ANTARCTICA 2007/08:

• Antarctic Explorer - 10 Nights
• Antarctica, the Falkland Islands & South Georgia -19 Nights
• Christmas in the Weddell Sea - SOLD OUT
• Extended Antarctic Sailing Adventure -SOLD OUT 

About our ships

Antarctic Explorer (10 Nights)

This journey takes us to one of the world’s most awe inspiring destinations. With visits along the way through the South Shetland Islands we arrive on the mainland, on the Antarctic Peninsula and are dazzled by perhaps the most dramatic scenery to be found anywhere on earth.

Sailing aboard our well-appointed expedition vessel, we see Antarctic nature in all its glory. These areas boast an extraordinary abundance of wildlife, including five seal species and massive penguin rookeries of gentoo, Adelies and chinstraps as well as a profusion of seabirds from albatross to skuas. A wildlife highlight may well be watching a variety of magnificent whale species in close proximity as they crest the surface of the waves.

On the White Continent, we also see remarkable landscapes of ice. At Paradise Harbour or Hope Bay we find many icebergs dotting the waters, including some that are colossal in size, containing natural caves shrouded in an eerie translucent light. On land, there is a sweeping ice sheet, masking mountains and filling trenches binding together an entire continent that is about the size of Africa. We’ll even have the chance to camp ashore on this expanse of ice if conditions are suitable.

Even in the company of our experienced expedition crew, some of whom have travelled to Antarctica over 100 times, it still seems astonishing to think of the early explorers attempting to conquer this beautiful, yet formidable land.

Note: Weather, ice, or other conditions may necessitate changes to our itinerary and alteration to certain shore excursions.

Itinerary
Day 1 Board the ship. Sail the Beagle Channel.
Days 2 - 3 Cross the Drake Passage.
Days 4 - 8 Explore the Antarctic Peninsula.
Days 9 - 10 Sail back through the Drake Passage.
Day 11 Arrive in Ushuaia, where your voyage ends. You are transferred to your hotel, or to the airport for your onward flight.

Antarctica, the Falkland Islands & South Georgia (19 Nights)

From Ushuaia we sail the Beagle Channel in an easterly direction to the Falkland Islands. We’ll explore West Point Island where rockhopper and Magellanic penguins and black-browed albatross nest among tufts of tussock grass. At Volunteer Point we’ll meet brightly-coloured king penguins. History buffs will be keen to explore Port Stanley – the smallest and most isolated capital city in the world.

In the company of the great wandering albatross we navigate eastward until the spectacular ice-crowned mountains of South Georgia appear on the horizon. Our first landfall is the abandoned whaling station at Grytviken, where we visit the grave of Sir Ernest Shackleton, one of the greatest Antarctic explorers.

In the following days we thread our way through the magical fjords and bays of this South Atlantic ‘Ark’. As the only speck of land for many hundreds of miles, South Georgia is one of the planet’s most astonishing wildlife havens. A sea of 100,000 colourful king penguins crowds the beaches at Salisbury Plain against a backdrop of towering snow-covered mountains. Another 75,000 nest at the Bay of Isles. South Georgia is also home to mind-boggling numbers of elephant and fur seals, macaroni penguins and important populations of albatross.

We continue our journey to the South Orkney Islands, where huge breeding grounds of Weddell seals have recently been discovered. Crossing the Scotia Sea we enter a magical world of icebergs and ice-covered mountains as we reach the South Shetlands and the bays and channels of the Antarctic Peninsula. On frequent excursions ashore and by inflatable Zodiac boat, we’ll view Adelie, chinstrap and gentoo penguins, as well as humpback and minke whales and several species of seal.

Note: Weather, ice, or other conditions may necessitate changes to our itinerary and alteration to certain shore excursions.

Itinerary

Day 1 Board the vessel. Sail the Beagle Channel
Day 2 Sail east towards the Falkland Islands
Days 3 - 4 The Falkland Islands
Days 5 - 7 Sailing towards South Georgia
Days 8 - 10 South Georgia
Day 11 Sailing to the South Orkney islands
Day 12 South Orkney Islands(ice conditions permitting)
Day 13 Sailing south to Antarctica
Days 14 - 17 Antarctica Peninsula
Days 18 - 19 Sailing north towards South America
Day 20 Arrive in Ushuaia, where our voyage ends. You are transferred to your hotel, or to the airport for your onward flight.

