Antarctica is one of the most exciting, dramatic and beautiful places on earth. Its remoteness and inaccessibility add to its air of mystery and unpredictability.  It takes nearly a week to reach from Britain.  It combines utter remoteness with breathtaking beauty; vulnerability with fragility; unique wildlife with an unforgiving environment. To visit Antarctica is not just to visit another continent but another world - a world where the wildlife is supremely adapted to living in such harsh surroundings and where man is alien. It is a unique and personally enriching experience. If you want to experience the ice and the Southern Ocean for the first time, this is the voyage to take.

Our vessel for this expedition cruise will be the Akademik Vavilov, which we use for a number of our other voyages. With a maximum passenger capacity of just over 100, we can expect to make at least two landings each day. This vessel offers a number of advantages over the other 50 or so passenger ships, not least her larger size meaning greater stability on the open ocean, very important for maximising sea watching on the crossings of the Drake Passage. She is also one of the quietest ships on the seas which is more conducive to close encounters with whales. Add a large and enthusiastic expedition team working in conjunction with your experienced WildWings leader and this comfortable and extremely well run ship becomes the perfect choice.

This 11-day voyage will include at least five days in the Antarctic Peninsula and islands, where the long hours of daylight allow us to maximise the wildlife watching. Our trip is timed in the height of the austral summer, the breeding season will be at its peak, the various penguin colonies will contain young chicks and chicks which have fledged and are about to go to sea for the first time. Whale numbers build up as the summer progresses too.

The highlight of the expedition will be the Antarctic Peninsula itself, with it’s teeming colonies of penguins, thousands of petrels and storm petrels, and many other seabirds.  We can expect Chinstrap, Gentoo and Adelie Penguins (plus Magellanic in the Beagle Channel). Other breeding birds will include skuas, Antarctic Terns, giant petrels (including with luck, the beautiful white morph), Snowy Sheathbills, Antarctic Shags, Kelp Gulls, Wilson’s Storm Petrels, Southern Fulmars and Cape Petrels. We will also keep a sharp eye out for one of Antarctica’s few true endemics, Snow Petrels. There is always the chance of an Antarctic Petrel too. We should encounter several species of seal including Leopard, Crabeater and Weddell and should see Humpbacks, Antarctic Minke Whales and Orcas (Killer Whales) among the icebergs in the straits and channels through which we will be cruising. The scenery will take your breath away and wait until you see the ice, infinite shapes, sizes and colours.

The voyage south from Cape Horn to the Peninsula, across the unpredictable Drake Passage, and the return journey, will offer unrivalled opportunities for close encounters with the albatrosses, petrels, storm petrels and shearwaters which ride the winds in this turbulent stretch of the Southern Ocean. The magnificent Wandering Albatross, nature’s ultimate flying machine, heads up the expected albatross cast which should include Black-browed and Grey-Headed, and a good chance of either or both Royal Albatross. Another good reason to stay out on deck will be the prospect of Light-mantled Sooty Albatross too. Much smaller tubenoses will also be seen, Soft-plumaged, Blue and White-chinned Petrels, various prions, diving-petrels and various storm-petrels too. Whales and dolphins of many species have been seen over the years on these crossings.   The Vavilov provides a stable sea watching platform (in most conditions), and telescopes on tripods can often be used on deck at sea. Photographic opportunities will be endless, even with a point and shoot camera. (Note the vessel has passenger digital photo facilities onboard too)

We have also included our full day excursion, joined by a local guide, to the Tierra Del Fuego National Park on the day of sailing, when we hope to see such specialities as Great Grebe, Andean Condor, White-throated Caracara, Black-faced Ibis, Spectacled Duck, and the magnificent Magellanic Woodpecker amongst other species.

Itinerary

Day 1: Birding excursion to Tierra del Fuego National Park. Board Akademik Vavilov and sail down the Beagle Channel

Days 2-3: At sea, crossing the Drake Passage.

Days 4-8: The Antarctic Peninsula and South Shetland Islands – frequent landings

Days 9-10: At sea, crossing the Drake Passage.

Day 11: Disembark Ushuaia.

Holiday Information

Dates : 27^th January – 6^th February 2008 from £3999

Leader: Tony Marr and Mark Andrews plus ship’s expedition team.

Deposit: 10%

Prices per person sharing:

Price includes:  Accommodation and all meals aboard ship (with free tea and coffee), port taxes, Zodiac landings, services of WildWings leader and ship’s expedition staff including lecture programme aboard. WildWings birding excursion in Ushuaia, daily sea watching sessions (at sea), evening checklist, use of WildWings onboard library and marine radios (to maximise group sightings) and a WildWings pre-tour information pack and day-by-day checklist of mammals and birds. Transfers in Ushuaia to and from ship.

Price excludes: Flights UK – Ushuaia (available from £929), pre-cruise accommodation in Ushuaia (twin share from £55 per person per night), other drinks, laundry, souvenirs and items of a personal nature, crew gratuities (we suggest $10 per passenger per day aboard ship), passport/visa fees, travel insurance.  

Previous trip reports and ship’s colour brochure available from us.