Itinerary

Day 1   Evening flight from London bound for Buenos Aires.

Day 2   Morning arrival at Buenos Aires, the capital of Argentina. Here we will change airports and then fly southwards right down to the toe of South America to Ushuaia, at 55 degrees south the southernmost town in the world, situated on the southern coast of Tierra del Fuego. If it is clear we will be able to see the vast, arid landscapes of Patagonia far below and eventually the ice-clad spires and vast snowfields of Tierra del Fuego. We shall arrive in Ushuaia in time for some initial exploration.

Day 3   Tierra del Fuego, at the extreme southern tip of the South American continent, is a land of windswept moors, stunted Nothofagus beech forests, snow-capped peaks and glaciers. Although the bird diversity at this latitude is low, the quality is outstanding. Some of the birds we may see around Ushuaia and in nearby Tierra del Fuego National Park include Great Grebe, Imperial Shag, Upland Goose, Flying and Flightless Steamer-Ducks, Chiloe Wigeon, Crested Duck, Black-faced Ibis, Turkey Vulture, White-throated, Southern Crested and Chimango Caracaras, Dolphin Gull, South American Tern, Bar-winged and Dark-bellied Cinclodes, Thorn-tailed Rayadito, White-throated Treerunner, White-crested Elaenia, Dark-faced Ground-Tyrant, Austral Thrush, House Wren, Chilean Swallow, Black-chinned Siskin, Rufous-collared Sparrow and Patagonian Sierra-Finch. In the late afternoon, with increasing excitement, we will board our ship prior to setting sail down the Beagle Channel. Here Black-browed Albatrosses, Southern Giant Petrels, diminutive Magellanic Diving-Petrels, Rock Shags, Chilean Skuas and Kelp Gulls will bid us farewell, but they are only an appetizer compared to the seabird glories of Antarctica that still lie ahead.

Day 4   As we sail towards the Falklands we will be looking out for seabirds that are typical of these shallower, warmer waters such as Sooty and Great Shearwaters. We will also encounter our first Royal Albatrosses and a number of other seabird species widespread in the southern oceans which will soon become familiar companions.

Days 5-6   The Falkland Islands lie some 500 kilometres off the South American mainland. In spite of their remote location and apparent lack of resources the islands have had a varied history, with temporary occupations by the Spanish and French before the British finally settled the islands permanently in 1842. Although the archipelago consists of over 300 islands, it is dominated by the two main islands of East and West Falkland. A tiny population of only a few thousand is concentrated around Port Stanley, the picturesque little capital with its gaily painted Victorian style houses that briefly became the focus of world attention during the 1982 Falklands War. These windswept islands enjoy a much milder climate than South Georgia and there is only a little snow during the winter months. At this season the islands provide endless rolling vistas of yellow-green grasslands waving in the wind. With so few people to disturb them, birds are tame and abundant. Over fifty species breed in the islands, an almost overwhelming diversity compared to Antarctica proper. During our stay we shall hope to make several landings. The first of these will be at some of the spectacular seabird colonies that have made the Falklands famous. Most of these are situated on remote islands which can only be reached by a vessel such as our own and thus are inaccessible to land-based visitors. On New Island or West Point Island off West Falkland the open hillsides are populated by Dark-faced Ground-Tyrants and Correndera Pipits, whilst overhead Variable Hawks hang in the wind. Dramatic sea-cliffs face the open Atlantic and here we shall visit a Rockhopper Penguin rookery, smiling as we watch a succession of Rockhoppers popping up out of the sea onto the rocks like champagne corks leaving a bottle and then hopping and scrambling up the cliffs in a long line, working their way up a natural staircase that has been worn smooth by the passage of countless little feet. From time to time a Striated Caracara or ‘Johnny Rook' appears in the colony, lurking on the periphery in the hope of making off with a titbit or two. Nearby at a large colony of Black-browed Albatrosses we will see some of the adults squatting on top of flattened grass tussocks rather like strange dwarfs on even stranger toadstools whilst others soar high above us or sweep in to the nest sites to greet their mates with an affectionate round of mutual preening and bill clicking. On beautiful Carcass Island, Gentoo and Magellanic Penguins potter along waving their little flippers as they wander inland to their nests. Rock and Imperial Shags sit about on rocky skerries whilst South American Terns and beautiful Dolphin Gulls patrol the shallows and Magellanic and Blackish Oystercatchers pipe shrilly from the shoreline. Upland Geese are especially numerous and there is a good population of the rare and beautiful Ruddy-headed Goose. Along the shoreline we will come across the striking Kelp Goose, which feeds almost exclusively on the beds of giant kelp. The endemic Falkland Steamer Duck or ‘Logger' is a common sight and we shall soon realize how they got their name as these bulky ducks ‘steam' over the water, kicking up a cloud of spray from the combined action of their wings and large feet whilst making loud sneezing alarm calls. The variety of landbirds is rather limited but this is more than made up for by the confiding nature of the little Blackish Cinclodes or ‘Tussock Bird' which happily perches on one's shoes. White-bridled (or Canary-winged) Finches and Black-chinned Siskins feed amongst the low herbage, Grass Wrens lurk in the damp grass and Cobb's Wrens (split from House) forage along the shoreline amongst the cast up seaweed. Around the settlements Black-crowned Night Herons nest in the trees and Austral Thrushes and Long-tailed Meadowlarks are everywhere. Amongst the other birds we may find here are Southern Giant Petrel, Crested Duck, Speckled Teal, Turkey Vulture, Southern Crested Caracara, Peregrine Falcon, South American Snipe and Brown Skua. As well as South American Sealion and Peale's Dolphin, we may also see the beautiful Commerson's Dolphin. Before leaving the islands we will call in at Port Stanley where we shall have an opportunity to wander around the miniscule streets, visit the tiny cathedral, see the historic hulks of the ships that never made it around Cape Horn, make use of a last chance to post mail home and observe that great pioneer of the avian world, the humble House Sparrow. We should also find Rufous-chested Dotterel and the beautiful Two-banded Plover.

