At A Glance
Visiting
Ushuaia - Antarctic Peninsula - Ushuaia
Highlights
- The wildlife of the Antarctic Peninsula, stunning scenery, icebergs and glaciers.
- Activities including Sea Kayaking, Scuba Diving, Field Camping, Snowshoeing, Mountaineering & Photography Workshop. Adventure for everyone!
- Visit historic locations and Antarctic Research Stations.
Wildlife
- Seabirds: Albatrosses, Fulmars, Petrels, Shags, Skuas, Prions, Shearwaters.
- Penguins: Chinstrap, Gentoo, Adelies.
- Whales: Humpback, Fin, Minke, Orca, Southern Right, Blue, Sperm, Dolphins.
- Seals: Weddell, Crabeater, Fur, Elephant & Leopard.
Duration
Detailed Itinerary
Day 1
In the afternoon, we embark in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, the southernmost city in the world located at the Beagle Channel and sail through this scenic waterway for the rest of the evening.
Day 2 & 3
During these two days we will sail across the Drake Passage. When we cross the Antarctic Convergence, we arrive in the circum-Antarctic up welling zone. In this area we may meet 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. If the winds are favourable we might enter Antarctic waters in the evening of the third day near the South Shetlands.
These volcanic islands are windswept and often shrouded in mist and fog, but do offer subtle pleasures. There is a nice variety of flora (mosses, lichens and flowering grasses) and fauna, such as Gentoo Penguins, Chinstrap Penguins and southern Giant Petrels.
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Day 4 - 9
We will sail directly to "High Antarctica", passing the Melchior islands and the Schollaert Channel between Brabant and Anvers Island. We will sail to the Neumayer Channel, where we position our ship for the multi activity base camp. The protected waters around Wiencke Island will become our playground for all activities.
In this alpine environment there great opportunities to scout the region on foot, per zodiac and during kayak trips. Walkers will find opportunities to use snowshoes on hikes near the shore lines and the mountaineers will find their challenge by climbing hills and view points further inland, ie. Jabet Peak (540 m). All climbs and excursions can only be conducted in good weather conditions.
We plan to stay two overnights at anchor in order to implement two camp nights and two full activity days. We will visit the British research station and post office Port Lockroy on Goudier Island. Close to Port Lockroy we may also offer a landing on Jougla Point with Gentoo Penguins and Imperial Shags.
We sail through the spectacular Lemaire Channel to Pleneau and Petermann Island where we can find Adelie Penguins and Blue-eyed Shags.
In this area there are good chances to encounter Humpback Whales, Minke Whales and Fin Whales.
Our second Basecamp night will be erected near the continent, we choose a camp site which is suitable and close to next days activity. The mountaineers hope to reach the summit of Mt Demaria (640 m) at Waddington Bay. A visit to one of the scientific stations in Antarctica will give you an insight about the life of modern Antarcticans working on the White Continent.
Further south we may have time to visit the Ukrainian Vernadsky Station, where we will receive a warm welcome from the station crew. When sailing to Paradise Bay, with its myriad icebergs and deep cut fjords, we will have the opportunity for zodiac cruising and kayaking between the icebergs in the inner parts of the fjords.
In this area we have good chances to see Humpback Whales and Minke Whales. Hikers, mountaineers and photographers will spend time ashore.
In afternoon at Neko Harbour we will have the opportunity to set foot on the Antarctic Continent in a magnificent landscape of huge glacier and enjoy the landscape during zodiac cruises, hikes and kayak excursions. A small group of mountaineers may climb up on higher grounds of the glacier.
We will spend the night at Neko or near Paradise Bay with a camp erected ashore. We will leave Neko Harbour in the early morning after breaking our last camp. We sail via Melchior Islands towards the open sea of the Drake Passage. We have again a chance of seeing many seabirds.
The protected waters around Herbert Sound at the North side of James Ross Island will become our "Basecamp" for all activities. This place is hardly visited by other ships and offers us a great opportunity to scout this region first time on foot, per zodiac, during photo excursions and kayak trips.
We plan to stay two overnights at anchor in order to implement two camp nights and one full day activity from Basecamp at either Uru Pensinsula on James Ross Island or Vega Island. If we cannot follow our itinerary into Herbert Sound due to sea ice, we can continue our voyage to seek for new camping grounds somewhere else. Exploring the unknown - this is true expeditioning!
Day 10 & 11
At sea.
Day 12
We arrive in the morning and disembark in Ushuaia.
Gallery
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