Undiscovered Antarctica Tour: From Wildlife Colonies to Thermal Springs

Ushuaia sits at Argentina’s southernmost point and edges the Beagle Channel. The Andes Mountains slope down into the sea, reaching their end after traveling over the length of the South American continent. Forest spreads from the heart of the protected landscape at Tierra del Fuego onto the foothills of the Martial Range, matching the briny scent of the channel with the herbaceous aroma of lenga trees. As your eyes begin to wander over the landscape, your flight will land at Malvinas Argentinas International Airport, and your private transfer will greet you you’re your arrival.

Your hotel has a spectacular view over the robust and welcoming city where the cool air reaches an average temperature of 50 degrees in January, the warmest month of a Southern Hemisphere summer, and drops to nearly 30 degrees on average in June. You will find comfort as you settle into your luxury hotel that overlooks the fishing boats and tankers that travel through the channel towards or away from the rugged tip of South America at Cape Horn.

The fishing boats return to port in the morning leaving a gentle wake in the water that will mesmerize as you wake to the day. The sunlight comes early during the summer at such a southerly point while the mountains on the Martial Range retain touches of snow leading closer to the Martial Glacier. The glacier is located less than four miles from the heart of the city and reachable by chairlift ascending into the rugged peaks. Adventurers and nature-lovers take to the trails enjoying the pristine scenery along the various hiking options providing views to Ushuaia, Isla Navarino, and the Beagle Channel.

In the afternoon, your private transfer will greet you in your hotel lobby and escort you to the bustling port to board your welcoming cruise ship. The cozy vessel has been retrofitted for the icy waters of the Southern Ocean and accommodates just over 100 guests in gorgeous suites. The ship measures less than 300 feet in length with a breadth of 50 feet to maneuver through the islands and icebergs around the Antarctic. The boat weighs anchor, and you will set out on the Beagle Channel and venture southeast to the Falkland Islands.

The scent of fresh coffee drifts from the dining room of the cruise ship as you step onto the upper deck for a spectacular view of the Southern Atlantic. The breeze carries the briny scent of the water as the sunlight washes over the cobalt hues of the ocean’s surface. Join the others on the deck, and the staff aboard the ship includes naturalists and lecturers eager to answer any questions about island topography, Antarctic geology, or the fauna found in the land, air, and sea. You can spot a Wilson’s storm petrel circling in the breeze in search of plankton floating at the top of the water. They flutter their wings and hover over the spot they find their prey before pouncing with a wingspan that grows to a width between 15 and 16.5 inches, featuring their dark brown plumage with white flanks.

The Falkland Islands are located approximately 300 miles east of Argentina’s Southern Patagonia with an area of 4,700 square miles. The ship weighs anchor at Port Stanley to showcase the unique British ambiance of the islands closely related to the Spanish speaking country of Argentina. Rows of hillside houses become reminiscent of a seaside village in Scotland topped with corrugated-iron roofs and colorful walls. The scent of fish and chips accentuates the aroma of the salty sea as the breeze whips over the windswept grass and the ocean laps against the pebbled beaches.

A large whalebone arch decorates the nearby cathedral’s forecourt. The cemetery has become a tourist attraction over the years with visitors interested in viewing the grounds hosting tombstones of 19th-century pioneers. Common surnames still found on the island reflect the deep connection with British history, including Smith and Jones amidst Felton and Biggs. The Memorial Wood has a tree planted for every member of the British Forces who died during the Falkland War in 1982 between Britain and Argentina.

The vast emptiness of the Falkland Islands offers a precursor to the distinctive ambiance of Antarctica. In the summer, the islands shimmer with greenery from the windswept grass and silver from the protruding marble rocks. You will travel around the islands in search of the glorious wildlife for which the isolated archipelago is known at the beach on Volunteer Point. The narrow sound protects the greater lagoon as 100 pairs of ruddy-headed geese nest on the shoreline along with pairs of Gentoo and Magellanic penguins.

The largest draw to the point, however, is the 150 pairs of king penguins breeding on the protected landscape. The cool breeze carries a mist from the pristine turquoise water as the sandy stretch of beach contrasts with the gray pebbles you found lining the shores near Port Stanley. A troop of king penguins marches on the fine-grained sand and can repeatedly dive to a depth of 300 feet when hunting, but have been recorded at as deep as 1,000 when under duress. They grow to nearly 40 inches tall and tilt their heads back when performing their melodic call.

