Weddell Sea and Antarctic Peninsula (hiking voyage)

The White Continent, with its multi-colored ice-caps, glaciers and towering snow-capped mountains, offers attractive scenery and photographic opportunities. This voyage, a special walking expedition, focuses on exploring Antarctica on foot. Some of the unique visits included in the itinerary are Snow Hill Island, Paulet Island, Devil?s Island, and the Argentinian Base Marambio. Be prepared for walks up to six hours, fascinating penguin colony visits, and unforgettable landscapes, and even a dip in the warm sea at Pendulum Cove!

Itinerary

Day 1: Ushuaia / Embarkation

In the afternoon, embark in Ushuaia, Tierra del Fuego, Argentina, the southernmost city in the world located in the shadow of the Andes and right at the Beagle Channel shore. Sail through this scenic waterway during the afternoon.

Days 2-3: Crossing the Drake Passsge

During these two days you sail across the Drake Passage. When you cross the Antarctic Convergence, you arrive in the circum-Antarctic up welling zone. In this area you may see 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. Near the South Shetland Islands, you glimpse at the first icebergs. If the winds are favorable you may land in the evening of the third day at Aitcho Island or Penguin Island at the South Shetlands. These volcanic islands are windswept and often shrouded in mist and fog, but do offer subtle pleasures. There is a nice variety of flora (mosses, lichens and flowering grasses) and fauna, such as Gentoo penguins, chinstrap penguins and southern giant petrels.

Day 4: Brown Bluff / Paulet Island

At Brown Bluff, you land at the Antarctic Continent, near the young of an Adelie Penguin colony, which have not left for the sea yet. Walk along the coast and try to climb along a gentle slope to above the rim of the cliffs.
At southeast Dundee Island, you walk to a landing stripfor planes, used by the American explorer Ellsworth, for the first over flight of the Antarctic Continent in 1935. Here, there is an area where we can make an extensive walk along the coast without disturbing the animals.

Another historic place is Paulet Island, where members of the Swedish Nordenskiöld Expedition built a stone emergency hut in 1903.

Day 5: Snow Hill Island, Weddell Sea

In the Weddell Sea, at Snow Hill Island you land near another Swedish cabin from 1902. Nearby Seymour Island, is completely ice-free, and famous for its fossils. We will make a walk of about six hours along the coast from the southern tip to the Argentinian Base Marambio. You will have a fantastic view of the table icebergs in the Weddell Sea, while you get a glimpse into Antarctica's much warmer past (fossils of leaves).

Day 6: Devil's Island

On Devil?s Island with penguin colonies, you walk around the island and also climb to the middle ridge of just above 200 m. An alternative for this walk is the 8 km long and 300 m high Beak Island in Dusen Bay, which is also ice-free and close to the continent. Later on in the day you will have a zodiac excursion along a glacier front on the Tabarin Peninsula.

Day 7: Baily Head or Whalers Bay

We land at Baily Head (Deception Island) near a Chinstrap Penguin colony, and walk to from there, in six hours to the deserted whaling station in Whalers Bay.
If we cannot land at Baily Head due to high seas, we will directly sail to Whalers Bay and walk from Fumarole Bay to a Chinstrap colony at Vapour Col and back. You conclude the day with a bath in the warm sea at Pendulum Cove, where volcanic vents heat the water.

Days 8-9: Crossing the Drake Passage

In the Drake Passage you have again a chance of seeing many seabirds and to take advantage of the knowledge of your lecture team.

Day 10: Ushuaia / Disembarkation

Arrive in the morning in Ushuaia and disembark the ship.