Luxury Ross Sea & Subantarctic Islands

Your epic Subantarctic Islands and Ross Sea expedition begins in the New Zealand city of Dunedin where you will arrive independently and make your way to the port in the afternoon to embark your luxury Polar cruise vessel. Settle in to your comfortable cabin, familiarise yourself with the ship and prepare for adventure as we set sail into the wilderness.

Dunedin is New Zealand’s oldest city and we recommend arriving a day or two ahead of departure to sample some of the city’s unique charms and Scottish heritage.

Your first full day on board will be spent sailing towards Campbell Island, one of New Zealand’s UNESCO World Heritage Subantarctic Islands. Take the time to enjoy the many amenities on board. You could enjoy some downtime in the spa, make use of the onboard fitness centre, browse the shopping boutique, or meet the onboard photographers in their dedicated space and learn about their practices. You may also wish to join some of the talks and presentations that will be provided by a team of experts as you sail. These talks will introduce you to some of the many wonders that can be experienced at the destinations that lie ahead. Alternatively, you may wish to simply relax in the bar or spend some time on deck or in the panoramic lounge watching the seas and searching for sightings of marine animals.

Your first stop will take you to the beautiful Campbell Island, the most southerly of the five New Zealand subantarctic groups, where a landscape of perennial wildflowers and megaherbs will greet you. Described by the English botanist Joseph Hooker as having a "flora display second to none outside the tropics”, the colourful flowers and plants have adapted to the harsh weather conditions on the islands and you can learn all about that adaptation as you enjoy a guided walk on the Col Lyell Saddle boardwalk and a memorable zodiac tour around the coastline of Perseverance Harbour. You can also be on the lookout for an abundance of birdlife including six species of albatross, and several critically endangered endemic birds including the Campbell Island teal and snipe.

We will now spend 2 days at sea sailing towards Antarctica and the excitement will build as we get closer to the Ross Sea area and the pinnacle of our voyage. Take time to relax and soak up the views as you prepare for the adventures that lie ahead.

Welcome to the awe-inspiring Ross Sea region, the southernmost sea on earth, where a world of towering icebergs, thundering glaciers and the largest ice shelf on the planet awaits. Inaccessible for 10 months of the year, the Ross Sea region is rarely-explored and your time here will see you become one of only a few people to have ever traversed this enigmatic area. Enjoying unforgettable cruising and thrilling Zodiac rides, you will spend your days soaking up the most pristine, spectacular landscapes you could imagine, and searching for wildlife including the world’s largest Adelie penguin rookeries and Weddell seals relaxing and hunting on the icefloes.

Your team of expert guides will invite you to learn all about the area’s fascinating history and natural environment, and you will have the chance to visit historic buildings including Sir Ernest Shackleton’s hut at Cape Royds, and reflect on the heroic polar journeys of some of the world’s most intrepid polar explorers.

There are several emblematic sites we will hope to visit during your time here, including Cape Adare at the northern end of the Borchgrevink coast, Franklin Island, Terra Nova Bay where the Italian and South Korean scientific stations are located to the north and the Drygalski Ice Tongue to the south, Inexpressible Island where you can learn all about the exceptional survival conditions of the Terra Nova expedition led by Robert Falcon Scott, and Ross Island where more historical insights await. Each day will hold a new unforgettable adventure!

Take time to relax after what will have been a very busy and adventurous week. Collate the countless photos you will have no doubt taken in Antarctica, spend time on deck looking for marine wildlife, put your feet up with a drink or join some more talks and presentations on the areas you have yet to visit on your journey back north.

Your next adventure brings you to the Balleny Islands, an extremely remote series of volcanic islands which straddle the Antarctic Circle some 270 kilometres north of the Antarctic mainland. Heavily glaciated throughout the year, the islands receive few human visitors which has resulted in a magnificent diversity of wildlife at home within the rich waters surrounding the islands, including elephant, Weddell, crabeater and leopard seals, and fin, minke and humpback whales. The islands are also home to large colonies of chinstrap and Adélie penguins which we will hope to encounter during one of your Zodiac cruises along the spectacular coastline.

You will now spend approximately 2 days at sea sailing towards the magnificent Macquarie Island.

Renowned as being one of the nature wonder spots of the world, your next stop will bring you to the wonderful Macquarie Island, home to beautiful landscapes and an outstanding natural diversity. A breeding place for more than 3.5 million seabirds, most of which are penguins, you can spend some time here searching for royal, king, gentoo and rockhopper penguins as we hope to land ashore for a close-up view. There are also three types of fur seals and one seventh of the world's population of elephant seals breeding on the Island.

After a relaxing day at sea, your final stop will take you to the unique wildlife sanctuary of The Snares, part of the Unesco World Hertiage New Zealand Subantarctic islands group. This remarkable wildlife haven is the only forested group without introduced mammals, and so birdlife is prolific here. As you explore along the coastline by Zodiac (shore landings are prohibited), you can hope for sightings of some of the over 2 million Sooty Shearwaters that breed here in the summer months, four species of albatross, and over 35,000 endemic Snares crested penguins. There are also approximately 1,000 New Zealand fur seals and 500 New Zealand sea lions.

Your adventure concludes back in Dunedin where it will be time to disembark and bid a fond farewell to your crew and new-found friends.