Chill out: glacial kayaking

Pulling the blinds open at the Lago Grey Hotel in Patagonia was the only wake-up call I needed - no coffee necessary. It was one of the few times where my breath was truly taken away. The sight was surreal and far prettier than a picture: Grey Lake, snowcapped trees and icebergs, with Grey Glacier as a bold backdrop luring us out of bed and on to the boat.

According to Shelli Ogilvy, a head kayaking guide for Quark Expeditions, arctic adventures have become increasingly popular in recent years. Ogilvy says when booking such trips for their clients - the globally savvy, active-adventure set - they are fulfilling requests for exciting and unique escapades. This has made glacial or ice kayaking the excursion of choice.

And that's why our group of intrepid travellers was in Patagonia. Snapping pretty pictures aside, we were there to experience extreme arctic thrills. On the day's docket was glacial kayaking.

We were able to board our motorboat, the Grey II, only a few minutes from our hotel. The boat could accommodate as many as 50, but fortunately there were fewer than 10 on board that morning. Cruising out, we felt like we had Chile's iconic Torres del Paine National Park all to ourselves.

It was autumn to me, but spring in Patagonia. It was early in the season and early in our day, so the silence and the arctic ambience were tremendous. As cold as it was, I couldn't help but stand on the outside deck for the better part of the journey.

My face was as frozen as I was, transfixed by the glacial beauty before me. It was a frigid flipbook of otherworldly images as we soared by: crystal blue water, walls of ice, whitewashed mountains, large balls of snow and icebergs.

Our normally chatty group remained relatively quiet on the ride out, as there was nothing anyone could possibly say that could trump what we were seeing.

Ninety minutes later, we arrived at Big Foot Adventure Patagonia's base camp by Grey Glacier, which is part of the Southern Ice Fields, the third-largest freshwater reserve in the world. The goal of the day was to get as up close and personal with the glacier as possible.

We had been set to go ice climbing in the park, but due to winds they rescheduled us for ice kayaking instead. I was initially disappointed, as I had kayaked all over the world but had yet to try ice climbing.

After we were suited up, briefed and given a quick lesson, we were off. Our confident guide, Alexis Romo, radiated early-season exuberance as he led us through the icy water. We all had kayaked before but quickly realised this was far from your average paddle. We were instructed by Romo to use our oars to literally chop through the ice in order to move.

The chill quickly wore off as we worked our way through the frozen water. I forgot that we were even headed to the glacier, instead becoming distracted by the apartment-sized walls of ice and snow surrounding us, which were grand and majestic enough. They were artfully displayed like curated, site-specific arctic artworks. Holes in large snow walls and evocative icy entrances begged us to paddle through and explore more.