The Emperor Penguin rookery, as being seen over the last two seasons, is situated south of Snow Hill Island. Although we will not be able to reach that far through the ice, the idea is to situate ourselves between Snow Hill Island and James Ross Island close to the ice-edge and observe the Emperor Penguins on their way to the open water. If we can not find any Emperor Penguins, our programme would still unfold on Snow Hill Island with a visit to the historic hut of the Swedish Antarctic Expedition under Otto Nordenskjöld and a visit to Seymour Island in order to see fossils there in the afternoon.
Tour Itinerary:
Day 1: Embark Ushuaia
After a leisurely morning, embark in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, the southernmost city in the world located at the Beagle Channel. We sail through this scenic waterway for the rest of the evening.
Days 2-3: Drake Passage and Penguin Island
Cruise across the Drake Passage. When we cross the Antarctic Convergence, we arrive in the circum-Antarctic up welling zone. In this area we may meet Wandering Albatrosses, Grey Headed Albatrosses, Black-browed Albatrosses, Light-mantled Sooty Albatrosses, Cape Pigeons, Southern Fulmars, Wilson’s Storm Petrels, Blue Petrels and Antarctic Petrels.
In the late afternoon we plan our first Zodiac-landing on Penguin Island, which was sighted in 1820 by a British expedition and so named by expedition leader Bransfeld because penguins occupied the shores of the 1 mile long island. Penguin Island lies close off the south coast of King George Island.
Day 4: Weddell Sea and Antarctic Peninsula
We will sail into the Weddell Sea through the ice-clogged Antarctic Sound on the eastern side of the Antarctic Peninsula. We plan to visit Paulet Island with a million pairs of Adelie Penguins. In the afternoon we visit Brown Bluff, a ice-capped, flat-topped mountain with a prominent cliff of reddish-brown volcanic rock on the north side.
Days 5-6: Emperor Penguins
Between Snow Hill Island and James Ross Island we will make our first attempt to observe Emperor Penguins on the ice-edge making their way to open water. In case this should fail we will tray again on day 6. Alternatively we will visit the remains of the Nordenskiöld expedition on Snow Hill Island. We might also visit Seymour Island, where many fossils can be found, the Argentinean station Esperanza on the Antarctic Continent (where we can observe Gentoo Penguins, Cape Petrels, Pale-faced Sheathbills, skuas, Kelp Gulls and Antarctic Terns) and – on our way to the Nortwest Antarctic Peninsula - Astrolabe Island, discovered by the French expedition of captain Jules Dumont d'Urville during 1837-1840 and named by him after his chief expedition ship the "Astrolabe".
Day 7 : Cuverville Island
In the Northwest Peninsula we will have opportunities for Zodiac cruising between the icebergs in the inner parts of the fjords. We also plan to visit Cuverville Island with the largest colony of Gentoo Penguins in the region and furthermore bird-species such as Southern Giant Petrels, Wilson's Storm-petrels, Antarctic Shags, South Polar Skuas, Kelp Gull and Antarctic Terns. From there we sail through Paradise Bay with its myriad ice-bergs and deep cut fjords.
Day 8: Enterprise Island
After a morning visit on Enterprise Island, first charted by the Belgium explorer Gerlache in 1898 and well-known by whalers operating in the area in the early 20th century, we sail to Hannah Point where we can see Chinstrap and Gentoo Penguins and also small numbers of Macaroni Penguins, various other bird-species and Southern Elephant, Weddell and Antarctic Fur Seals.
Days 9-10: Drake Passage
In the Drake Passage we have again a chance of seeing many seabirds and to take advantage of the knowledge of our lecture team.
Day 11: Disembark Ushuaia
Departure Date: Nov 19, 2007 (Ship: Aleksey Maryshev)
Notes:
Airfare is not included in the tour price.
We arrive in the morning in Ushuaia and disembark.
- Twin non-private and private cabins are available for single occupancy at 1.7 times the share price for the 206-2007 season and 1.8 times the share price for the 2007-2008 season (2 times for Superior cabins).
-Solo Travelers: Request the Twin Share Program where you can be matched with a cabin mate of the same gender. Even if a cabin mate is not found for you, no single supplement will be charged.
-Rates are quoted in U.S. dollars and represent costs per person, double occupancy.
Prices are based on a 3% cash discount.
Also see tour packages in:
Antarctica
Antarctica
Boating and Sailing
Glacier Tours
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