HIGHLIGHTS
- Watch
several species of birds as they follow the vessel southeast, such as
albatrosses, storm petrels, shearwaters, and diving petrels
- Visit
the Falkland Islands which offer an abundance of wildlife including
many endemic species. The waters of the Falklands are also rich with
sea life, including southern sea lions and elephant seals. There is a
good chance to see both Peale’s dolphins and
Commerson’s dolphins
- Get
a chance to visit Steeple Jason and Carcass Island
- As
an alternative, you might visit Saunders Island, Westpoint Island and
Grave Cove
- En
route to South Georgia, cross the Antarctic Convergence which attracts
a multitude of seabirds near the ship, including several species of
albatross, shearwaters, petrels, prions, and skuas
- Visit
South Georgia’s breathtaking wildlife and scenery at Prion
Island, Salisbury Plain, St. Andrews Bay, Gold Harbour, Fortuna Bay,
Leith Harbour, Stromness, Husvik, Grytviken, Cobblers Cove, Godthul,
Royal Bay, Cooper Bay, Drygalski Fjord, Annenkov Island and King Haakon
Bay
- Visit
the following islands - Melchior Islands and Schollaert Channel,
sailing between Brabant and Anvers Islands, Danco Island, Neko Harbour,
Paradise Bay, and Port Lockroy
- Visit
the volcanic islands of the South Shetlands and find a wide variety of
flora (mosses, lichens, flowering grasses) and no small amount of fauna
(gentoo penguins, chinstrap penguins, southern giant petrels)
- In
Deception Island, plunge through Neptune’s Bellows and into
the flooded caldera, where you will find an abandoned whaling station,
and thousands of cape petrels – along with kelp gulls, brown
and south polar skuas, and Antarctic terns
- As
an alternative, you may be able to engage in activities near Half Moon
Island. Here chinstrap penguins and Weddell seals often haul out onto
the beach near Cámara Base, an Argentine scientific research
station
- South
polar skuas and snow petrels could join the albatrosses trailing the
ship on the journey back home
DATES / RATES
Rates are listed per person in USD
|
| Start Date | End Date | Quadruple Porthole | Triple Porthole | Twin Porthole | Twin Window | Twin Deluxe | Superior | Junior Suite | Grand Suite |
|---|
Rates are listed per person in USD
|
| Start Date | End Date | (Starting from)
Quadruple Porthole | (Mid-range)
Twin Deluxe | (High-end)
Grand Suite |
|---|
Day
1: Sandy Argentine beaches
You
embark from Puerto Madryn in the afternoon, your prow aimed for the
Falkland Islands. Golfo Nuevo is renowned for its visiting southern
right whales, so you have a good chance of spotting one as you sail
toward the open ocean.
Day
2 – 3: Sea life, sea birds
Though
you’re now at sea, there’s rarely a lonesome moment
here. Several species of bird follow the vessel southeast, such as
albatrosses, storm petrels, shearwaters, and diving petrels.
Day
4 - 5: Finding the Falklands
The
Falkland Islands offer an abundance of wildlife that is easily
approachable, though caution is always advised. These islands are
largely unknown gems with a wealth of bird life, including many endemic
species. The waters of the Falklands are also rich with sea life,
including southern sea lions and elephant seals. There is a good chance
to see both Peale’s dolphins and Commerson’s
dolphins.
During
this segment of the voyage, we aim to visit the following two sites:
Steeple Jason
– Home to the world’s largest black-browed
albatross colony (roughly 113,000), Steeple Jason is a wild and rarely
visited island buffeted by wind and waves. Weather and swell conditions
dictate the journey here.
Carcass Island
– Despite its name, this island is pleasantly rodent-free and
hence bounteous with birdlife and many endemic species. Anything from
breeding Magellanic penguins and gentoos to numerous waders and
passerine birds (including Cobb’s wrens and tussock-birds)
live here.
Other
sites that we may offer as an alternative:
Saunders Island
– On Saunders Island you can see the black-browed albatross
and its sometimes-clumsy landings, along with breeding imperial shags
and rockhopper penguins. King penguins, Magellanic penguins, and
gentoos are also found here.
Westpoint Island
– Landing in a small cove near the island's house, you will
be able to walk through the tussac grass and an abundant breeding
colony of black-browed albatrosses, where they live side by side
with rockhopper penguins.
Grave Cove
– Nesting gentoo penguins and excellent hiking opportunities
abound here, with the chance to enjoy great scenery and wildlife.
Day
6 – 7: Once more to the sea
En
route to South Georgia, you now cross the Antarctic Convergence. The
temperature cools considerably within the space of a few hours, and
nutritious water rises to the surface of the sea due to colliding water
columns. This phenomenon attracts a multitude of seabirds near the
ship, including several species of albatross, shearwaters, petrels,
prions, and skuas.
