Ross Sea + NZ Subantarctic Islands

Arrive at Queenstown, New Zealand’s world famous alpine resort town. Guests should make their way to the designated hotel where we will spend the first night of the expedition. This evening there will be an informal get-together at the hotel for dinner; an excellent opportunity to meet fellow adventurers on your voyage and some of our expedition team.

Today we enjoy breakfast in the hotel restaurant and have the morning free to explore Queenstown before returning to the hotel for lunch and departing for the Port of Bluff to embark your ship. You will have time to settle into your cabin and familarise yourself with the ship; we will also take the opportunity to conduct a number of safety briefings. You are invited to join the expedition team in the Observation Lounge and up on the Observation Deck as we set our course to The Snares and our adventure begins.

Your first port of call will be North East Island, the largest of the Snares and home to more nesting seabirds than in all of the British Isles. Enjoy a Zodiac cruise around the coast to see Snares crested penguins, Cape petrel and Buller's albatross.

The Auckland Islands group was formed by two volcanoes which erupted some 10-25 million years ago. They have subsequently been eroded and dissected by glaciation creating the archipelago as we know it today. Enderby Island is one of the most beautiful islands in this group and is named after the same distinguished shipping family as one of our own vessels. This northern most island in the archipelago is an outstanding wildlife and birding location and is relatively easy to land on and walk around. The island was cleared of all introduced animals (pests) in 1994 and both birds and the vegetation, especially the herbaceous plants, are recovering both in numbers and diversity. Our plan is to land at Sandy Bay, one of three breeding areas in the Auckland Islands for the Hooker’s or New Zealand Sea Lion, a rare member of the seal family. Beachmaster bulls gather on the beach, defending their harems from younger (ambitious) males, to mate with the cows shortly after they have given birth to a single pup. Hooker’s or New Zealand Sea Lion numbers are in a slow decline, for reasons which are not obvious but most probably connected with a nearby squid fishery. During our day ashore there will be several options, some longer walks, some shorter walks and time to spend just sitting and enjoying the wildlife. The walking is relatively easy. A boardwalk traverses the island to the dramatic western cliffs, from there we follow the coast and circumnavigate the island. Birds that we are likely to encounter include the following species: Southern Royal Albatross, Northern Giant Petrel, Auckland Island Shag, Auckland Island Flightless Teal, Auckland Island Banded Dotterel, Auckland Island Tomtit, Bellbird, Pipit, Red-crowned Parakeet, Yellow-eyed Penguin and Light-mantled Sooty Albatross. There is also a very good chance of seeing the Subantarctic Snipe.

At sea, learn more about the biology and history of the Subantarctic Islands and the Southern Ocean through a series of lectures and presentations. We will be at sea all day, so it is another opportunity to spot pelagic species including (but not limited to) the Wandering Albatross, Royal Albatross, Shy and White-capped Albatross, Light-mantled Sooty Albatross, Grey-headed Albatross and Black-browed Albatross, Whitechinned Petrel, Mottled Petrel, White-headed Petrel, Cape Petrel, diving-petrel, Grey-backed and Black-bellied Storm-petrels. This is potentially some of the best pelagic ‘birding’ on the expedition.

The remote Macquarie Island supports one of the highest concentrations of wildlife in the Southern Hemisphere, with millions of breeding penguins, large groups of Elephant Seals and other wildlife inhabiting the sandy beaches and the tussock grass. As well as exploring the island in search of wildlife encounters you can also visit the Australian Antarctic Base and meet with the park rangers to find out more about this remarkable wildlife paradise.

During your days at sea heading towards Antarctica you can enjoy informal lectures and presentations about the incredible Ross Sea region, and spend time on deck looking out for the soaring albatross and petrels that follow the ship. Drifting icebergs with vivid colours announce your arrival into the Antarctic and as you cross the Antarctic Circle make sure your camera is ready for the first of many ice photographs.

Due to the unpredictable nature of ice and weather conditions, an exact day-by-day itinerary in the Ross Sea is not possible, but we take advantage of every opportunity to make landings. Your programme will emphasise wildlife viewing, key scientific bases and historic sites, as well as the spectacular scenery. Visit the huts of Scott, Shackleton and other explorers as well as modern research stations, and see myriad birds and extensive wildlife, including penguin rookeries with over 1,000,000 birds. Each day will bring fantastic shore walks and Zodiac boat excursions.

Although our course will be mostly dictated by conditions, during your time here there are a number of exciting areas that you can expect to visit including the compelling site of Cape Adare which is home to the largest colony of Adelie penguins in Antarctica and Carsten Borchgrevink’s Hut, the oldest in Antarctica. On Cape Hallett our arrival will be heralded by the enormous Admiralty Mountains. Here we will land at an abandoned base site to see the area’s colossal glaciers and large numbers of Adelie Penguins and Weddell Seals before moving on to the desolately beautiful and rugged Franklin Island to see another large Adelie penguin colony and the rarely visited Possession Islands which are home to tens of thousands more penguins.

Of course no voyage to this part of the world would be complete without a visit to the majestic spectacle of the Ross Ice Shelf, the world’s largest body of floating ice, where we will be cruising just 800 miles from the South Pole. The hazardous conditions here can make it hard for a landing but your robust expedition ship will ease along the 30m high ice cliffs with some time on deck hopefully rewarding in the memorable sight of icebergs calving off the shelf.

The historic and scientific elements of our time here will bring us to Ross Island where we hope to see the monstrous active volcano of Mt Erebus and visit Shackelton’s Hut as well as Scott’s Hut and a scientific field station, and Terra Nova Bay where we hope to enjoy an exploration around the Italian research station here.

After the excitement of Antarctica’s Ross Sea region it’s time to relax as your ship heads towards Campbell Island and one final adventure. Enjoy entertaining lectures and pelagic bird and whale watching en-route.

The last landing of our thrilling expedition will bring us to Campbell Island where we will go ashore at Perseverance Harbour to enjoy a walk to the nesting site of the Southern Royal Albatross and see the strange and beautiful megaherbs that grow on the hills here. These huge wild flowers that have adapted to the harsh conditions have unusual colourings and intriguingly-shaped leaves. While we explore around the area we will be on a constant lookout for the Southern Right Whales who occasionally come here to calve, as well as sea lions and rare birds such as Light-mantled Sooty Albatross and Campbell Island Shags.

As your epic adventure comes to an end it’s time to head back towards mainland New Zealand. Enjoy a farewell dinner tonight with your crew and new-found friends and reflect upon the remarkable sights that you will have seen on your expedition.

As your fantastic wildlife, birding and history expedition comes to an end your ship will arrive at the Port of Bluff in the early morning, where after breakfast you will bid a fond farewell and join the included transfer to Invercargill Airport or to a downtown location.