Days 7-9   The long sea crossing to South Georgia can often be a highlight of the voyage. As we travel ever further to the southeast we shall pass from the warmer sub-Antarctic waters that surround southern South America and the Falklands to the cold waters of the Antarctic. The line of demarcation between these two water masses is quite strongly pronounced and is known as the Antarctic Convergence. Here the upwelling currents create conditions ideal for plankton and the rich feeding attracts countless seabirds and many cetaceans. As we watch from the decks we will see an endless succession of seabirds following the ship, or sailing indifferently past, including Black-browed and Grey-headed Albatrosses, the graceful Light-mantled (Sooty) Albatross, the enormous Northern and Southern Giant Petrels, Cape, Soft-plumaged and White-chinned Petrels, Wilson's, Grey-backed and Black-bellied Storm-petrels, and Brown Skuas. We shall check the Slender-billed and Antarctic Prions for Blue Petrels and Fairy Prions but the star of this ever-changing spectacle will be the greatest seabird of all, the Wandering Albatross, with its remarkable four metre wingspan. As we watch these huge birds gliding low over the sea between waves and then circling high into the air without even the slightest movement of their wings we will be witnessing one of nature's ultimate creations in action - a bird which is in total harmony with its environment. We will also come across the confusingly similar Royal Albatross amongst the Wanderings and be reminded just how difficult it is to separate some seabirds! This is a good area for rarities and we shall keep a lookout for such occasional visitors to these waters as Atlantic, Kerguelen and Grey Petrels and Arctic (or Parasitic), Pomarine and Long-tailed Skuas (or Jaegers). We also have an excellent chance of seeing whales, especially when we cross a bank where the sea depth decreases from over 4000m to under 200m, producing an upwelling that creates a plankton swarm highly attractive to whales: the most regular species here being Minke Whale, Fin Whale and Hourglass Dolphin. If we are lucky we will encounter Gray's Beaked Whale or Southern Bottlenose Whale. As we voyage southwards we will have a chance to listen to some fascinating lectures on the Antarctic environment and its wildlife or visit the bridge to learn about the many complex navigation instruments in use on our ship. On the third day we will be steaming parallel to the northern coast of South Georgia, on our way to ‘check-in' with the authorities at Grytviken, and numbers of seabirds in this area are often spectacular.

