Talk - ‘Antarctica’

The naturalist and travel writer David Lang is giving a photo-illustrated talk about a boat trip to Antarctica he made earlier in the year, and was lucky enough to return from in one piece. “People forget how rough it is out there,” he says. “We were travelling about in a smallish boat - there was room for 114 of us - and at one point a poor chap was tossed right across the foyer and broke his neck. Luckily there was an A&E specialist and a neuro-surgeon on board to help him.”

“I was primarily there to see the wildlife, and while there wasn’t a great variety of species to see, the sheer quantity of animals was stunning,” he continues. “Huge numbers of whales, seals and penguins: we saw a penguin rookery in St Andrew’s inhabited by over 500,000 king penguins. People think of these animals as slightly ridiculous figures, but they are incredibly adaptable to the conditions.” They are also very carefully protected. “We were lucky enough to make a number of landings on Zodiacs (inflatable dinghies) and to preserve the eco-system there; we had to follow strict rules. We couldn’t pick up a single artefact - not a stone or a pebble - and if we met a penguin coming the other way down a track, we had to step off and let them pass. Penguins had right of way.” Lang will be showing over 200 slides taken on the trip - all proceeds will go to the roof and steeple restoration fund.