Globe & Mail - 2003

Tracing the Spirit of Shackleton By: Bruce Kirkby

"A Canadian outfitter is giving travellers the rare opportunity to explore Antarctica as the legendary polar explorer once did."

"...no amount of reading or study can compare to the experience of actually making the long voyage to Antarctica and sailing in Sir Ernest Shackleton’s wake. At least this is what David German thinks... Two years ago, German was selected as the expedition leader for the IMAX crew. The production team he oversaw spent 80 days retracing Shackleton’s odyssey through the polar seas, capturing footage amidst shifting pack ice and along windrakes shorelines.... German rates the IMAX team’s re-enactment of Shackleton’s arrival at Elephant Island as one of the greatest Antarctic moments... I want to facilitate ‘life experiences’ for others, he [Dave German] says. Journeys to the Antarctic are so powerful that it is not unusual to see travellers crying tears of joy. Everyone returns changed, and they will carry a part of the Antarctic with them for the rest of their lives... German crams the expeditions with opportunities to learn and explore. Experts are always on board to share their knowledge of history, photography, science, geography, adventure, leadership and the environment... The upcoming expedition will retrace the route of the famous explorer, from the icepack of the Weddell Sea to the rocky shores of Elephant Island, where they first landed, and onward to South Georgia Island and its waling station at Stromness, where Shackleton at last found help for his stranded crew. It will be the first ever adventure cruise to offer opportunity to hike inland on both South Georgia and the Antarctic continent... This year we will be attempting a few landings on islands I know for a fact that no other Antarctic charter has ever stopped at. Perhaps a few sealers have been there, but that’s it. Otherwise they are unexplored."

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