Day
8: Shag Rocks
Today
we reach the Shag Rocks, a group of six islands surrounded by
nutrient-rich waters that offer great feeding grounds for numerous
birds and whales. The islands are named after the South Georgian shag,
known for its bright blue eyes and yellow beak patch.
Day
9 – 13: South Georgia journey
In
our tour of South Georgia’s breathtaking wildlife and
scenery, we may visit the following sites. Please keep in mind that
weather conditions in this area can be challenging, largely dictating
the program.
Sites
you might visit include:
Prion Island
– The home of the great wandering albatrosses. The previous
summer’s wandering albatross chicks are almost ready to
fledge, and adults are seeking out their old partners after a year and
a half at sea.
Salisbury Plain, St. Andrews Bay,
Gold Harbour – These sites not only house the
three largest king penguin colonies in South Georgia, they’re
also three of the world’s largest breeding beaches for
southern elephant seals. Only during this time of year do they peak in
their breeding cycle. Watch the four-ton bulls keep a constant vigil
(and occasionally fight) over territories where dozens of females have
just given birth or are about to deliver. You can also see a
substantial number of Antarctic fur seals here during the breeding
season (December – January).
Fortuna Bay
– This beautiful outwash plain from Fortuna Glacier is home
to a large number of king penguins and seals. You may have the chance
to follow the final leg of Shackleton’s route to the
abandoned whaling village of Stromness. This path cuts across the
mountain pass beyond Shackleton’s Waterfall, and as the
terrain is partly swampy, be prepared to cross a few small streams.
Leith Harbour, Stromness, Husvik
– These sites remind us of the scale of the whaling industry
in the early 20th century. Elephant and fur seals breed and moult here.
Gentoo penguins also occupy the landing sites. Antarctic prions and
South Georgia dive petrels may be observed, especially in the area of
Husvik.
Grytviken –
In this abandoned whaling station, king penguins walk the streets and
elephant seals lie around like they own the place – because
they basically do. Here you might be able to see the South Georgia
Museum as well as Shackleton’s grave.
Cobblers Cove, Godthul
– Here we will try to visit Rookery Point to see macaroni
penguins. We might also encounter giant petrels, gentoo penguins,
seals, and light-mantled sooty albatrosses nesting along the coastline.
Godthul (Norwegian for “good cove”) was named by
Norwegian whalers and seal hunters.
Royal Bay (Moltke Harbour, Will
Point & Brisbane Point) – Moltke Harbour
in Royal Bay was named by the German International Polar Year
Expedition in 1882, and some of the remains of their dwellings are
still visible. The scenery of Royal Bay is amazing, with dark sandy
beaches, green tussocks, and of course, the great Ross Glacier. It may
be windy here, but the Zodiac cruising is spectacular. Roughly 30,000
pairs of king penguins also live in this area.
Cooper Bay
– A Zodiac cruise in Cooper Bay offers a good chance to see
macaroni penguins, gentoo penguins, and one of the world’s
largest chinstrap penguin rookeries. Fur and elephant seals may be seen
on the beach, while we might also spot light-mantled sooty albatrosses
gliding overhead. Antarctic terns, white-chinned petrels, and blue-eyed
shags are possible here too.
Drygalski Fjord
– This narrow waterway offers spectacular landscapes,
specifically high mountain peaks at a very close distance.
Annenkov Island –
Passing Pickersgill Islands, we reach the rarely visited Annenkov
Island, first discovered by James Cook in 1775 and later renamed by the
Russian expedition of Fabian von Bellingshausen in 1819. This is a
rocky terrain with a variety of ridges, peaks, and hills where fossils
have been found.
King Haakon Bay –
Few Antarctic locations are more steeped in expedition history than
this one. British explorer Ernest Shackleton reached King Haakon Bay
during his arduous open-boat voyage from Elephant Island, where his
crew was stranded after sea ice crushed their ship. Elephant seals
dominate these rugged beaches, and birdwatchers should keep a lookout
for South Georgia pipits, Antarctic prions, common diving petrels, and
blue petrels.
Day
14 – 17: Westward bound
South
polar skuas and snow petrels could join the albatrosses trailing our
vessel during these sea days, and we may also encounter sea ice. When
we reach the Drake Passage, you will be again greeted by the vast array
of seabirds remembered from the passage south.
Day
18: Earth’s southernmost city
You
arrive and disembark in Ushuaia, commonly held to be the
world’s most southern city. It is located on the Tierra del
Fuego archipelago, nicknamed the “End of the
World.” But despite this stopping point, the wealth of
memories you’ve made on your Antarctic expedition will travel
with you wherever your next adventure lies.