You can look out the window in the morning to find the daylight stretching longer the farther southeast you travel. The ship carries you across the open sea between the Falkland Islands and South Georgia Island, and the open water of the Southern Atlantic begins to cool dramatically. South Georgia Island is located more than 950 miles away from the shores of the Falkland Islands, but your ship offers plenty of cozy opportunities to watch the splendors of sea pass by or relax in the comforts of the sitting room with a book or movie, letting the day drift by at your leisure.

Take to the upper deck to watch for more of the fascinating avifauna known for wandering over the open sea in search of food. A crew member can point to a sooty albatross in the distance, and you can look through your binoculars to find the fantastic wingspan of the large bird reaching more than six and a half feet wide. Their coloring combines white plumage around their breast and back with the ashen hues of their wings and rump.

When reaching the edges of the Southern Atlantic, you will notice that the waters begin to shift. Travel close to the northern border of the Drake Passage, a 500-mile stretch of water between Cape Horn and the South Shetland Islands infamous for tumultuous waters. The air turns colder as you reach closer to the shores of South Georgia, accounting for the shift in the water’s temperature at the Antarctic Convergence. A crew member will explain over breakfast that the warmer water pushes the colder water to the surface, causing a change in weather patterns and waves, along with accounting for the abundance of krill pushed to the surface.

The convergence provides ample opportunities to view birdlife and whale pods. You can step onto the deck in the calm afternoon with a soothing cup of coffee to take it all in and search the water to find a pod of southern right whales. The baleen whale has a broad back without a dorsal fin while the black and gray skin contains callosities that appear white. They grow to nearly 50 feet long and weigh almost 50 tons. Their curious nature draws them closer to the ship, eager to learn more about its movement. Before dropping into the water, the whale may perform a tail sailing, arching its fluke to catch the wind.

The remote island once acted as one of the first gateways to Antarctica and the center of the Southern Ocean whaling industry between the early- to the mid-20th century. The rugged island has sharply glaciated peaks that reach more than 9,600 feet above sea level. The ship makes port on the northeastern coast and offers views to the majestic fjords and the beaches that host abundant wildlife. The high mountains along the coast and the sounds protect the inlands from prevailing winds. You will travel on to Grytviken, an abandoned whaling station made famous by the British captain Earnest Shackleton and his failed expedition to Antarctica in the early 20th century.

The captain lost his ship on the ice pack and traveled back to South Georgia in a rowboat with five men, leaving the remaining survivors on Elephant Island along the South Shetland Archipelago. The Chilean tugboat, Yelcho, ventured into the Antarctic waters and saved the remaining crewmembers. The whaling station is now a ghost town with rusted ships half sunk at the port, whale bones protruding from the abandoned structures, and oil processing pipes imitating the towering peaks in the background. Nature has slowly turned the former thriving town decrepit through more than 50 long winters of snow, ice, and wind after being discarded in the 1960s. You can visit the grave of Ernest Shackleton opposite the museum, along with many whalers to passed during their time working in the harsh conditions of the Sub-Antarctic waters.

You will have grown accustomed to the cold since your time leaving Ushuaia, enjoying the gentle bite of the breeze against your cheeks and nose. A cup of coffee helps to rouse you awake in the morning before your time spent exploring the island in search of the fascinating history and wildlife found around the remote destination. The grasses along the shore plains lead to the craggy mountains covered with patches of snow year-round.

The rocky outcroppings along the shoreline support penguin colonies, including on the small archipelago two miles west of South Georgia’s mainland by the northwest tip, known as Willis Islands where the rocky cliff protects the beach and landscape. Your guide will lead you over the steep rocks and billowing tussocks to reach the macaroni penguin colony. The distinctive penguin is one of six crested penguin species known for the yellow and orange crest above their eyebrows. They average height of 28 inches and have a guttural, rapid call.

