White Desert (company)
British tour operator
White Desert Ltd. is a British tour operator conducting expeditions to Antarctica from Cape Town, South Africa. As of 2021, it is the only company to offer a commercial private jet service to the continent. Its Whichaway Camp is described by multiple publications as Antarctica's first and only hotel.
History
White Desert was founded in December 2005 in London, England by polar explorers Patrick Woodhead and his then-wife Robyn Woodhead, with the goal of "making [Antarctica] accessible to everyone, not just explorers." Built in 2012 on the Schirmacher Oasis, The primary location, Whichaway Camp (70º 48’ 00” S 11º 23’ 00” E), consists of several guest "pods" that respectively contain bedrooms, bathrooms, dining rooms, and a library, heated by solar power. The camp underwent extensive renovations in 2016. It is intended to be removed entirely from the site at the end of its natural lifespan. A second location, Echo Camp (71°32'47" S 8°50'11" E), consisting of six hi-tech pods which can also accommodate up to 12 people, was added in 2022.
A maximum of 12 guests per group are flown from Cape Town, South Africa, to Whichaway Camp, the primary base camp located in Queen Maud Land, Antarctica, via various private aircraft. Flights operate into and out of Wolf's Fang Runway (71º 32’ 00” S 8º 50’ 00” E), which also has a smaller transitional camp serving as a logistical hub for incoming and departing trips.
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This entry incorporates text from “White Desert (company)” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.