Antarctica expedition cruise to Australia
| country: | Antarctica |
| departures: | 2010: 5 Dec 2011: 3 Dec |
| price: | From £19180 - £21160 (34 days) excluding flights. |
| more info: | Price includes: 29 nights on the ship, 1 night in Santiago, full board on the ship, breakfast only at hotel. |
| vouchers: | Gift vouchers can be used with this holiday |
the amazing things you'll be doing
The most comprehensive journey to Antarctica available, spending a full month sailing nearly half way around the continent along seldom seen coastlines. A great deal of this voyage is spent below the Antarctic Circle, providing continuous daylight, and allowing virtually unlimited time to explore this spectacular wilderness. The ship travels south along the Peninsula, visiting penguin rookeries, exploring bays ringed with glaciers, and cruising among ice floes and lounging seals. The ship then follows the Phantom Coast, breaking through the Amundsen Sea pack ice - with onboard helicopters allowing aerial views of the incredible power of this icebreaker. Before leaving Antarctica the ship enters the Ross Sea. The awe-inspiring Ross Ice Shelf covers an area roughly the size of France and is up to 1000m thick in parts. Crossing back over the Antarctic Circle, and experiencing a darkened sky after nearly 3 weeks in perpetual sunlight, the ship makes her way up through the Southern Ocean, completing her final semi-circumnavigation of Antarctica.
Anyone booking a polar expedition voyage by 31 December 2009 will receive a magnificent set of the acclaimed Opticron Countryman 8x42 binoculars. They come with a 10-year guarantee and are critical on any wildlife holiday. In the Poles they are as important as your passport! Our special guest is Doug Allan. This wildlife cameraman has been responsible for some of the most memorable marine mammal footage of the past twenty years. Doug specialises in the polar regions, working on and under the ice. He has contributed to the BBC’s acclaimed Life in the Freezer, The Blue Planet and Planet Earth as well as the Disneynature film Earth. Doug has earned three Emmys, three BAFTAs, two honorary doctorates and the Polar Medal from the Queen. As special guests aboard Doug, with his wife (expedition member and filmmaker, Sue Flood), will be sharing behind-the-scenes stories, films and photographs with travellers.
Anyone booking a polar expedition voyage by 31 December 2009 will receive a magnificent set of the acclaimed Opticron Countryman 8x42 binoculars. They come with a 10-year guarantee and are critical on any wildlife holiday. In the Poles they are as important as your passport! Our special guest is Doug Allan. This wildlife cameraman has been responsible for some of the most memorable marine mammal footage of the past twenty years. Doug specialises in the polar regions, working on and under the ice. He has contributed to the BBC’s acclaimed Life in the Freezer, The Blue Planet and Planet Earth as well as the Disneynature film Earth. Doug has earned three Emmys, three BAFTAs, two honorary doctorates and the Polar Medal from the Queen. As special guests aboard Doug, with his wife (expedition member and filmmaker, Sue Flood), will be sharing behind-the-scenes stories, films and photographs with travellers.
day-by-day itinerary
| Day 1: | Fly to Santiago. |
| Day 2: | Arrive Santiago, night in hotel. |
| Day 3: | Fly to Stanley, Falkland Islands and board the ship. |
| Days 4-5: | At sea. |
| Days 6-9: | Explore the South Shetland Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula. |
| Days 10-16: | The Phantom Coast and Amundsen Sea. |
| Days 17-25: | The Ross Sea; visit McMurdo Station and Scott Base. |
| Days 26-28: | At sea. |
| Days 29-30: | Attempt to visit Macquarie Island, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. |
| Days 31-32: | At sea. |
| Day 33: | Disembark in Hobart; fly to London. |
award winner
This tourism business won an award in our 2004 Responsible Tourism Awards - organised by responsibletravel.com in association with The Times, World Travel Market and Geographical, Magazine of the Royal Geographical Societyhow this holiday makes a difference
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We take extremely seriously our responsibility to minimise our impact on these pristine areas. We are a Full Member of the International Association of Antarctica Tour Operators (IAATO) and has agreed to abide by one of the tourism world's most conscientious codes of conduct. Quark Expeditions, our ship operator, is also a member of the Association of Arctic Expedition Cruise Operators (AECO), which covers operations in Spitzbergen.
However, perhaps the single most important thing any polar travel company can do, is educate their clients to travel sensitively and compassionately. Our expedition team on each ship takes this part of their role very seriously, and looks forward to explaining how everyone can play their part. We support various conservation initiatives: Polar Bear Study: The polar bear’s migratory patterns have long been a mystery to conservationists. With money raised from expeditions and donations, we have made valuable contributions to the purchase of the expensive tracking collars – critical in monitoring their hunting and mating patterns. Albatross Campaign: Almost half a million US dollars has been raised through staff and passengers towards the ‘Get the Albatross off the Hook’ campaign, aimed at stopping the death of albatrosses by long-line fishing. Scott Polar Research Institute: We support the work of the Scott Polar Research Institute in Cambridge. The Institute is the oldest international centre for Polar Research within a university. Polar Ambassadors: Polar Ambassadors believe that the preservation and conservation of the polar regions is imperative. There are 10 simple things that you can do now that will make a difference. Our expedition team on each ship takes this very seriously, and look forward to explaining how everyone can become involved. |
Tourism can be good and bad for destinations & local people. We carefully screen every holiday against our criteria for responsible travel. 'Look behind the brochure' to find how each holiday makes a difference (see left). We don't claim to be perfect - there is no global accreditation - but we've led the way since 2001 and screened 1000's of holidays. We invite every traveller to write a review about their experiences and responsible tourism. This valuable feedback is sent to the people who run the holidays. We keep a very close eye on it and take off holidays that don't live up to our standards. |