Tour Overview
Welcome to Antarctica! If your personal quest is to set foot on Antarctica, but also having traveled a considerable distance, to explore the remote Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) and isolated South Georgia, this is the ideal adventure ship voyage. This active, adrenaline inducing expedition is on an ice-strengthened vessel equipped with Zodiacs, and on selected departures gear for skiing, kayaking, or mountaineering. This extended adventure provides additional opportunities for landings, wildlife encounters and photography. You’ll be traveling during the austral spring and summer, when the weather is changeable. Rubber boots are essential, but you don’t have to pack them because we loan you a pair for the duration of the voyage. Embracing the unexpected is a part of the legacy and excitement of expedition travel. There are no guarantees that we can achieve everything we described in this itinerary. A measure of flexibility is something all of us must bring to a polar expedition!Day by Day Itinerary
Day 1: Ushuaia, Argentina Today when you arrive at Ushuaia International Airport, collect your luggage and grab a taxi to the hotel for check-in. There is an unexpected charm to Ushuaia, your gateway to Antarctica. The streets are as steep as any in Pittsburgh. The backdrop of snow-capped mountains rivals Vancouver. Arrive as early as possible, because you can rent mountain bikes, hike mountain trails or in-line skate along the harbor front of this frontier town. A night at the hotel is included in your tour cost, so your room is ready should your flight to Ushuaia not arrive until midnight- just one of the details that sets us apart.Overnight in Ushuaia Day 2: Embarkation Day:
Luggage should be clearly tagged with cabin tags as provided in your final documents and ready to be picked up by the hotel porters by 10:00 AM. The morning is at your leisure in Ushuaia and the surrounding wilderness areas. A fascinating region, Tierra del Fuego ranges from barren, desolate landscape raked clean by high winds to pine and beech forests, beautiful blue lakes and snowcapped mountain peaks (and good trout fishing as well). The area, shared by Argentina and Chile, is actually on an island at the southern tip of South America. Time permitting, you may wish to take ferry ride to Isla de los Lobos, Isla de Pajaros, Martello Island, or Bridges Island. Take along warm clothing any time of year. Prior to arrival at the vessel, please be sure to have readily available, your passport Argentinean
immigration form and your air tickets - these will be collected by one of cruise staff members
upon embarkation. Our local agent, will provide a non-exclusive transfer to your cruise vessel at 3: 30PM boarding. Anticipation is high when you board the bus for the transfer to the pier. Who on the bus will be your kayaking companions? Who will ski the pristine wilderness with you? Once you are satisfied your luggage has arrived safely, explore the ship. The observation deck affords fine views of the deckhands releasing the lines, and the panorama of Ushuaia Harbor. After the essentials- lifeboat drill, the Welcome Briefing, and your first dinner aboard- return to the deck. Take note of the activity in the water and in the air. Penguins or porpoises often ride the bow waves. And Albatross and Petrels glide overhead.
Breakfast, Dinner
Ocean Nova Days 3 to 5: At Sea and Falkland Islands En route to the Falkland Islands, the ship is well above the Antarctic Circle, so the evening skies can be starlit; and moonlight can trail across the water. Will you stargaze all night or will the Expedition Leader’s wake-up call rouse you from a deep, relaxing sleep? After breakfast, the in depth education program begins. The range of subjects is diverse, but all are chosen to prepare you for the landings and Zodiac cruises in the Falklands. Unlike cruise voyages where the schedule of onboard activities is replicated exactly on each sailing, every Antarctic Adventure expedition is unique. The Expedition Team changes the content of the content of the education program and the presentation schedule to take advantage of the personnel aboard, their background, interest and style. This keeps the presenters fresh and their presentations dynamic. You can spend part of the day on deck watching the petrels and albatrosses that accompany the ship, gliding for miles, never appearing to move a muscle. Carry your camera and binoculars with you. The naturalist will be on deck from time to time to assist you with the identification of the marvelous creatures. One of the briefings will cover the Antarctic Conservation Guidelines. As a member of the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO), actively supporting the organizations efforts to mitigate the impact of tourism in Antarctica, you can help achieve that goal by adhering to the IAATO conservation guidelines that cover everything: boot washing, number of visitors on shore, and human behavior around wildlife. The choice of activities in the evenings aboard the ship is varied. Over a drink in the bar, get to know your fellow adventurers, who come from all over the world- Europe, Australasia, South America, North America and Africa. Watch a movie in the presentation room, or borrow a book about Antarctica from the library and curl up in your cabin with the sound of waves lapping the hull drifting through the window. One of the highlights of any exploration to the Falklands is the welcome you receive from its citizens. Accept their invitation to visit a camp- that’s the local word for farm- for a chat, a mug of tea and a piece of cake. We try to include a visit to Stanley, the archipelagos government seat and the only town. Stanley is more British than the Tower of London, in some ways. If you chose the kayaking option, you wet your paddles for the first time. The diversity of wildlife makes the Falklands a photographer’s and naturalist’s paradise. The islands are home to a number of species of penguins, King, Rockhopper, Gentoo and Magellanic. Endemic are the Cobb’s Wren and Falkland Steamer Duck. Dolphins, whales and three species of seals are often sighted in the waters surrounding the islands.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Ocean Nova Days 6 to 11: Southern Ocean and South Georgia
