South Pole with a visit to Antarctica’s rare phenomenon: blue rivers.
The Long Stay
When: late season.
Cost: $110,500 USD.
For those who want the best of both worlds, this long itinerary includes stays at both of White Desert’s main camps and visits to the South Pole and blue rivers.
Antarctica in a Day
When: entire season.
Cost: $16,500 USD.
Cape Town to Antarctica and back. In a day. You’ll descend into ice caves and rappel down glaciers – all with a glass of Champagne waiting for you in the ice bar at the end.
Discovery Week
When: 26th January–3rd February 2027.
Cost: $45,000 USD.
Get up close and personal with the frozen continent alongside leading glaciologists, geologists, and climate researchers on this exclusive seven-day expedition.
