Polar Circle and Ross Sea Cruise
Antartic cruise beyond the Antarctic Peninsula and across the Polar Circle to the Ross Sea.
For the first time in 2013, Antarctic Bound will offer an extended expedition itinerary, which will go beyond the Antarctic Peninsula and across the Polar Circle to the Ross Sea.
A true Discovery voyage including the southern Antarctic Peninsula, the Polar Circle, the rarely visited volcanic Peter I Island, the outer fringes of the pack-ice in the Amundsen sea, Roald Amundsen’s starting point to the South Pole in 1911, the Ross Sea, the huts of British explorers Ernest Shackleton and Robert Falcon Scott (ice-permitting) and Macquarie Island – a unique Antarctic Odyssey!
The first sailing embarks at Ushuaia, in the tip of Tierra del Fuego and finishes 31 days later at Invercargill in New Zealand. The second sailing undertakes a similar route back to Ushuaia. The following is a typical planned itinerary, because of ice and weather conditions, nothing is guaranteed!
Day 1
Ushuaia - Embark in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, the southernmost city in the world and sail through the scenic Beagle Channel.
Day 2 – 3
Crossing the Drake Passage. First encounters with albatross and other sea birds.
Day 4
Arrive in the Antarctic Peninsula and sail through the spectacular Lemaire Channel and land on Pléneau Island, where Elephant Seals, Gentoo Penguins, Kelp Gulls and South Polar Skuas can be seen. Also visit Petermann Island with colonies of Adélie and Gentoo Penguins and Imperial Cormorants or Blue-eyed Shags.
Day 5
Cross the Polar Circle and arrive at the Fish Islands.
Day 6 – 7
Bellingshausen Sea, where we may see our first pack-ice.
Day 8
Peter I Island is an uninhabited volcanic island (19 kilometres long ) claimed by Norway. May see Elephant Seals and colonies of Southern Fulmars and Cape Pigeons.
Day 9 – 14
Sail the Amundsen Sea along and through the outer fringes of the pack-ice, with glimpses of the Antarctic Continent. Possible sightings of single straggling Emperor Penguins, groups of seals on ice-floes, Orcas and Minke Whales. Land on Shephard Island in Marie Byrd Land among colonies of Chinstrap Penguins and South Polar Skuas.
Day 15
We approach the Ross Ice Shelf, a floating mass of land-ice, with a front of 30 meters high. In the Bay of Whales at the eastern side of the shelf, close to Roosevelt Island (named by the American aviator Richard E. Byrd in 1934 for President Franklin D. Roosevelt), Roald Amundsen gained access to the Shelf and ventured to the South Pole, where he finally arrived on 14 December 1911. For us it is perhaps a chance to climb on the shelf as well.
Day 16
Along the Ross Ice Shelf we sail to the west.
Day 17 – 20
In the Ross Sea we will visit Ross Island, guarded by Mount Erebus, Mount Terror and Mount Bird with all the famous spots which played such an important role in the dramatic British expeditions of the last century such as Cape Royds with the cabin of Ernest Shackleton. If ice-conditions are favourable, we will also visit Cape Evans with the cabin of Robert Falcon Scott; from Hut Point Scott and his men set out for the South Pole. We will further make attempts to visit the US-station McMurdo and Scott Base (New Zealand).
From Castle Rock we will have a great view across the Ross Ice Shelf toward the South Pole. We will have a view into Taylor Valley, one of the Dry valleys, where on our planet you are closest to the conditions on Mars.
Day 21 - 22
Sailing northward along the eastern west coast of the Ross Sea ,we pass by the Drygalski Ice Tongue and the Italian Station in Terra Nova Bay and further cape Hallet.
Day 23
Cape Adare is the place where people for the very first time wintered on the Antarctic Continent. The hut where the Norwegian Borchgrevink stayed in 1899, is surrounded by the largest colony of Adélie Penguins in the World.
Day 24
At sea.
Day 25
We sail along the Balleny Islands, discovered in 1839 by the British captain John Balleny.
Day 26 – 27
At sea.
Day 28
Macquarie Island is aTasmanian State Reserve and became in 1997 a World Heritage Site. The Australian Antarctic Division has its permanent base on “Macca”. The Australian Frederick Hasselborough discovered the island during a voyage, searching for new sealing grounds. The fauna on Macquarie is fantastic with colonies of King and Gentoo and Southern Rockhopper Penguins. The Royal Penguins (almost one million breeding pairs!) and Macquarie Shags are endemic species. Elephant Seals are also present, as well as various fur seals species such as the New Zealand Fur Seal.
Day 29 – 30
At sea.
Day 31
We arrive in Invercargill (New Zealand) where passengers depart for their homebound journey.
The ship is the Ortelius, fully refurbished and newly commissioned by Oceanwide Expeditions. The Ortelius was built in 1989 at Gdynia in Poland as the Russian polar research ship ‘Marina Svetaeva’. It is ice-strengthened and ideal for sailing close to the pack ice. The ship has plenty of deck space for wildlife viewings and comfortable public areas. Accommodation on board is for a maximum of 100 passengers in a range of cabins.