Contact Chris to join this expedition and for more information.

Christmas in the Weddell Sea (11 Nights)

The ice factory that is the Weddell Sea has become synonymous with the torturous northerly drift of Shackleton’s Endurance expedition. Images of massed pack ice and human hardship add to the legendary status of this inaccessible sea. This is a true exploratory voyage, heading into rarely-visited regions, our course determined by the weather and ice.

We’ll make landfall at the South Shetland Islands at the northern tip of the peninsula, before testing the limits of the sea ice as we push south into the Weddell Sea. Along the way, we’ll celebrate a true ‘white’ Christmas – but with a little more luxury than Shackleton experienced!

We aim to visit Snow Hill Island, base for the Heroic Age Nordenskjold expedition, and Seymour Island, where scientists are still finding fossils of giant penguins. We’ll head south among the islands of the western shore of the Weddell Sea, in search of an emperor penguin colony, as we virtually back-track along the route the Endurance drifted.

Heading north, we hope to visit Paulet Island, site of one of the Peninsula’s largest penguin rookeries, and we’ll attempt the notoriously difficult landing on Elephant Island, home for many months to the Endurance sailors.

Note: Weather, ice, or other conditions may necessitate changes to our itinerary and alteration to certain shore excursions.

Itinerary

Day 1 Board the ship in Ushuaia. Sail the Beagle Channel
Days 2 - 3 Cross the Drake Passage to the South Shetland Islands.
Days 4 - 5 South Shetland Islands & Antarctic Sound
Days 6 - 8 Weddell Sea
Day 9 Paulet Island, Elephant Island
Days 10 - 11 At sea
Day 12 Arrive Ushuaia, where our voyage ends. You are transferred to your hotel, or to the airport for your onward flight.

This adventure is sold out.

Extended Antarctic Sailing Adventure (22 Nights)

This journey takes us to one of the world’s most awe inspiring destinations and provides the opportunity to travel on both an expedition vessel and thoroughbred sailing yacht. Join the Akademik Ioffe on January 2nd in Ushuaia and voyage across the Drake Passage in the comfort of the well-appointed, ice-strengthened ship. With visits through the South Shetland Islands we arrive on the mainland, on the Antarctic Peninsula and are dazzled by perhaps the most dramatic scenery to be found anywhere on earth.

We see Antarctic nature in all its glory, as these areas boast an extraordinary abundance of wildlife, including five seal species, massive penguin rookeries and a profusion of seabirds. A wildlife highlight may well be watching a variety of magnificent whale species in close proximity as they crest the surface of the waves. On the White Continent, we also see remarkable landscapes of ice. At Paradise Harbour or Hope Bay we find many icebergs dotting the waters, including some that are colossal in size, containing natural caves shrouded in an eerie translucent light. We’ll even have the chance to camp ashore on this expanse of ice if conditions are suitable.

Then, we rendezvous with Spirit of Sydney in the calm waters of the Antarctic Peninsula for an extraordinary ‘hands on’ adventure exploring hidden bays and islands of the spectacular Graham Land region. Sailors or non-sailors of any skill level are welcome to participate in this unforgettable experience where we can revel in the privilege of being virtually alone amid an awesome display of nature.

After eight wondrous days sailing, we’ll once again board the Akademik Ioffe for more exploration before the return trip across the Drake Passage to Ushuaia.

Note: Weather, ice, or other conditions may necessitate changes to our itinerary and alteration to certain shore excursions.

Itinerary

Day 1 / 2 JANUARY: USHUAIA / AKADEMIK IOFFE

Days 2-3 / 3 – 4 JANUARY: DRAKE PASSAGE / AKADEMIK IOFFE

Days 4-7 / 5 – 8 JANUARY: SOUTH SHETLAND ISLANDS AND ANTARCTICA / AKADEMIK IOFFE

Days 8-15 / 9 - 16 JANUARY: ONBOARD THE SPIRIT OF SYDNEY

Day 16 / 17 JANUARY: REBOARDING EXPEDITION VESSEL

Days 17-20 / 18 – 21 JANUARY: AKADEMIK IOFFE

Days 21-22 / 22 & 23 JANUARY: DRAKE PASSAGE / AKADEMIK IOFFE

Day 23 / 24 JANUARY: USHUAIA