After 35 countries and a lifetime of manifesting, Durban North mother Chantal Dewolf finally reached Antarctica on a solo expedition, inspiring her daughters to chase bold dreams.
From an early age, Chantal Dewolf was always looking beyond the horizon. As a teenager, she would linger in shopping centre travel agencies, collecting brochures and mapping imagined journeys to far-off places. London, Paris, Europe in its entirety. Every destination planned, every hotel memorised, years before she could afford to go.
Today, Chantal lives in Durban North with her French husband and their 10-year-old twin daughters, Avalon and Harper. She works full time in clinical research, studied Bio-Medical Science and has travelled to more than 35 countries. Travel is not a side hobby in her life … it is central to how she lives, parents and dreams. And that philosophy recently carried her to the most remote continent on earth. Antarctica.
Chantal’s fascination with Antarctica began in 2005, sparked by a magazine article she stumbled upon in a doctor’s waiting room. The images of vast blue glaciers and untouched wilderness felt almost otherworldly. What struck her most was the realisation that Antarctica was not reserved only for scientists or explorers. Ordinary people could go there too.
The dream lodged itself quietly in her mind, where it stayed for two decades. Life happened in between. Marriage, work, motherhood, finances, logistics, and always the Drake Passage, one of the most notorious sea crossings in the world.
“The more impossible it sounded, the more determined I became,” she says. “But it was always something I thought I would do ‘one day’.”
That day finally arrived when Chantal boarded a small expedition yacht and crossed the Drake Passage. Leaving her family behind she says, was one of the hardest things she has ever done.
“I am very prone to motion sickness,” she admits. “I was violently ill for more than 24 hours. There was a moment, on my knees, where I genuinely thought I had made a terrible mistake.”
The boat pitched violently as waves slammed against it. Objects slid across cabins. Sleep was impossible. It was frightening, uncomfortable and deeply human. On the return journey, she adjusted her medication and slept through most of the crossing. Then came Antarctica itself.
“When my feet touched the ice for the first time, I cried,” she says. “I felt proud, humbled and incredibly grateful. It was the realisation of a dream I had carried for 20 years.”
She even took on the Polar Plunge, jumping into the freezing Antarctic Ocean in nothing but a swimsuit.
“It felt like being stabbed by a thousand needles,” she laughs. “It lasts seconds, but I can now say I jumped into the Antarctic Ocean, which is a pretty good icebreaker.”
Chantal’s path to Antarctica is inseparable from her love story. In 2008, she embarked on her first solo international trip to London, followed by Paris, where she met a Frenchman who would later become an important part of her story.
“It was love at first sight,” she says. “We were married 51 days later.”
She moved to Paris and spent seven years living in her dream city, travelling extensively across Europe and beyond. Mexico, Greece, Venice and countless other destinations filled those years. When she fell pregnant with twins, the family returned to South Africa to be closer to her roots, but travel remained non-negotiable.
The girls were born in France and hold dual citizenship. From an early age, they became seasoned travellers, chasing the Northern Lights in Finland, exploring Iceland’s glaciers and wandering the Amalfi Coast.
“Not all classrooms have four walls,” Chantal says. “I want to raise global citizens who understand that the world is vast, diverse and connected.”
There is a perception that frequent travel requires endless resources. Chantal is candid about the trade-offs.
“I work full time. I take leave days like everyone else,” she says. “I sacrifice other luxuries. I do not buy expensive handbags or shoes. I have a separate account labelled ‘travel fund’ and I funnel whatever I can into it.”
She plans meticulously, travels off season where possible, books early and remains flexible when things go wrong. Lost luggage, missed connections and unexpected delays have all been part of her travel experiences.
One missed flight in Helsinki resulted in an unplanned day in Paris with her in-laws. A month later, her father-in-law passed away.
“That delay gave us one last day together,” she says. “It taught me to trust that sometimes disruptions bring unexpected gifts.”
For Chantal, Antarctica was not just a personal achievement, it was a message to her daughters.
“I wanted to show them that dreams do not disappear because life gets busy,” she says. “Being a mother does not erase who you are or what you still want.”
Her next adventure will be to South Korea to visit her sister, likely combined with Japan, Vietnam or Cambodia. Looking further ahead, she dreams of returning to Finland, exploring the Arctic with her daughters and one day setting foot in Australia, the final continent on her list.
“There are still so many places to explore,” she says. “The bucket list never really ends.”
If there is one philosophy that guides her, it is simple. “The only trip you will regret,” she says, “is the one you did not take.”
Details: You can follow Chantal’s upcoming adventures on Instagram: @dewolf_twins
