Tour 632-19 Days, Departing December 16,1996, Returning January 3, 1997 (Christmas and New Year Cruise)
Tour 706-19 Days (reverse itinerary), Departing February 25, 1997, Returning March 15, 1997
A pair of king penguins groom in unison, South Georgia Island
South Georgia adds another facet to your Antarctic adventure. Here, as in no other destination on these cruises, you'll have an opportunity to explore vast colonies of the unique king penguin, a wonder of the avian world. Spectacular South Georgia also offers fur and elephant seals-and a chance to pay your respects to one of the great heroes of antarctic exploration: Sir Ernest Shackleton is buried at the foot of South Georgia's mountain range.
| tttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt | |
| Day 1 Miami | |
| Depart on your Lan Chile flight to Santiago, Chile. | |
| Day 2 Santiago | |
| We arrive in the morning and transfer to the Hyatt Regency Hotel. Spend the rest of the day at leisure with dinner on our own this evening. | |
| Day 3 Santiago/Stanlty, Falkland Islands | |
| A morning flight brings us to Stanley, capital of the Falklands, an island group lying 300 miles east of Tierra del Fuego. There's time to stroll the streets of this charming city, with its quaint architecture, friendly villagers and picturesque pubs, before boarding the Explorer this afternoon. | |
| Day 4 Southeast Falkland Islands | |
| Our first cruise stop shows us the outer Falkland Islands, where rolling hills and huge clumps of tussock grass provide a habitat for cormorants, three species of penguins, elephant seals and sea hons. Numerous and remarkably unaffected by the presence of humans, these unique creatures are a pleasure to observe and photograph. | |
| Days 5-6 Cruising the South Atlantic | |
| We head east toward South Georgia. The journey is an exciting one, as we join the Captain on the bridge and spot wildlife from the deck-these krill-rich waters are a particular favorite with marine mammals and seabirds. We'll also hear the exciting story of Shackleton's race across South Georgia, in search of relief for his ship-wrecked companions. | |
| Days 7-9 South Georgia | |
| A popular favorite among the lucky few to have visited its shores, South Georgia is actually a continuation of the Andean mountain range, winding down from South America to the Antarctic Peninsula. We spend our days exploring the island's many glacier-carved coves and its historic sites, including Grytviken, a former whaling station, now home to a small garrison of British soldiers and Shackleton's gravesite. As alwavs, weather controls our explorations, but we hope to visit Salisbury Plain, situated between two glaciers, where a vast colony of stately king penguins (second largest species in the world after the emperor penguin) stretches as far as the eye can see. A neighboring island is home to a nesting colony of wandering albatross (the world's largest seabirds), with fur and elephant seals slumbering on the beach and in high tussock grass. Giant petrels, shags, skuas and terns breed here in impressive concentrations. We may also be able to photograph icy-blue glaciers from our Zodiacs, hike to a hillside waterfall and catch a stunning view of our "little red ship" nestled in a fjord-like setting below. | |
| Day 10 Cruising the South Atlantic | |
| As we approach the White Continent, awe-inspiring icebergs compete for our attention. | |
| Day 11 South Orkney Islands | |
| Once known as the "Inaccessible Islands," the South Orkneys remain one of the most remote land masses on the globe. Though the British Antarctic Survey Station on Signy Island is unfortunately not open to the public, on nearby Coronation Island we can explore colonies of cliff-nesting seabirds, or cruise to Sunshine Glacier by Zodiac. | |
| Day 12 Elephant Island | |
| Our first Antarctic stop brings us to Elephant Island, where 22 of Ernest Shackleton's shipwrecked sailors dug in to await his return with a rescue party. With only five companions, Shackleton sailed 870 miles in a small open boat to South Georgia, crossed its mountain range and shipped on to Chile, where he hired a boat to return for his men. Four attempts and five months later, he returned to find all still alive and waiting on Elephant Island. We'll relish the story-as well as the island's thriving colonies of fur seals, pintado petrels, and chinstrap penguins. | |
| Days 13-15 Antarctica | |
| As the Antarctic Peninsula and its offshore islands appear on the horizon, a sense of excitement and expectation fills the ship. Our first Zodiac expedition is swiftly followed by others, each carefully planned by the Captain and Expedition Leader to take full advantage of each day's possibilities. On most days we make two landings, heading out in our swift and versatile Zodiacs, guided by our expert drivers and accompanied by lecturers, to explore islands filled with thousands of penguins, to photograph nesting grounds of seabirds, and to cruise iceberg-strewn passage-ways of breathtaking beauty. | |
| As conditions permit, we plan to stop on the Peninsula and at a number of islands which may include Livingston, Deception and King George, as well as sail through breathtaldng Paradise Bay and the Lemaire Channel. We may also visit a scientific research station, view the remains of early-century whaling and sealing industries, and perhaps see whale bones on the beach. After each evening's leisurely dinner, there's time to stroll the deck to gaze at the seascapes in the fight of the austral summer. | |
| Days 16-17 Drake Passage | |
| Our return through the Drake Passage is a time for recap and reflection, as we compare notes with our lecturers, bird- or whale- watch from the deck-and celebrate a unique New Year's Eve at sea. | |
| Day 18 Usbuaia | |
| Explorer docks at Ushuaia, southernmost city in the world and, after breakfast today, we disembark for a sightsecing tour of Tierra del Fuego's spectacular wilderness parks. Later in the day, we transfer to the airport to board a flight to Miami via Santiago. | |
| Day 19 Miami | |
| Upon arrival in Miami this morning we connect to homebound flights. |
