Libby was selected to be part of the Antarctic Heritage Trust's ‘ InspiringExplorers Expedition’ to the Antarctic Peninsula in 2026. Her very enthusiastic presentation made you feel, at times, you were almost there with her. The Trust is based in Christchurch and its vision is to inspire young explorers such as Libby, to share and encourage the spirit of exploration. The Trust has also for many years restored many of the original huts found in the Antarctic which date back to the early 1900s.Huts left by famous explorers such as Scott, Shackleton and Hillary.
Libby's adventure began in Argentina sailing on the Bark “Europa “which was built in 1911 and has since been fully restored. She sailed from the port of Ushuaia, down the Beagle Channel and into the Drake Passage, known as one of the most dangerous passages of open sea in the world, encountering 6 metre swells (can be as high as 12m).On the Bark were 58 people split into 4 crews who then were charged with 4 hour shifts sailing the ship in the heavy seas with duties such as helming,rigging and being on watch before being relieved for 8 hours to sleep ,eat and recover - then back on for the next shift.
Initially in these heavy seas it was very tough with Libby suffering from sea sickness but fortunately recovering after a few days,some crew didn’t ..The round trip was 4 days down to the Antarctic,10 days in the Antarctic and five days back home. In these highly adverse sea conditions safety was paramount with training in survival suits, safety harness and very good health and safety standards.
One of Libby’s goals was to follow and sight a Northern Royal Albatross which fledge from our own Taiaroa Heads colony (where Libby works) and fly the 9000 Kms to the southern tip of Argentina's coast. This did happen late in her trip which she described as a very emotional moment. On the trip there was plenty of wild life to be observed such penguins, petrels, seals, whales and the occasional iceberg. A highlight was seeing a rare white Giant Petrel. While on board the ship and under sail the crew entertained themselves by playing cards, enjoying the exceptional food at meal times and singing sea shanties, none of which was easy in the high seas. All the activities while in the Antarctic were conducted in continuous daylight, this changed when night time returned when they reached Cape Horn again.
For Info on future Antarctic Heritage Trust ‘Inspiringn Explorer’s Expeditions click here: https://nzaht.org/encourage/inspiring-explorers/
Link to Libby's powerpoint: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1PuRSzlq29NeK6kyD9ZXxBMJo5u9XD1TEGj9ePdm1KbM/edit?usp=sharing
Link to Libby's blog post that she wrote about the expedition earlier this year: https://nzaht.org/expedition-blog-libby-manning-antarctic-peninsula-2026/