Days 10-12   South Georgia lies at the northeastern corner of the Scotia Ridge, a largely submarine formation with only the summits poking above the sea as islands, that links the Andes of South America with the mountains of Antarctica. Profoundly remote, a mass of inaccessible ice-clad mountains rising to 2934m, South Georgia is the most spectacular of all the sub-Antarctic islands. Described by Robert Cushman Murphy, that great pioneer of seabird research in the southern oceans, as presenting ‘one of the world's most glorious spectacles - like the Alps in mid-ocean', the coastline of South Georgia endlessly surprises and delights as one striking vista of deep fjords, jagged peaks and glacier-dominated valleys gives way to another and yet another. During our stay in this marvellous area we will hope to make several landings. For over fifty years South Georgia was the hub of the South Atlantic whaling industry and we shall explore the eerie, silent ghost settlement of Grytviken, the oldest whaling station on the island. Here we will see the simple grave of Ernest Shackleton, a hero of Antarctic exploration, who died at Cumberland Bay and also the excellent whaling museum that charts the history of the island. South Georgia is famous for its vast nesting colonies of King Penguins, and we shall admire their handsome silver-grey, glowing orange, black and white plumage that contrasts so strikingly with the green tussock grass and beige sandy beaches, whilst inland the huge glaciers provide an even more dramatic backdrop. On one of the small offshore islands we may have to brave the Antarctic Fur Seals, now more than recovered from the depredations of nineteenth century sealers, in order to wander through a colony of Wandering Albatrosses - so graceful in the air yet so awkward on land! Not only will we be able to get right up to the nesting birds, which look even larger sat on a nest than they do on the wing, but we may be fortunate enough to see their wild, evocative display as several adults turn their outstretched wings towards the sky and throw back their heads to wail at the heavens. Not far away, Southern Giant Petrels squat Dodo-like on their untidy nests, hissing at intruders. Light-mantled (Sooty) Albatrosses, the most beautiful and most gentle of all the albatrosses, are widespread as nesting birds and it is a thrilling sight to watch them gliding to and fro along the cliffs or displaying to their mates. During our stay in South Georgia we will certainly want to track down the endemic South Georgia Pipit and also the rather tame endemic race of the Yellow-billed Pintail, which is sometimes treated as a full species (South Georgia Pintail), and we should also see Grey-headed Albatrosses, South Georgia Shags and bizarre-looking Macaroni Penguins. In the fjords or offshore we will find stunning Snow Petrels, diminutive Common Diving-Petrels and the localized Georgian Diving-Petrel, watching them get up hurriedly from the water and sweep past our ship on rapidly whirring wings. In some places large groups of enormous Southern Elephant Seals are piled on the shoreline like heaps of giant slugs, occasionally stirring from their slumbers to growl a protest as a neighbour jostles them beyond the point of acceptability.

Days 13-15   We sail southwestwards across the Scotia Sea towards the South Shetlands. Once again pelagic seawatching is excellent both for birds and cetaceans. Here we shall start to encounter increasing numbers of gigantic tabular icebergs which have been spewed forth from the mouth of the Weddell Sea. Some of the bergs are the most intense blue colour and have been sculptured into fantastic shapes by the action of wind, water and sun. The incomparable Snow Petrel regularly adopts these bergs as a ‘home away from home' and we can expect to see these beautiful birds, that surely epitomize Antarctica, perched on the top or circling their floating ‘island'. We will pass Elephant Island and may even be able to land. Elephant Island is one of the easternmost islands of the South Shetlands, a remote place where black rock outcrops and mighty glaciers speckled with pink algae create a dramatic landscape. This is the place where Ernest Shackleton's men survived for more than four grim months after Shackleton set out on his epic attempt to reach South Georgia in a tiny open boat and so bring help. A bust to Captain Pardo, the master of the Chilean ship Yelcho that finally got through to Elephant Island on Shackleton's fourth rescue attempt, still stands guard over this terrible place, a reminder of the days when explorers could not rely on radios or helicopters to save them but only on their own courage and determination.

