The November, 2008 departures are 11 days. The Antarctic Peninsula offers you the most dramatic scenery and biggest variety of wildlife in Antarctica. In the southern summer large ice-free areas provide breeding grounds for very large numbers of seabirds and seals.
From King George Island and Penguin Island we will sail down to the beautiful Paradise Bay, where you can go ashore on the Antarctic mainland.
The narrow and spectacular Lemaire Channel is surrounded by mountains and glaciers and a popular passage for several species of whales journeying up and down the sheltered Antarctic Peninsula waterways. In the Antarctic Peninsula Minke Whales, the smallest of the rorqual whales, and ferocious-looking Leopard Seals are common.
Day 1: In the afternoon, we embark in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, the picturesque 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. Near the South Shetland Islands, we glimpse at the first icebergs.
Day 4 - 9: We will sail into the Weddell Sea and visit Dundee Island, where we might have an extensive walk. We also plan to visit Paulet Island with a million pairs of Adelie Penguins and the remains of the Nordenskiöld expedition, Seymour Island, where many fossils have been found, and Snow Hill Island, where polar expeditions as early as 1902 wintered. We may even reach Cape Longing at the Larsen Ice Shelf. In this area we meet huge table icebergs from the Ronne Ice Shelf and have good chances to spot Emperor Penguins on ice floes. When we turn north again, we visit Brown Bluff on the Antarctic Continent. We sail south and plan to offer a zodiac cruise around the rarely visited Astrolabe Island where Antarctic Fulmars, Chinstrap Penguins, Brown Skuas and Blue-eyed Shags breed and Weddell Seals and Antarctic Fur Seals haul out. In Neko Harbour and Paradise Bay we reach the southernmost area of our voyage, where we have again the opportunity to set foot on the Antarctic Continent in a magnificent landscape of huge glaciers. In this area we have good chances to see Humpback Whales and Minke Whales. At Deception Island, we will try to land at Baily Head with a colony of ten thousands of Chinstrap Penguins. Deception Island is a huge volcano of which the crater opens into the sea, creating a natural harbour for the ship. Here we find hot springs, an abandoned whaling station, Cape Pigions and Dominican Gulls, Brown and South Polar Skuas and Antarctic Terns. Wilson’s Storm Petrels and Black-bellied Storm Petrels nest in the ruins of the whaling station in Whalers Bay. We continue to Hannah Point, which has a very rich wildlife featuring Elephant Seals, Cape Pigeons, Southern Giant Petrels, Macaroni Penguins and Gentoo Penguins.
Day 10 - 11: In the Drake Passage we have again a chance of seeing many seabirds.
Day 12: We arrive in the morning and disembark in Ushuaia.
Notes:
Airfare is not included in the tour price.
Please inquire for further price information.
Price Includes:
- Tour Escort
- Sightseeing Per Itinerary
- Shore Excursions
- Services Of Expedition Guides
- Accommodations in Select Cabin Category
- Three Meals Daily Shipboard
Also see tour packages in:
Antarctica
Antarctica
Ecotourism
Wildlife Viewing
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