Antartica: Birding & Photography Cruise

Your voyage begins where the land ends: Ushuaia, Argentina – reputed to be the southernmost city on the planet, is located on the far southern tip of South America, nicknamed “The End of the World.” We will meet as a group for dinner at 7:00pm.

Today we will enjoy a full day exploring the beautiful Tierra del Fuego National Park. The park has dramatic scenery, with waterfalls, forests, mountains and glaciers. Its 630 km2 (240 sq mi) include parts of the Fagnano and Roca Lakes. The Senda Costera (Coastal Path), connecting Ensenada Bay to Lapataia Bay on Lago Roca, is a popular hiking trail within the park.

Endemic forests of Antarctic Beech, Lenga Beech, and Coihue in the lower elevations of the park are home to many special animal species. Among the 90 species of birds are the Kelp Goose, Torrent Duck, Austral Parakeet, Magellanic Woodpecker, Andean Condor, Blackish Oystercatcher, and Magellanic Oystercatcher. Three species of caracara are possible: Chimango, Southern, and White-throated! Black-chested Buzzard-Eagle may also be seen soaring along the mountainsides.

Starting in the afternoon, we will embark from Ushuaia and sail the mountain-fringed Beagle Channel for the remainder of the evening, heading out to the Antarctic Ocean!

During two days crossing the Drake Passage, we’ll enjoy some of the same experiences encountered by the past’s great polar explorers who first charted these regions: cool salt breezes, rolling seas, maybe even a Fin Whale spouting off! After passing the Antarctic Convergence – Antarctica’s natural boundary, formed when north-flowing cold waters collide with warmer sub-Antarctic seas – we will arrive in the circum-Antarctic upwelling zone. Not only does the marine life change, the avian life changes too! Wandering Albatross, Gray-headed Albatross, Black-browed Albatross, Light-mantled Sooty Albatross, Cape Prions, Southern Fulmars, Wilson’s Storm-Petrels, Blue Petrels, and Antarctic Petrels are a few of the birds you might see in this region.

Gray stone peaks sketched with snow, towers of broken blue-white ice, and dramatically different wildlife above and below! You first pass the snow-capped Melchior Islands and Schollaert Channel, sailing between Brabant and Anvers Islands. Will will visit a number of sites in the region including:

• Danco Island
  • Activities here may focus on the Gentoo Penguin nesting colony on the island, in addition to the Weddell and Crabeater Seals that can be found nearby.
• Neko Harbour
  • An epic landscape of mammoth glaciers and endless wind-carved snow, Neko Harbour offers opportunities for a Zodiac cruise and landing that afford the closest views of the surrounding alpine peaks.
• Paradise Bay
  • You may be able to take a Zodiac cruise in these sprawling, ice-flecked waters, where there’s a good chance you’ll encounter Humpback and Minke Whales.
• Pléneau & Petermann Islands
  • If the ice allows it, you could sail through the Lemaire Channel in search of Adélie Penguins and Blue-eyed Shags. There is also a possibility you’ll encounter Humpback and Minke Whales here, as well as Leopard Seals.
• Port Lockroy
  • After sailing through the Neumayer Channel, you may get a chance to visit the former British research station – now a museum and post office – of Port Lockroy on Goudier Island. You may also be able to partake in activities around Jougla Point, meeting Gentoo Penguins and Blue-eyed Shags. There are great opportunities also for kayaking and camping here, and when conditions are right, you can even snowshoe around the shore.
• Wilhelmina Bay & Guvernøren
  • This is a great place to spot Humpback Whales. You also may embark on a Zodiac cruise ending at the ghostly wreck of the Guvernøren, a whaling vessel that caught fire here in 1915. Around the Melchior Islands, amid a frozen landscape peopled with icebergs, you may encounter even more whales, Leopard Seals, and Crabeater Seals.

**Conditions on the Drake Passage determine the exact date/time of departure back toward Ushuaia**

Your return voyage is far from lonely. While crossing the Drake, we’re again greeted by the vast array of seabirds remembered from the passage south. But they seem a little more familiar to you now! Hopefully we can find a few new species en route.

Every adventure, no matter how grand, must eventually come to an end… It’s now time to disembark in Ushuaia, but with memories that will accompany you wherever your next adventure lies! Please schedule flights to depart anytime after 12:00pm/ noon!