The
Full Circumnavigation of Antartica
Part II - The Peninsula, Phantom Coast and the Ross Sea
January 3, 2003 - February 1, 2003
Ushuaia to Deception Island and further to Lyttelton, New Zealand
"Glittering white,
shining blue, raven black. In the light of the sun the land looked like
a fairy tale. Pinnacle after pinnacle, peak after peak - crevassed, wild
as any land on our globe, it lies unseen and untrodden". (R. Amundsen)
Passenger
Transfer At Deception Island
Expeditioners joining for the second segment of our voyage will arrive
in Ushuaia, Argentina on January 3 and transfer independently to a local
hotel. Embarking aboard the transfer vessel on January 4 they sail in
the afternoon. The adventure begins on deck navigating the Beagle Channel
accompanied by a myriad of seabirds. Over the next two days the journey
continues through the Drake Passage en route to our rendevouz with the
icebreaker Kapitan Khlebnikov at Deception Island on January 7.
January 8, Antarctic
Peninsula
We navigate dramatic Neumayer Channel, where Britain established an early
meteorological station at Port Lockroy - a favorite anchorage of the whalers
and home to a thriving colony of Gentoo Penguins and Blue-eyed Shags.
Later we will navigate Lemaire Channel, a narrow geologic fault between
the towering mountains of the Antarctic Peninsula and Booth Island - some
of the most dramatic scenery in all of Antarctica. We may also visit Vernadsky
Station, where the depletion of the world's ozone layer was first discovered
in 1983 by British scientists. Today operated by the Ukraine, we are warmly
welcomed by the station members and shown around their base.
January 9-10, Crystal Sound & Marguerite Bay
We continue across the Antarctic Circle to a rarely-visited region of
pack ice, impressive mountains, huge icebergs and amazing wildlife far
to the south. Only a fully classed polar icebreaker can safely navigate
this area. You experience firsthand the expert abilities and the power
of the Kapitan Khlebnikov in polar, ice clad waters and learn how the
ship breaks and navigates through ice. Ice depending we enter the extremely
narrow Tickle Channel and continue to the British Rothera Station, scenically
located in the northern part of Marguerite Bay.
January 11-13, Bellingshausen Sea & Peter I Island
En route to the pack ice of the Amundsen Sea we hope for good conditions
and a landing at Peter I Island, a remote outpost discovered by Bellingshausen
in 1821. Few have ever seen the magnificent mountains and glaciers of
this island, home to Adelie and Chinstrap Penguins, Storm Petrels and
southern fulmars.
January 14-19, Amundsen Sea & Phantom Coast
During these days we expect thrilling hours breaking through the pack
- and perhaps Emperor Penguins and Ross seals. Should conditions permit,
you will board the helicopter for views of the Kapitan Khlebnikov sailing
through this remote fairyland of ice. We hope to be able to approach the
Phantom Coast and Getz Ice Shelf, a virtually unexplored and exciting
sector of the continent. The Kapitan Khebnikov returns here for the first
time since the pioneering voyage in 1999. Depending on ice conditions,
which can be very challenging, we will attempt to surround impressive
10.000-foot-high Mount Siple. En route to Cape Colbeck, we hope to traverse
the spectacular region off Cape Burks, where large concentrations of tabular
icebergs lay grounded on the shoals below.
January 20-21, Bay of Whales & Ross Ice Shelf
Excitement builds as we approach the Bay of Whales, the furthest south
possible for a ship, less than 700 miles away from the South Pole. From
here Amundsen started his way to the Pole, pioneering a new route up to
the polar plateau from the Ross Ice Shelf. Eighteen years later the Bay
of Whales became the starting point for another triumph, when American
flyer Richard Byrd, together with three other men, reached the Pole on
November 29, 1929. Sailing along the immense Ross Ice Shelf, which is
equivalent to the size of France, we hope to land by helicopter on top
of the 100-foot high ice barrier.
January 22-23, Ross Island & McMurdo Sound
Pushing south we anchor along the ice fronting McMurdo Station, the sprawling
United States facility in the shadow of Mount Erebus. We are invited to
tour the station, a center for logistics that houses 1.000 people in summer.
The base surrounds Scott's remarkably preserved 1901-1904 Discovery Hut.
The New Zealanders may also offer a tour of Scott Base, their station
a few miles away on the other side of the bay. Pods of orcas are often
seen along the ice edge, where Minke whales and Weddell seals patrol in
search of food.
We also plan to visit the site of Sir Ernest Shackleton's hut at Cape
Royds, which was built during his Nimrod polar attempt, 1907-1909. Though
the legendary explorers are long gone from the area, the hut is far from
deserted. It has been reclaimed by the original inhabitants of the area
- thousands of Adelie Penguins - in the world's southernmost penguin rookery.
At Cape Evans we have the opportunity to visit the historic site of Scott's
hut which has been beautifully preserved by staff from the Antarctic Heritage
Trust in New Zealand. It stands as a testimony to the rigors faced by
pioneering explorers. Inside the hut you witness the living conditions
almost exactly as they were when Scott, Wilson and Ponting occupied these
quarters almost a century ago. Behind the hut, famous Mount Erebus looms
above us.
Weather and ice conditions permitting, we also hope to offer helicopter
flights to one of the most spectacular and seldom-visited areas of Antarctica,
the Dry Valleys. This remote region offers an amazing landscape of wind-eroded
rocks and desert scenery unlike anywhere else in the world.
January 24-26, Ross Sea & Cape Adare
Located between Cape Washington and the Drygalski Ice Tongue, Terra Nova
Bay was discovered by the British National Antarctic Expedition under
Scott in 1901-04. The Bay is the site of an Italian summer research station.
Dense pack ice often challenges vessels near Cape Hallett, site where
the United States and New Zealand established a now-abandoned base during
the 1957-58 International Geophysical Year. We hope to land near the former
base which is now surrounded by Adelie Penguins. Views of the 12,000-foot
Admiralty Range herald our arrival at Cape Adare. Behind the broad open
beach, you see the 1899 hut where Carsten Borchgrevink was the first to
overwinter on the Antarctic Continent. Cape Adare is home to 260.000 pairs
of Adelie Penguins, the largest colony anywhere of this species - an absolutely
staggering sight.
January 27-29, Balleny Islands & the Southern Ocean
It is here, along the shores of the Balleny Islands, that we plan to "tie
the knot" on our way back to Lyttelton, thereby completing the second
Full Circumnavigation of Antarctica - after nearly two months and many
incredible adventures all around the continent! We prepare for celebrations
before heading north into the Southern Ocean.
January 30, Campbell Island, New Zealand
We sail into Perseverance Harbor, a drowned volcanic caldera that cuts
across the island, and anchor off the small New Zealand meteorological
station located here. A boardwalk leads you from the station over the
tussock grass to the hilltop observatories of the Royal Albatross. Each
austral summer, 15,000 of these huge birds nest among clusters of brightly
colored megaherbs.
January 31, At Sea
From the decks of the Kapitan Khlebnikov, we watch numerous seabirds trailing
in our wake welcoming us home from our adventurous journey. Plan to spend
time on deck with naturalists who help us to identify the various species.
February 1, Lyttelton, New Zealand
Arriving in Lyttelton today, we disembark in the late morning and transfer
to Christchurch airport for our flights to Auckland. We continue home
individually. Air arrangements are available upon request.
***
End Of Our Services ***
Airfare is not
included in the program. Some group flights are available on request.
Please note: Read this itinerary as a guide only; our exact route
and program varies according to ice and weather conditions - and the wildlife
we encounter. Flexibility is the key to the success of this expedition.
All our tour packages include: Please
click here
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