IT IS very tempting to do some geographical name dropping after my adventure to the Antarctic Peninsula - returning as I did via South Georgia and The Falklands - but it is quite impossible when talking about it not to mention names that go back to our school days.

Shackleton and Elephant Island, Grytviken and the whalers, Darwin and Goose Green.

My travels took me from a latitude of 32 to 64.48 South; from the delta of the River Plate in Argentina, to Almirante Brown on the continent of Antarctica.

It made packing for this adventure quite testing, as we had the same 22kg baggage allowance that restricts all air travellers.

We had to have clothes for the steamy conditions in Buenos Aires and the chilly, windy and snowy weather of the Antarctic.

The adventure started in Buenos Aires, where we spent two days. We were welcomed by avenues of jacaranda trees covered in their wonderful lilac-coloured flowers, and were amazed by a 20-lane, 220m-wide highway.

Other first impressions were of the number of horses in roadside fields. It was clearly foaling time, and the mares and foals looked magnificent.

Argentina has been suffering a very severe depression over the past few years, and this was very evident. There were half-built houses lining the streets of the outskirts of the capital, reminiscent of streets in Africa where householders build walls as they can afford them - often over a period of many years.

There were children busking in the elegant city centre streets, and people scavenging through dustbins.

Nevertheless we found kindness and hospitality everywhere we went.

It did seem, however, that the depression was beginning to lift, with signs of improvement in the economy.

The streets were clean and bustling, and the shops were full of goods. They had an air of the orient and yet it was clearly so latin, with tango dancers at midnight in the streets.

It is true that the beef is wonderful and that people in Buenos Aires never seem to go to bed.

We took an early morning trip on the underground train, where passengers were clearly struggling to keep awake.

We spent a morning 40km north of Buenos Aires before catching our flight south and, having driven through the Buenos Aires weekend playgound of Tigre, we took a small pleasure boat for a trip round some of the River Plate Delta area.

The area forms the border between Argentina and Uruguay and is made up of hundreds of islands where vibrant communities live.

Like Venice, there are no roads at all, but the delta is on a much bigger scale.

This was a totally "island" lifestyle.

The journey continued with a four-hour flight to Ushuaia, in Tierra del Fuego.With tourism increasing in this part of the world, ours was the first passenger 747 to fly into this little outpost.

This is the most southerly town in the world, it has an unusual history. Originally it was an Indian settlement with a harbour that was used by adventurers and sailors over the centuries.

In modern times, it became rapidly populated as a result of military tensions with Chile some 25 years ago. It became essential to have a substantial town in the area, and now it boasts the highest salaries in Argentina in order to encourage people to go and settle.

It was here that we boarded our ship and we set sail down the Beagle Channel, where the snow-capped mountains reflected the sunset light, and then headed out into Drake Passage.

We were escorted by Cape petrels, amazing tube-nosed birds with wings decorated as if with lacework.

Later there were albatross and several other types of petrels and prions, all sweeping down close over the sea but with their wings never quite touching the waves.

This voyage was unusual, as we had calm conditions with mere 6ft waves, dispelling our fears of the Roaring Forties.

While at sea, we had up to four lectures a day on all aspects of the trip, from the geology of the area, the birds and seals, to the Antarctic Treaty.

It was daylight almost all of the time and we were all called on deck to view anything of interest at anytime of those daylight hours.

This adventure was not for the idle.

We steamed down the Gerlache Strait in among the icebergs, growlers and bergy bits, making landings where the ice and weather permitted.

The weather was generally overcast and snowy, and with chilling winds.

We saw penguins, seals, petrels, shags, albatrosses and whales. Some people even swam in the sea, in water heated by the volcanic vents on Deception Island.

Sailing down through the Antarctic Sound and creeping through the ice into the Weddell Sea, we saw an emperor penguin, rare in this part of the Antarctic. We visited Point Wild on Elephant Island to see where Shackleton's crew spent 100 days camped under two of their lifeboats, while their master went on his epic 800-mile rescue voyage to South Georgia.

The Antarctic is stunningly beautiful, with colours that are extraordinary and a magic that is palpable. But it is also a very hostile place, and this side we experienced in a small way, albeit during the southern summer and mostly from the comfort of our ship.

After two days at sea, and more lectures, we sailed gently into Gold Harbour in South Georgia, where we landed soon after 4am and met the first elephant seals and king penguins of the trip.

These animals, which strictly have right of way, are not afraid of people and show tremendous curiosity. One only has to stand still and creatures come right up to you, though the size and noises coming from the sparring bull elephant seals ensured total respect.

We had been assured the early start was necessary as the weather would break at 6.30am.

And it did, on cue.

We steamed on to Grytviken, and again were immersed in history from the early whalers and Shackleton to the Falklands War.

We also learned that the South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands fisheries protection schemes are world leaders, where environmentally-friendly fishing controls are enforced in a 200-mile exclusion zone.

Methods of reducing casualties among albatross, where long-line fishing is carried out, provide a blueprints for every fishing fleet.

After a rather more lively crossing of the Antarctic Convergance, with the weather becoming a good deal more testing, we eventually arrived in Port Stanley on a beautiful day.

With the help of friends, we had the most comprehensive tour of Stanley and into The Camp. It was a strange feeling to actually see this part of the Falkland Islands - areas that had become so familiar from television pictures.

We had a picnic in Darwin and looked out towards Goose Green.. What had never been clear on the TV screens were the great distances and the terrain covered by our troops during the 1982 war.

It is a harsh land, not unlike some of the remote parts of Scotland, but with geological features that are particular to these islands, such as rivers of stone. These are no pebbles, but granite blocks that "flow" down the mountain and hillsides like rivers and streams.

The Falklands feel totally British, and the islanders' gratitude towards the homeland can be felt everywhere.

When asked whether the sound of the jets was bothersome in this peaceful landscape, we were told: "Not at all. That is the sound of peace." The day in the Falklands seemed far too short to do these beautiful islands justice, and it was with sadness that we boarded our ship once again that evening heading back to Ushuaia and knowing it was the last the leg of this adventure.

l Prue Keigwin is the D&S Times' Masham area correspondent.

She travelled with a combination of Noble Caledonia, in London (0207 752 0000; www.noble-caledonia.co.uk) and Abercrombie and Kent (www.abercrombiekent.com)

Prices start in the region of £5,000, although substantial discounts are available with early booking