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Trip Details

Historic Huts & Antarctic Heroes - Ross Sea Exploration - Auckland Islands, Macquarie and Campbell Islands, Explore the Ross Sea, Historic Huts, Ross Ice Shelf, McMurdo base.
26 Days   |   Departure:  1/8/09, 2/3/09   |   From $10 990

Locations:  Antarctic Peninsula | South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands | South Shetland Islands | Falkland Islands

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Trip Highlights: A totally different adventure, offering an extensive exploration of the Ross Sea region including helicopter tours

Rates: $10,990 - $23,190
Triple from: $11,581

Ship Name: Marina Svetaeva - Expedition Ship
Passengers: 100

Introduction

Due South of Australia and New Zealand, Antarctica's Ross Sea coast draws you with spectacular scenery, prolific wildlife and an introduction to the Golden Age of Exploration. Massive icebergs break away from the Ross ice Shelf, while active Mt Erebus and the Transantarctic Mountains provide a glorious backdrop to the expedition huts of Scott and Shackleton. Sail aboard a comfortable expedition ship, complete with a helideck and two helicopters that provide a magical key to unlocking the secrets of the heavily iced coastlines of Deep Antarctica.

Day 1: Depart Bluff
Expedition members gather in Invercargill prior to boarding late morning in Bluff. After a warm welcome on board Marina Svetaeva, you depart Bluff Harbour and travel through Foveaux Strait past Stewart Island.

Day 2: Tasman Sea
Your first day at sea is busy, with Zodiac and environmental briefings to prepare you for landings on New Zealand's sub Antarctic islands, and your shipboard lecture series commences. Soaring albatross, shearwaters and flighty petrels provide hours of relaxed viewing from the bridge and outer decks.

Day 3: Auckland Islands
Home to an extraordinary array of wildlife--royal albatross, Hooker sea lions, yellow-eyed penguins and, in winter, a growing population of southern right whales, the Auckland Islands are incredibly rich in life for their tiny size. Landings depend on sea and weather conditions.

Day 4: Campbell Island
A stepping stone to Antarctica since its 1810 discovery, the island's seabird and seal population has sustained many castaways, including a shipwrecked party that spent four years here in the 1830s. Today it's home to the largest population of royal albatross, five penguin species and an astounding diversity of other bird life.

Days 5-7: Southern Ocean
Excitement rises as you follow the track of so many great Antarctic explorers. Your guest historian shares tales of heroism and tragedy, from Scott and Amundsen to Shackleton's "forgotten Argonauts". Your naturalists host entertaining talks on Antarctica's natural history. Below the Antarctic Convergence, you spot your first iceberg then celebrate your crossing of the Antarctic Circle.

Day 8: Cape Adare
At the mouth of the Ross Sea is home to the world's largest Adélie penguin rookery - some 300,000 birds. If the weather is clear you can see inland to dramatic ridges on Mount Sabine and Mount Minto. You may visit the hut built in February 1899 to house Antarctica's first winter expedition, led by Norwegian-Australian, Carsten Borchgrevink.

Day 9: Cape Hallett
The spectacular 3500-meter flank of the Admiralty Mountains forms the perfect backdrop to this small spit of land, home to about 250,000 Adélie penguins and an abandoned US/NZ scientific station.

Day 10: Terra Nova Bay
Discovered by Scott's British National Antarctic Expedition 1901-04, Terra Nova Bay off Cape Washington is home to an Italian summer research station. Nearby is the dramatic Drygalski Ice Tongue.

Days 11-12: McMurdo Sound
This often ice-choked waterway between Ross Island and the Transantarctic Mountains is an historian's dream. Conditions permitting, we attempt visits to Shackleton's hut on Cape Royds, Scott's Hut at Cape Evans and Discovery Hut at Hut Point. In the shadow of Mt Erebus, New Zealand's Scott Base and America's McMurdo Station buzz with activity.

Day 13: Ross Ice Shelf
As with any true voyage of discovery, the weather and ice conditions will determine your exploration schedule. Leaving Ross Island, you sail along "the Barrier" for some time, giving you a taste of its vastness before returning west, passing dramatic Franklin Island.

Days 14-16: Ross Sea Coast
Your crew will attempt to park the ship in the fast ice of New Harbour and take the helicopters into the spectacular Royal Society Range. You may land in the Dry Valleys, and surreal landscape of hypersaline lakes, hanging glaciers and wind-sculpted granite boulders.

Day 17: At Sea
Sweeping north of the Pennell Coast to avoid dense pack ice, relax for a day, enjoying the passing parade of animals that come to the ice edge for food and rest.

Day 18: Balleny Islands
Heavily glaciated and often shrouded in cloud, this 190 km chain of three main volcanic islands was named by sealer John Balleny in 839. Dr David Lewis made the first seaborne landing on Sturge Island. In January 1978 from his yacht Solo. If conditions permit, you may attempt a landing using Zodiacs or helicopters.

Days 19-21: Southern Ocean
As you head north, take this time at sea to process the rich experiences of the past few weeks. Your naturalists will begin preparing you for your final landings on Australia's remote sanctuary of Macquarie Island.

Days 22-23: Macquarie Island
A jewel in the crown of the Southern Ocean, Macquarie Island is a World Heritage site. Scattered along the shore are reminders of the island's grim past. Rusting condensers where penguins were rendered for oil and weathered hulls of sealing boats are now commandeered by thousands of king penguins. You'll see vast colonies of the endemic Royal penguin, frisky fur seals and massive elephant seals.

Days 24-25: Tasman Sea
Time to recap and share your feelings about what you've experienced during the past three weeks. Entertaining talks help consolidate what you've seen and felt as you tune into the rhythms of the Southern Ocean once again.

Day 26: Hobart, Tasmania
In the early hours you make your way up the Derwent River and plan to dock in Hobart in the morning. After clearing Customs you bid farewell to Svetaeva and her crew.


Notes:

Reverse Itinerary: 1/8/2009 (departs from Hobart, ends in Bluff, NZ)

Included:
Return transfers to and from the ship and a night¹s pre-voyage accommodation in either Bluff (NZ) or Hobart (Aus); Ship’s accommodation and use of all public areas (open to all passengers); All meals on board ship; All shore excursions from the ship including the use of Zodiacs and helicopters; Lectures, videos, slide and film shows and guide services; Medical services (there is a resident medical officer and infirmary on board); Port taxes and port charges imposed by government authorities; Pre-departure information and briefing.

Not Included:
Airfare; Visa, passport and vaccination charges and airport departure taxes; Hotels and meals not included in ship cruise itinerary; Laundry, postage, personal clothing, medical expenses, personal travel insurance, items of a personal nature such as bar charges, wine and phone calls; Emergency evacuation charges; Customary end of voyage tips.