When Ernest Shackleton and four others sailed the tiny James Caird from Elephant Island to South Georgia, they were crossing the same body of water as you sail today. They, however, knew the sea as the South Atlantic Ocean. Sixteen years after the legendary voyage, the name of the sea that stretches from the mouth of the Drake Passage east to the Shetland Islands and south from the Falkland Islands to the Antarctic Peninsula was changed to the Scotia Sea. The name honored an expedition ship that had sailed between 1902 and 1904, under the command of William S. Bruce, a pioneer of oceanography. Today, with only the Shag Rocks to break the horizon, you sail in history’s wake. South Georgia… roughly 100 miles by 20 miles wide, is south of the Atlantic convergence: You are in Antarctica at last! The inestimable Captain Cook’s published account of his charting of the island set off a rush to harvest the abundant seals and whales he observed. The secretive whalers and sealers protected their favorite beaches and bays. So, although they were often the first to arrive, they have seldom been credited for their Antarctic discoveries. Wandering Albatrosses and Southern Giant Petrels nest on South Georgia. At certain times of the year, near the nests, massive female Wanderers swoop low overhead. Their teasing sends the males into a frenzy of growling calls. Raising their bills skyward, they try to tempt a female to their side. Bonded Wanderers preen each other, sing duets, and mate frequently. Scientific research has shown that only pairs that have bonded by years of dancing will breed successfully. On South Georgian headland where the Shags nest, you might see Light-mantled Sooty Albatrosses display in superb flying synchrony, while screaming their bonding calls. South Georgia is home to more than half a million breeding pairs of King Penguins. At three feet tall only Emperor Penguins are larger. King chicks, known as woolies, were once thought to be a separate species of penguins, because they look so different from their parents. King chicks can be seen at various stages of development throughout the year. Norwegians introduced reindeer to South Georgia in 1911. The deer provided and alternative meat source and some sport! Some environmentalists are attempting to have the reindeer removed, because of their destructive affect on the tussock grass. While at anchor and the ships lights are dimmed, you might be able to pick out tens of thousands of Antarctic Prions around the ship. On the shores of South Georgia, these birds wait for pitch darkness to enter their burrows amongst the tussock to protect themselves against attacks by their predators- skuas and petrels. The crested Macaroni Penguins inhabit the island. Their plumage reminded the first to encounter them of the dandies of the 18th century, hence the name. You might witness a skua taking a brown egg smaller than you might expect. This is a sacrificial egg the Macaroni lays first. Two eggs may develop in a good season, but more often than not only the larger second egg hatches. On the snowy slopes and stone beaches of South Georgia you may encounter Weddell Seals hauled out in the sun. Larsen Harbour is the most northerly place for the seals to pup at the start of the austral spring. The island has many historical connections to Antarctic exploration. Sir Ernest Shackleton and his comrades crossed the front of the Fortuna Glacier on their way to Stromness whaling station after their epic foot crossing of South Georgia in 1916. That march across glaciers and never explored mountains helped to rescue the crew of the Endurance, stranded on Elephant Island, 800 miles away. Located at Stromness Bay are Shackleton Pass and the waterfall where “The Boss” struggled down to the valley. Shackleton was buried in the churchyard at Grytviken in 1922. He died while visiting South Georgia on his final expedition to Antarctica. Nordenskjold Glacier is named after Otto Nordenskjold, the leader of the Swedish Antarctic Expedition, which called on South Georgia on the way to Snow Hill Island in the Weddell Sea, in 1902-03. In November 1904, the first whaling enterprise on South Georgia was established at Grytviken. Eight years later there were seven whaling stations on the island. South Georgia had become the southern capital of the whaling industry. The remains of Grytviken whaling station can be explored. The station is representative of the industry that was the mainstay of the island’s economy until 1965. Fjord is an Old Norse word from the age of the Vikings. A fjord is a U-shaped valley carved by glaciation that fills with seawater. At the fjord named for Erich von Drygalski, a scientist with the German deep sea Gauss Expedition, rocks about 180-200 million years old can be seen. This rock was almost entirely obliterated by the later intrusion of sheets or dykes of a basic rock type. Ice, wind and snow are as probable as sunshine on South Georgia during the spring and summer months. No matter which conditions you encounter, you will have made memories that last a lifetime.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Ocean Nova Days 12 to 17: South Shetland Islands and Antarctic Peninsula
