Experience the remote corners of the Antarctic as you explore Anvers Island and Flandres Bay. This unique and unforgettable expedition is complete with adventurous activities including learning how to chart and make depth measurements whilst exploring in zodiac vessels and kayaks. This 13 day expedition will see you explore the remote and untouched corners of the Weddell Sea, where few travellers often explore. Departing from Ushuaia, you will cross through the formidable Drake Passage and explore the realm of penguins, whales, seals and other Antarctic wildlife.
Optional Activities :
Trip Code: ACOWAFC
Travel Style: Small Ship Expedition Cruise
Location: Antarctic Peninsula
Ship: Ortelius
Flights: We offer a range of flight options to meet your cruise. Please contact us today to discuss.
Your voyage begins where the world drops off. Ushuaia, Argentina, reputed to be the southernmost city on the planet, is located on the far southern tip of South America. Starting in the afternoon, you embark from this small resort town on Tierra del Fuego, nicknamed “The End of the World,” and sail the mountain-fringed Beagle Channel for the remainder of the evening.
Over the next two days on the Drake Passage, you enjoy some of the same experiences encountered by the great polar explorers who first charted these regions: cool salt breezes, rolling seas, maybe even a fin whale spouting up sea spray. After passing the Antarctic Convergence – Antarctica’s natural boundary, formed when north-flowing cold waters collide with warmer sub-Antarctic seas – you are in the circum-Antarctic upwelling zone. Not only does the marine life change, the avian life changes too. Wandering albatrosses, grey-headed albatrosses, black-browed albatrosses, light-mantled sooty albatrosses, Cape petrels, southern fulmars, Wilson’s storm petrels, blue petrels, and Antarctic petrels are a few of the birds you might see.
As we head toward Antarctica, our first stop is the impressive Spert Island, where you can enjoy views of its towering cliffs and canyons from our Zodiacs and kayaks. After an exhilarating morning, we head to Mikklesen Harbor, where the goal is to land at the tiny D’Hainaut Island. Gentoo penguins can be seen on this island, which is surrounded by awe-inspiring glaciers and mountains welcoming us to Antarctica.
Today we visit Dobrowolski Island. Landings here can be tricky, but the reward is a beautiful island that is seldom visited, with a range of penguins and seals that rest on the rocks. A channel around the island offers kayakers a pleasant view of the terrain and wildlife. This is also where we’ve had the most luck seeing hauled-out leopard seals on the ice floes in recent years. Naturally, we cannot guarantee you will see any, but keep your fingers crossed!
Today we head to the area of Flandres Bay, an uncharted area that will provide you the opportunity to see how we use technology to read the sea bed for navigational purposes. We hope to find new information about the coastline as well as finding new landing sites. This is a real expedition day, so flexibility is key, and venturing into the unknown is our aim.
We begin the day on the south side of Anvers Island, in Neumayer Channel, and hope to land at Damoy Point. This is a favorite of our program, with the secluded Dorian Bay nearby and the chance to snowshoe to a ridge that was once used as a ski-way for aircrafts. After a well-deserved lunch, we head along the Neumayer Channel to Börgen Bay and explore this dramatic area of coastline. Weather permitting, we might alternately visit Access Point, once used by John Biscoe to land on Anvers Island, and re-trace his historic footsteps.
If the ice allows it, you can sail through the Lemaire Channel in search of Adélie penguins and blue-eyed shags. There’s also a good chance you’ll encounter humpback and minke whales here, as well as leopard seals.
Today you may be able to take a Zodiac cruise in these sprawling, ice-flecked waters, where there’s a good chance we will encounter humpback and minke whales. We might also be able to make a stop at Brown Station (Almirante Brown), an Argentine research facility with nearby nesting gentoos. A short hike up the hill behind the station offers exceptional views across Paradise Bay.
These islands offer a beautiful landscape rich with icebergs. Leopard seals, crabeater seals, and whales are found here, and there are excellent opportunities for kayaking as well as shore-based activities.
Your return voyage is far from lonely. While crossing the Drake, we are again greeted by the vast array of seabirds remembered from the passage south. But they seem a little more familiar to you now, and you to them.
Every adventure, no matter how great, must eventually come to an end. It’s now time to disembark in Ushuaia with memories that will accompany you wherever your next journey leads.
Ortelius | Anvers Island and Flandres Bay Basecamp - 13 Days from USD 8,850 | ||
Departing | Ending | Duration |
---|---|---|
04 Dec 2022 | 16 Dec 2022 | 13 |
Voyage aboard the indicated vessel as indicated in the itinerary.
All meals throughout the voyage aboard the ship including snacks, coffee and tea.
All shore excursions and activities throughout the voyage by Zodiac
Program of lectures by noted naturalists and leadership by experienced expedition staff.
Free use of rubber boots and snowshoes.
Luggage transfer from pick-up point to the vessel on the day of embarkation in Ushuaia.
Pre-scheduled group transfer from the vessel to the airport in Ushuaia (directly after disembarkation).Program of lectures by noted naturalists and leadership by experienced expedition staff.
Program of lectures by noted naturalists and leadership by experienced expedition staff.
All miscellaneous service taxes and port charges throughout the program.
Comprehensive pre-departure material.
EXCLUSIONS
Any airfare whether on scheduled or charter flights.
Pre- and post-land arrangements.
Passport and visa expenses.
Government arrival and departure taxes.
Excess baggage charges and all items of a personal nature such as laundry, bar, beverage charges and telecommunication charges.
The customary gratuity at the end of the voyages for stewards and other service personnel aboard (guidelines will be provided).
Available on request. Please contact us for more information.
Please note this itinerary may be subject to change depending on weather, ice and sea conditions.
Departure date, seasonality and availability.
“The best thing about travelling through Latin America is the unbelievable…
About me"It had been something I’d wanted to do for 10 years and finally in September…
About me“Generally, I find Peruvians very friendly, laid-back and easy to get along…
About me“My first impressions of stepping on to South American soil was thinking that…
About meWhen my husband told me "let's go to Antarctica for our honeymoon", I didn't know what…
About me“I love Brazil. Any country that has a public holiday for the best part of a…
About me"My most treasured memory of travelling would have to be waking up in the…
About me"Working for Chimu Adventures allows to me combine my work with my passion for…
About me