Author Archives: Ghaznavid
El Chalten
After departing the MV Ushuaia, I had most of the day in Ushuaia. My next destination would be Patagonia – but we had been warned not to book early flights as the ship often returns late. Air Argentina had merged two flights, so my flight was rescheduled an hour later, meaning I’d only have a […]
There and back again: Antarctica part 5
After returning from Neko Harbour, it was time for the finals of the karaoke contest. Knowing that audience participation was a major factor in the judges’ decisions, Conall opted for a song that would be stuck in all our heads for the next month – Feliz Navidad. The finalists did a great job, and ultimately […]
As south as I’ve ever been: Antarctica part 4
One way I like to look at the world is to draw a box with four points on the most north, south, east and west point I’ve ever traveled to. Before 2025, my record for most south was the town of Stilbaai in South Africa, which is 34.4°S – which I visited in 2003. In […]
Penguins, penguins and more penguins: Antarctica part 3
After our epic first day of landings – we had a karaoke contest, lead by the legendary barkeeper, Fabian. As an intro, he took the first two songs, and intentionally did them terribly to make everyone more comfortable. I suspect he would have a great voice if he was trying – but we all knew […]
Even Further South: Antarctica part 2
After breakfast, the ship had come to a stop. We watched and waited with great anticipation as we saw the Zodiac with the guides head out to Half Moon Island, a small island in the South Shetland Islands, that would hopefully be our first landing of the trip. Nothing is guaranteed in Antarctica – you […]
Further South: Antarctica part 1
A wise man once said “the reason most people never reach their goals is that they don’t define them” – as to who that wise man was, I’ve seen this attributed to far too many people to be sure who first said in. Nonetheless, the sentiment is one I strongly agree with. Some goals are […]
Heading south: Ushuaia
For anyone who follows this blog, you may have noticed the lack of activity for more than a year. This was not due to inactivity on my side, but rather too much activity. I will hopefully catch up on everything from my Drakensberg Grand Traverse last December to my four and a half months in […]
Pakistan trip part 3: Hunza Valley
We made our way from from Minapin to Karimabad. For a desert town, it was remarkably green. The Hunza Princely State was established around 1200AD and acceded to Pakistan on 3 November 1947. The fort commands great views over the town. When we arrived, the mountains were still hidden in the clouds. One summit was […]
Pakistan trip part 2: Rakaposhi Basecamp
Classification of mountain ranges is something I’ve had strong feelings about for many years, so when I heard that we’d be traveling through the location where the Karakoram, Himalaya and Hindu Kush meet – I naturally had to do some homework on this location. Claims like this often disregard observable facts in favour of marketing. […]
Pakistan trip part 1: Nanga Parbat Basecamp
If you ask ten people who are knowledgeable about the greater ranges what their favourite 8000er is, most will give you the same answer: K2. But if they had to provide a second answer, Nanga Parbat would likely be the most common response. I first learned about the existence of Nanga Parbat in my early […]
Ghaznavid Hiking 
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