The morning light washes over the island and highlights the shimmering snow over the inland mountain summits. After breakfast, you will board a zodiac boat to reach Elsehul, a small bay less than a mile-wide west of Cape Pride. The harbor is impossible to dock at during the summer due to the ample amount of fur seals overrunning the beaches. The colony pushes out the elephant seals, Gentoo, and king penguins during the summer as well. The zodiac keeps a distance from the beach as to not aggravate the already grumpy seals as you can hear their barking echoing from the shore. The fur seal is closely related to the sea lion and can grow more than three feet long. Their longer flippers and darker fur separate them from their counterpart, the Galapagos fur seal. The rookery on the beach looks paved with brown over the pebbles and sand edging the rocky shoreline.

In the morning, you will enjoy taking your first look out the window of the vessel to find the vastness of open water spreading to the horizon. You will take pleasure in your morning cup of coffee before heading onto the top deck for a better view. The wind has become bitter with cold as the briny scent of the water holds a touch of frost. You will want to return to the warmth of the ship’s interior knowing how far you have traveled since beginning the cruise.

The staff on board the ship are well-versed in the unique attributes of the land, sea, and air between Argentina and Antarctica, offering information through individual question and answer periods or greater lectures in the gallery. Your ship trundles through the Drake Passage, a two-day journey on average. You can attend any of the lectures in the cozy ambiance of the luxury vessel, listening intently about the “New Exploration Era,” of the South Pole. The crewmember can explain the evolution of expeditions from a century ago until today, connoting the inspiration of colonization leading to the importance of gathering detailed knowledge of the polar ice sheets, hidden mountains, frozen lakes, and submerged volcanoes.

The morning lecture will provide insight into the best methods of photography while exploring the whitewashed landscape of Antarctica or the endlessly moving wildlife along the shores of the secluded South Shetland Islands. The day is once again yours to partake in the fabulous and informative lecture series provided by the crew or lounge in the prevailing breeze coursing off the Southern Ocean in search of passing dolphin, whale, and seal groups. You can enjoy the frosted air outside, in view of the calm water as the open sea begins to shift, featuring small packs of ice and tall icebergs drifting by, revealing your distance from the Antarctic Peninsula.

You may spot a figure arching out of the water in the wake of the boat. A pod of hourglass dolphins leaps out of the water playing in the current caused by the boat. Their uniquely colored skin features a sheen over black and white patches that resemble the curves of an hourglass. They grow less than six feet long and use echolocation to locate food or communicate with others. Your boat will weigh anchor around the South Orkney Islands, an archipelago in the Southern Ocean 375 miles north of the Antarctic Peninsula. The islands reach an area of 240 square miles with an elevation peaking at more than 4,100 feet above sea level.

The morning cold rushes against your face in the morning as you travel by zodiac between the ship and the shores of Elephant Island. The landmass is located more than 150 miles away from the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula with an area of 215 square miles. Ice covers the majority of the mountains and coastline, and you may recall the name of the island from when you learned about the fate of Earnest Shackleton, remembering how he and his crew were shipwrecked on the beaches of Elephant Island, finding refuge on Point Wild.

Snow and ice tumble down the mountainous slopes and plunges into the icy blue water. Sporadic icebergs protrude from the Southern Ocean in view of land, and your guide will lead you to the shoreline known for hosting elephant seals. The large, loud seal reaches 16 feet in length and weighs up to 6,600 pounds. Their probosci's nose adds to the cacophonous call resembling an elephant’s trumpet while the dramatic landscape adds to the luster of viewing the elephant seals in their natural habitat, lounging on the rocks away from the lapping water.

Your ship will stop near the shores of Deception Island, allowing you to take the zodiac boat to the beaches along Whaler’s Bay. The ship weighed anchor inside the bay, which is connected to the deep caldera of an active volcano. The volcanic activity and tall mountains make the bay one of the safest harbors in the South Shetland Islands as it provides shelter from the sporadic storms. However, volcanic eruptions in the 1960s caused damage to the local scientific stations and ousted the former whaling colony.

You will notice the warmer air around the island, along with the steam drifting from the natural hot springs pooling around the shores of the bay. The British destroyed the oil tanks and remaining supplies of the whaler stations in the 1940s to deter German convoys from settling in the area. You can venture to one of the pools, take off your shoes and socks, roll up your pants, and dip your feet into the warming waters of the hot springs, which reach more than 100 degrees Fahrenheit near the active volcanic areas.