Activities, which are announced in advance in the daily program, are scheduled at any time of the day. The Expedition Team takes advantage of the long hours of daylight that occur so near to the Antarctic Circle. After your days exploring South Georgia, you find yourself boarding a Zodiac in the South Shetland Islands with ease. One possible activity is cruising along a shore of volcanic ash in a Zodiac in the shelter of the flooded caldera of Deception Island. Adelie, Gentoo and Chinstrap Penguins breed on the islands of the South Shetlands. Elephant seals are known to haul out near the rookeries. Leopard seals patrol the water’s edge waiting to prey on a sick or inexperienced penguin that enters the water. Skuas, predators that dive from the sky, squawk and fly about. The Breeding season is short in Antarctica, so activity is continual. The type of activity changes as the seasons change from austral spring to summer to fall. Early in the season, the penguins will be building nests and courting. Observe the rituals, which to your eyes may appear comical, but is to the penguins serious business. When the chicks hatch, the parents invest considerable energy feeding them, waddling or toboggan to the sea, where they feel on krill. They return to the rookery, often climbing steep inclines to regurgitate their dinner into the mouth of the demanding chick. So frequent is this activity that the birds create highways. By the way, penguins have the right of way in Antarctica. In late summer, the chicks fledge, and the adults molt. During the molt, the energy they expend is internal, because the birds live off the blubber they have accumulated. They would die if they returned to the sea before the new feathers grow in. Establishing a research station in Antarctica is an important step on the road to becoming a Consultative Party to the Antarctic Treaty. The original signatories have been conducting research for decades at their bases on the continent and in the South Shetland Islands. We try to include a visit to a research station on this expedition. Please note that permission is granted locally and that many elements can influence it and how a visit takes place. As you sail past the strait that separates the South Shetland Islands from the Antarctic Peninsula, spend some time on deck, watching for icebergs. They are classified according to their shape. There are secluded bays in the Peninsula known as iceberg graveyards, where small icebergs run aground. When the conditions are right, we lower the Zodiacs and cruise at a proscribed distance around them- an unforgettable sight! Life clings to the edges in the Antarctic Peninsula. Rare, rocky shorelines are jealously guarded by its denizens, as habitable real estate is rare. Mountains rise steeply from the sea. Their summits glisten when the sun strikes them. Fog could descend, obscuring their height. In a sheltered bay, drifting in a Zodiac, its engine turned off momentarily, you experience a silence so complete that you may hear the beating of your own heart! If a seal or whale pops out of the water to gaze over the pontoon at you, your heart quickens. Kayakers wet their hulls in sheltered bays. If there is a camping option on your expedition, you sleep ashore in tents designed for polar exploration. For cross-country skiers Antarctica is truly the last frontier as you glide through a wilderness devoid of trails. Antarctica is surprisingly colorful. The evening sky can stain snow rose or orange. The rich greens of moss vibrate beside the rusty red of lichens growing on rocks. Icebergs range from turquoise through azure to violet in different light. The seawater can appear inky one moment and clear as glass another. Carry a camera. The opportunities for photography are extraordinary. As you explore Antarctica, the Expedition Team holds recaps of what is experienced during landings. These recaps provide opportunities to relive the adventures; share your experiences and ask a question of the Expedition Team. Traveling with a small number of like-minded travelers in a ship for an extended period of time is a recipe for friendships that last a lifetime. Each new adventure shared builds upon the last. Every moment of laughter or awe becomes a memory you cherish. The expedition experience can only be truly understood by participating.
Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
Ocean Nova Days 18 to 20: Drake Passage and Ushuaia, Argentina
Crossing the notorious Drake Passage is as much a part of the Antarctic experience as penguins and krill. With the right weather conditions your passage will be relatively easy, but pack your seasick medication just in case the Drake lives up to its reputation. Continuing recap sessions provide opportunities to discuss how you, a newly minted Polar Ambassador, can help to preserve Antarctica for future generations. When packing day arrives, a briefing is held, final remarks are made and instructions for disembarking are delivered. Ushuaia, Argentina. A small vessel comes alongside and a local pilot boards the ship to help navigate the last stretch of water en route to Ushuaia. We suggest that you watch if the weather is fine. You’ll enjoy the soft light of an austral summer day. After breakfast aboard the ship, you are transferred by bus to the airport.
Breakfast
Ocean Nova
