A Miramichi Rural School teacher travelled to the end of the world in search of a White Christmas. Mr. Adam Hayward gave in to his urge to travel and went south, almost as far south as he could get, to reach yet another of the world’s seven continents. Below is an account of Mr. Hayward's recent trip to Antarctica.            Ever since I travelled to Europe as a grade 12 student at JMH under the guidance of Mr. Loyd Cameron I have had a disease many refer to as "The Travel Bug". This is a disease in which there is no cure, only treatments. Throughout the past few years I have attempted to treat this disease of mine with several trips to Europe, by studying in Rwanda, attending professional development seminars in Kenya, and hiking through the jungles and mountains of Peru. Each time I venture out the trips seem to get a little more off the beaten path, a little more dangerous, and even more amazing.     This Christmas I set out to conquer my 5th, and most difficult continent to reach, Antarctica.      The journey began with two days of travelling through 5 different airports, 3 different countries and 2 different continents. The adventure began when I arrived on the boat at the Southern most town in the world, Ushuaia, Argentina and set out to cross “The Drake Passage”. This waterway is where the Pacific, Atlantic, and Southern Ocean converge in a violent mixture of high winds and tremendous waves. Many boats have been lost in this ominous passage that is known around the world as one of the most dangerous.      I experienced the ferocity of the Drake Passage first-hand as a storm blew out of nowhere during our first night causing the winds to increase to 50km/h and waves to crest at 9 meters. Our Captain said it was the worst seas he had experienced this season but the biggest confirmation of the ferocity of the storm came in the middle of the of our first night when a huge wave crashed into the side of the ship. The ship tilted on such an angle that I slid down my bed, and my feet hit the desk that was at the foot of the bed. As I was awakened by the slide, I watched my roommate slide completely out of his bed before slamming on the floor.     After two days of doing the “Drake Shake” we reached Antarctica on Christmas Day! It was certainly a Christmas I will not forget, filled with excitement, danger and a touch of fear. Despite some rough seas our expedition leader was determined to give us a Christmas present we would not forget: a landing at Baily Head which is home to the largest colony of nesting chinstrap penguins in Antarctica. We loaded onto the 15 foot zodiacs which would bring us to shore and were immediately greeted by hundreds of porpoising penguins swimming through the waters. On shore the penguins that call Baily Head home were busy collecting “love pebbles” and performing “the march of the penguins” into the sea to get food for their chicks that were just hatching. It was an incredible sight (and horrendous smell) with so many penguins packed so tightly into this tiny cove. If I saw one penguin I would have called the trip a success but here I was, on Christmas Day, surrounded by 250,000!     That was the exciting part. The danger and fear came in when we were getting ready to leave Baily Head. The winds began to pick up and the zodiacs were being tossed around by the 3 meter waves as they attempted to pick up the remaining passengers who were on shore (including me). As I waited in line to leave I watched one zodiac make an emergency departure without picking up any passengers as a huge wave came barreling towards the drive. The driver drove directly into the wave which tossed boat and drive 10 feet into the air before coming crashing down. The next zodiac which picked passengers up left with only 4 of 8 passengers as it too was forced to make a quick departure and we watched 2 staff members get swallowed up by the huge waves and carried out to the sea. Luckily both made it back to shore after a panicked swim. I was quite afraid when it was my turn to load into the zodiac as I was on the last trip out, however my fears were somewhat kept in check by the fact that our expedition leader, John, who has over 100 trips to Antarctica under his belt, was driving our zodiac. Fortunately, we made a safe return to our ship after a very bumpy ride.      This first adventure set the tone for the remainder of the trip as each day seemed to get better than the next. We hiked 850 foot mountains and slid down in the freshly fallen snow, we watched Killer Whales chase and capture 3 penguins for lunch, saw a very daring gentoo penguin jump on a leopard seal’s head that was relaxing on the beach, came within feet of elephant seals, and had a polar bear swim (or better yet, a penguin plunge) on New Years Eve.     While I thought this trip would ease the symptoms of my “travel bug” I am afraid it has only made things worse. I have already started planning my next adventure and I look forward to continuing to share these experiences with my students and colleagues. If you would like to read more about my adventures in Antarctica and see some pictures you can check out my travel blog at:  http://www.everlater.com/adamhayward17/quest-for-the-antarctic-circle/as...    Password: Antarctica Pictured above - Gentoo Penguin,   Pictured Below (L to R) Mr. Hayward, A Juvenile Elephant Seal, Chinstrap Penguins