Day
1: End of the world, start of a journey
Your
voyage begins where the world drops off. Ushuaia, Argentina, reputed to
be the southernmost city on the planet, is located on the far southern
tip of South America. Starting in the afternoon, you embark from this
small resort town on Tierra del Fuego, nicknamed “The End of
the World,” and sail the mountain-fringed Beagle Channel for
the remainder of the evening.
Day
2 - 3: Path of the polar explorers
Over
the next two days on the Drake Passage, you enjoy some of the same
experiences encountered by the great polar explorers who first charted
these regions: cool salt breezes, rolling seas, maybe even a fin whale
spouting up sea spray. After passing the Antarctic Convergence
– Antarctica’s natural boundary, formed when
north-flowing cold waters collide with warmer sub-Antarctic seas
– you are in the circum-Antarctic upwelling zone. Not only
does the marine life change, the avian life changes too. Wandering
albatrosses, grey-headed albatrosses, black-browed albatrosses,
light-mantled sooty albatrosses, cape pigeons, southern fulmars,
Wilson’s storm petrels, blue petrels, and Antarctic petrels
are a few of the birds you might see.
Day
4 - 7: Enter the Antarctic
Gray
stone peaks sketched with snow, towers of broken blue-white ice, and
dramatically different wildlife below and above. You first pass the
snow-capped Melchior Islands and Schollaert Channel, sailing between
Brabant and Anvers Islands.
Sites
you may visit include:
Danco Island
– Activities here may focus on the gentoo penguins nesting on
the island, in addition to the Weddell and crabeater seals that can be
found nearby.
Neko Harbour
– An epic landscape of mammoth glaciers and endless
wind-carved snow, Neko Harbour offers opportunities for a Zodiac cruise
and landing that afford the closest views of the surrounding alpine
peaks.
Paradise Bay –
You may be able to take a Zodiac cruise in these sprawling, ice-flecked
waters, where there’s a good chance you’ll
encounter humpback and minke whales.
Port Lockroy
– After sailing through the Neumayer Channel, you may get a
chance to visit the former British research station – now a
museum and post office – of Port Lockroy on Goudier Island.
You may also be able to partake in activities around Jougla Point,
meeting gentoo penguins and blue-eyed shags.
Day
8: Scenes of South Shetland
The
volcanic islands of the South Shetlands are windswept and often cloaked
in mist, but they do offer subtle pleasures: There’s a wide
variety of flora (mosses, lichens, flowering grasses) and no small
amount of fauna (gentoo penguins, chinstrap penguins, southern giant
petrels).
In
Deception Island, the ship plunges through Neptune’s Bellows
and into the flooded caldera. Here you find an abandoned whaling
station, and thousands of cape petrels – along with kelp
gulls, brown and south polar skuas, and Antarctic terns. A good hike is
a possibility in this fascinating and desolate volcanic landscape.
As
an alternative, you may be able to engage in activities near Half Moon
Island. Here chinstrap penguins and Weddell seals often haul out onto
the beach near Cámara Base, an Argentine scientific research
station. Conditions on the Drake Passage determine the exact time of
departure.
Day
9 - 10: Familiar seas, familiar friends
Your
return voyage is far from lonely. While crossing the Drake,
you’re again greeted by the vast array of seabirds remembered
from the passage south. But they seem a little more familiar to you
now, and you to them.
Day
11: There and back again
Every
adventure, no matter how grand, must eventually come to an end.
It’s now time to disembark in Ushuaia, but with memories that
will accompany you wherever your next adventure lies.
(Click image to view Ship details)
WHAT'S INCLUDED
Included
in this voyage
- Voyage
aboard the indicated vessel as indicated in the itinerary
- All
meals throughout the voyage aboard the ship including snacks, coffee
and tea.
- All
shore excursions and activities throughout the voyage by Zodiac.
- Program
of lectures by noted naturalists and leadership by experienced
expedition staff.
- Free
use of rubber boots and snowshoes.
- Luggage
transfer from pick-up point to the vessel on the day of embarkation, in
Ushuaia.
- Pre-scheduled
group transfer from the vessel to the airport in Ushuaia (directly
after disembarkation).
- All
miscellaneous service taxes and port charges throughout the programme.
- Comprehensive
pre-departure material.
Excluded
from this voyage
- Any
airfare, whether on scheduled or charter flights
- Pre-
and post- land arrangements.
- Passport
and visa expenses.
- Government
arrival and departure taxes.
- Meals
ashore.
- Baggage,
cancellation and personal insurance (which is strongly recommended).
- Excess
baggage charges and all items of a personal nature such as laundry,
bar, beverage charges and telecommunication charges.
- The
customary gratuity at the end of the voyages for stewards and other
service personnel aboard (guidelines will be provided).
OPTIONAL ACTIVITIES
ADVENTURE
OPTIONS
- Kayaking:
USD 450
- Camping:
USD 195
- Snowshoeing:
FREE
