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Santiago de Chile
We will get to Santiago de Chile to spend the night in this city located at the foot of the Andes range. |
| Flight to Stanley in Falkland Islands
We will fly to Stanley Airport (IATA code: PSY) in Stanley Port, the Falkland Islands. Stanley Port has the largest population in the Falkland Islands. Stanley Port is located in Soledad Island (East Island) and was founded in one of the most humid regions in the island. When the sun begins setting, we will go onboard the icebreaker to start our journey to the Antarctic. |
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South Shetland Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula
The icebreaker, accompanied by seabirds, will cross the Drake Passage towards our first destination in the Antarctic. We will watch penguin rookeries and intend to sail among ice floes where the seals sunbathe in the Antarctic summer.
Southwards, we will head for the Antarctic Polar Circle to find a real natural show. We will see bays surrounded by glaciers, where penguins and seals share the habitat in relative harmony. We will head for the Bellingshausen Sea through the Marguerite Bay.
The Bellingshausen Sea is the Antarctic Glacier Ocean basin which is situated at the shore of the Antarctic. It extends from the Thurston Island, facing the Ellsworth Land, and Alexander I Island, in the Antarctic Peninsula littoral. This Southern sea region is located at the opposite Southern coast of South America, between 80o and 90o west longitude. |
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Phantom Coast and Amundsen Sea
On these days we will pass by the Phantom Coast; we intend to visit Peter I Island, which has rarely been visited. These will be pure adventure days since we will break through the Amundsen Sea pack ice. We will travel by helicopters to see the power of the icebreaker from the air.
The Amundsen Sea is located between Cape Dart and Thurston Island, in the Antarctic. The Norwegian Explorer Nils Larsen named this island which gives its name to this sea in honor of the Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen.
Amundsen led the first expedition to the Antarctic. He was also the first one to enter the Northern Passage, connecting the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean, and he was part of the first air expedition over the North Pole.
In some western regions in Antarctica, such as the Amundsen Sea, especially in the Pine Island Glacier, the global warning is being noticeable. It is estimated that in the near future we will witness the fall of some of the glaciers, since this area is potentially unstable. |
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Ross Ice Shelf, Ross Island and McMurdo Station
At this point, we will be very close to the Emperor Penguins. The water surrounded the Ice Shelf in the Ross Sea is known for being the habitat of this species, the biggest penguins in the world. In Ross Island is the United States research base McMurdo Station in the Erebus Mount and the Scott Base, New Zealand’s research station. Close to this area is the Robert Falcon Scout’s famous Discovery ship (expedition 1901-1904). |
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Cape Royds and Cape Evans
In Cape Royds we will visit the hut that Ernest Shackleton (expedition 1907-1909) built during the Nimrod expedition. In Cape Evans we will visit the Shackleton and Scott’s hut. This hut in Cape Evans is considered one of the monuments with higher risk in the world. The Antarctic Heritage Trust (United Kingdom and New Zealand) are raising funds for its restoration.
These amazing huts built by the expeditions of Carsten Borchgrevnik, Robert Falcon Scott and Ernest Shackleton used to be small and dark huts that protected men, animals and tools from the hash polar cold weather and the dark months of the Antarctic winter. Scott’s hut is surrounded by the research base McMurdo station. |
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Southern Ocean, Campbell and Enderby Islands
We will return northwards to see Campbell Island, a natural reserve where the Royal Albatross nests. The Campbell Islands are a group of sub Antarctic islands belonging to New Zealand. They are formed by Campbell Island, the biggest one, and three smaller islands: Dent, Folly and Jaquemart. Campbell Island, called Motu Ihupuku in Maori language, is a remote island in the Pacific Ocean, and the main one in the Campbell Island archipelago in New Zealand.
Going along a path with dense vegetation, we will get to viewpoints to watch the Royal Albatross nests. Here we will have the opportunity to take pictures at the amazing local wildlife, such as yellow-eyed penguins, royal albatross, red-crowned parakeets and seals of New Zealand which live in Enderby Island. Weather permitting, we will land to explore the protected environment. |
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Lyttelton, Canterburry, New Zealand
Finally, we will disembark at Lyttelton, Canterburry, New Zealand, where the group will be transferred to the dock and then to Christchurch airport. |