Days 16-18   Colonies of Chinstrap, Gentoo and attractive Adelie Penguins can be found in the South Shetlands, while Antarctic Skuas will try to drive us from their territories by sweeping in low over our heads and breeding Wilson's Storm-petrels zigzag over the talus slopes where Antarctic Shags nest. As we penetrate closer to the Antarctic mainland our excitement grows and we shall keep a careful lookout for Antarctic Petrels amongst the much more common Southern Fulmars and Cape Petrels. Adelie Penguins porpoise through the waves or scamper from side to side as we approach their ice-floes. Now we come to the climax of our expedition as we slip southwards through the Bransfield Strait, passing icebergs of immense size and awesome beauty, some white, others tinged blue-green by algae, and watching out for the huge flukes of sounding Humpback Whales, the high dorsal fins of Killer Whales slicing through the water and the unobtrusive Minke Whale. Here the silence is profound as the sun glows on ice floes dotted with Crabeater, Weddell and Leopard Seals whilst beyond is an endless vista of icebergs and distant, snow-coated mountains. Eventually we will make a landing on the Antarctic continent itself at the aptly named Paradise Bay. Here as the sea ice sparkles and 3000m high mountains and glaciers tower above us we will go ashore on the Antarctic mainland, watching chicken-like Snowy Sheathbills scavenging along the shoreline and South Polar Skuas keeping a watchful eye out for any opportunity for a meal. Out in the bay, graceful Antarctic Terns perch on blocks of floating ice. No description can do justice to this awesome, unearthly place where all the works of man seem puny indeed. If we have time we may, ice conditions permitting, be able to navigate the spectacular Lemaire Channel, a narrow geological fault between the towering mountains of the Antarctic Peninsula and Booth Island that provides some of the most dramatic scenery in all Antarctica. Before we finally leave Antarctica we will visit Deception Island. The entry to Deception Island, through the aptly named Neptune's Bellows, is just wide enough for our ship to navigate and here we will be accompanied by some of the numerous Cape Petrels that nest fulmar-like on the surrounding cliffs. Our anchorage is inside a volcano whose cone caved in to be filled by the sea. A landing at Whaler's Bay, an abandoned whaling station, could provide us (if we have enough time) with an opportunity to walk over a ridge to the seaward side of the island to see a huge rookery of Chinstrap Penguins, here breeding in their hundreds of thousands. The blackness of the obsidian beach and the green lichen-encrusted cliffs provide a startling contrast to the gleaming white breasts of the penguins as they file down to the water's edge whilst others head inland to greet their mates at the nest.

Day 19   To the north of the Antarctic Peninsula lies the thousand kilometres of the Drake Passage, separating the Antarctic Peninsula from the curving tail end of South America. Crossing this historic waterway, named after the great English seafarer whose expedition almost came to grief in these wild waters, is an exciting experience and gives us our last chance to enjoy a host of albatrosses and petrels which have become so familiar to us during our Antarctic journey. Almost as rich in seabirds as the seas between the Falklands and South Georgia, the Drake Passage will provide a fitting finale to our time in the great ‘Southern Ocean'.

Day 20   In the afternoon we should see the steep, rocky, greenish-grey headland of Cape Horn looming ahead whilst Sooty Shearwaters circle and dive, and Black-browed Albatrosses glide effortlessly down the troughs between the breakers. This southernmost point of South America, named by the Dutch navigator Schouten after Hoorn, his birth place in the Netherlands, has earned a reputation as one of the wildest places on earth. Here, at the meeting point of the Atlantic and the Pacific, the ferocious winds can whip the waves into a frenzy of spray, although in summer it can sometimes be flat calm.

Day 21   This morning we return to Ushuaia. Here we will very reluctantly disembark from the ship we have come to know so well and which has brought us so many unforgettable memories. Later we will fly back to Buenos Aires and transfer to the international airport in time for an evening flight bound for London.

Day 22   Afternoon arrival at London.

Bird/Marine Mammal/Scenic Photography: Opportunities will be outstanding.

Climate: Quite mild at this season. Around the Antarctic Peninsula the temperature is generally a little above freezing point (around 4-5°C, or 39-41°F at South Georgia) and on sunny days it can feel relatively warm if there is no wind (but it feels decidedly cold on windy days at sea). Sunny spells are interspersed with (often longer) overcast periods and some rain or snow are to be expected. In southern Argentina and in the Falklands conditions are typically cool, but considerably warmer than further south.

Important Note:   Adverse weather conditions may prevent landings on exposed coasts. It is, however, unusual for more than two or three landings to have to be called off during a cruise. The information given about possible landing sites should be taken as a general indication about what is likely to be achieved: every Antarctic cruise is different, being dependent on the amount of time available, sea and ice conditions, and the weather, and so it is likely that some of the sites visited will be different from those described. In addition, this cruise sometimes departs from Puerto Madryn (near Trelew in Patagonia) rather than Ushuaia. In this event the first night of the tour is in Buenos Aires and the cruise arrangements are Buenos Aires/Ushuaia, but the cruise-only prices exclude the Buenos Aires-Trelew airfare.