How far would you go for the ultimate private luxury travel experience? To the ends of the earth? Experiential travel company Black Tomato is offering the chance for intrepid luxury travellers to witness a once-every-400-years full solar eclipse in the skies above Antarctica aboard a private expedition vessel in December this year.
The trip can be customised exactly as you please, but Black Tomato suggests setting sail from Port Stanley in the Falkland Islands the day before the eclipse, which will achieve totality at 4.34am on December 4 in the skies above the White Continent. Thanks to the extreme latitude of the Scotia Sea, this part of the Antarctic region is bathed in sunlight for 22 hours a day at this time of year, giving the sun time to climb above the horizon before being fully obscured by the moon for almost two minutes.
In the days ahead, you’ll make the most of the toys aboard your private ship: perhaps a submersible submarine with which to explore the depths of the ocean, or a private helicopter to whisk you to shore, where you can hike to polar summits, go heli-skiing and look out for whales and penguins on remote ice floes.
Back on board, photographers can hone their skills during a cruise through Iceberg Alley looking out for nesting penguins, before travelling onwards to visit a scientific research station, then continuing to Deception Island, where the hot rocks of an ancient, submerged caldera make the water warm enough for an Antarctic plunge.
Everything else, from transfers and dining to entertainment and education, will be taken care of by the Black Tomato team. Just don’t forget to set your alarm clock. The trip is part of Black Tomato’s new bespoke eclipse travel series, which creates tailored programmes for travellers to whichever corners of the world NASA identifies as the best spot for catching a glimpse of the next solar or lunar phenomenon. Prices on request.