The Cool Expedition

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The ‘COOL’

expedition ship The latest French expedition vessels bring a new level of luxury to what was once hard-edged adventure – and makes it look easy. Roderick Eime does it tough.

I

’ll be honest, I’m still nervous about travelling with the French. Being outnumbered by gregarious Francophones on a French-flagged vessel always fills me with trepidation, but I’m pleased to say Ponant helped me overcome my awkward Francophobia.

Compagnie du Ponant was formed in 1988 to revive the French cruising tradition which never fully recovered after the sad demise of first SS Normandie, then SS France. The scale of the new operation however was moderated. Instead of Herculean oceanliners, the new company would employ much smaller vessels aimed at a select market.

Aboard the latest vessel, L’Austral, the second in a planned trio of 264-passenger boutique expedition vessels, first-timers will experience a level of luxury and decadence rarely seen on adventure cruise vessels. If you have cut your teeth on the stalwart, utilitarian ex-Soviet 32 Get Up & Go

workhorses, the Ponant experience will come as a shock.

Captain Jean-Philippe Lemaire, master of L’Austral and one of the founding team of Compagnie du Ponant told me, “We wanted to use small niche vessels with much conviviality on board targeted to high class passengers.”

Lofty intentions perhaps, but it appears Ponant is well under way with its plan to entice people from all over the world to experience its own peculiar Gallic flavour of expedition cruising. (English is widely spoken among the multinational crew.)

For those with a penchant for the technical, the 142m, 10,000 ton L’Austral is a modern marvel of maritime engineering. It has become the first such vessel to achieve green status thanks to advanced waste-water treatment, low wattage electrical and lighting and the ability to switch between light and heavy marine diesel depending on the

destination. Antarctica, for example, now requires all vessels to carry light diesel only in the event of a mishap – and there’s been a few in recent years.

Also on the ‘really cool’ list is an advanced GPS positioning system which allows the vessel to stay in one exact position without the need for anchors as well as a nifty pair of ‘double-jointed’ rudders that can turn the ship on a dime.

There are two restaurants, both offering dining in a single seating.

Restaurant Le Coromandel, is free seating, fine dining and a la carte, while the smaller Restaurant Le Rodrigues requires bookings but is a more casual setting. House wine is included in both. The cuisine is generally of high quality, if a little inconsistent. Nevertheless, her chefs easily surpass the majority of vessels operating in the region. Staterooms and suites are all fitted with flatscreen TV coupled to an inflightstyle entertainment system. There

PHOTOS: ROD EIME

are six price levels, ranging from the smallest at 18.5sq.m (with 4sq.m balcony) to the palatial 45sq.m owners suite with a massive 9sq.m private balcony.

Expedition cruising purists are likely to be split over opulent vessels like Ponant’s Le Boreal, L’Austral and la troisième, as yet unnamed.

When the first intrepid paying travellers ventured south with the likes of Lindblad, things were pretty basic. Repurposed former Soviet vessels were the ideal ships for the new adventurers and the passengers didn’t mind the expensive, roughedged exploration into unheard-of destinations. It certainly kept the riff-raff out. But now it seems the hallowed icy turf of Antarctica is just another tick box on the well-healed tourists’ list.

A day in the life of a Ponant adventurer is a far cry from those early days and an entire universe apart from Scott and Mawson.

Start the day with a lavish breakfast, muster in the comfy saloon prior to disembarking on your Zodiac excursion, return to ship and head to the bar for a bracing tonic, shower in your stateroom while watching the polar panorama through your picture window and dress for dinner.

After a sumptuous four course degustation meal, waddle up to the theatre (or take one of the two elevators), flop into a plush seat and enjoy the titillating Parisian showgirls. No, there is no casino.

On whichever side of this ethical fence you sit, it is clear vessels such as L’Austral have torn down many barriers for regular folks who want to visit the icy wastes of Antarctica in comfort – and they can do so without paying a hefty premium.

Viva la France! •

FACT FILE - BOOKINGS

Compagnie du Ponant Antarctic Cruise 2012 Departs 1 December 2012 11 days/10 nights, onboard L’Austral Itinerary: Roundtrip Ushuaia * Ponant bonus fare: The lead-in fare is $5309pp twin share Visit: [@] www.traveltheworld. com.au or tel: 1300 950 622

8 Getting there LAN Airlines flies daily from Sydney to Santiago, Chile.

Visit: [@] www.lan.com or tel: 1800 221 572

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