Your boat weighs anchor in the safety of a harbor along the eastern coast of the Antarctic Peninsula. The staggering landscape features ice-smothered beaches and snow-capped peaks as a zodiac boat takes you over the steely gray water to reach the pebbled shores of Graham Land. The surrounding landscape of the Antarctic peninsula is named for Sir James R. G. Graham, the First Lord of the Admiralty in the 19th century and the landmass is the closest point of the Antarctic continent to the South American continent.

The stoic beauty of the landscape reflects in the calm water, exemplifying the name of “paradise.” An Antarctic minke whale surfaces near the zodiac boat, representing the most abundant baleen whale in the world. It grows to nearly 40 feet long with a narrow beak that angles to a point and a curved dorsal fin closer to its tail than its head. You will travel through the Weddell Sea, an offshoot of the Southern Ocean bounded by Coats Land and the Antarctic Peninsula. A large portion of the southern edges of the sea consists of sheet ice and the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf.

The changing weather patterns of Antarctica ensure that your time spent traveling through the narrow channels and alongside the dramatic coastline of the continent remain unique to your journey. You will travel closer to the lesser-traveled depths of the Antarctic circle. Tabular icebergs soar above the ship with distinctive arches, carvings, and shapes similar to the unique properties of limestone karsts. The sun never sets while in the Antarctic Circle, consisting of the five most southerly circles of latitude. You will board your zodiac to reach the shores of Petermann Island, a small, low rounded landmass near the drifting icebergs of the Lemaire Channel.

The island reaches just more than one mile long and less than a mile across with an elevation of 820 feet above sea level around rugged, exposed rocks that overlook the crevassed icecap. The ice-free areas support the sparse vegetation of mosses and lichens, and your guide will lead you to an elevation with a perfect panorama of the snow-capped mountains in the background and the 3,000 pairs of Gentoo penguins in the foreground. The white stripe along their bonnet makes the penguins recognizable, and they reach approximately 35 inches in height and have a longer than average tail that sweeps behind them when they walk.

The tiny island of Detaille has become a goal for many adventurers that travel beyond the Antarctic Circle. The rough sea and the high winds often keep boats from docking on at the port. You will hope to find the seas calm and the wind steady today, as you board your zodiac boat to reach the shore. The remains of Britain’s Base W continue to decorate the landscape, adding a ghostly feature to the otherwise raw terrain.

The base was evacuated in the summer of 1959, and the remains provide an eerie time capsule of the past. Ice and snow blanket the landscape that surround the remains of the base and turn the scenery into an endless whitewashed wonderland. The cold bites at your nose and cheeks as Adelie penguins roost on the rocks near the shore, wandering around the rocky and steep slopes. Their black faces and pure white chests embody the picturesque image of an iconic penguin. The interior of the Base retains the elements once used during the research expedition, including the maps, logs, and also cooking materials, such as Scotch oats and bottles of mayonnaise.

You will follow the channels that lead between the sporadic westerly islands and the coastline of the Antarctic Peninsula as you venture northbound towards the South Shetland Islands. You will cross back over the imaginary line that marks the Polar Circle and wind around the icebergs that turn the Chrystal Sound into a labyrinth. Your boat will dock near the familiar shores of Petermann Island, and instead of taking a zodiac boat, you will step into a kayak and row to the shores of Pleneau Island. The island is located in the Wilhelm Archipelago northeast of Hovgaard Island and named for the early 20th-century explorer and photographer Paul Pleneau.

The calm water allows you to drift close to the magnificent tableau icebergs that rise out of the calm water. You can see the reflections of the massive mounds on the surface of the Southern Ocean, along with the indigo hues that glow as the ice touches the water. Onshore, Gentoo penguins clean themselves, nibbling at their feathers amongst the snow while the majority of the colony stands on the exposed rock as opposed to the wet, powdery landscape.

Your ship will dock at King George Island, considered one of the gateways to Antarctica. The island holds one of the first contemporary settlements you have seen since departing from the Falkland Islands earlier on your journey. The island is located 75 miles north of the Antarctic Peninsula with an area of 440 square miles, and the shoreline offers ice-free areas for moss and lichens to grown. Elephant, Weddell, and leopard seals bask in the sunlight on the pebbled beaches away from the colonies of Adelie, chinstrap, and Gentoo penguins.

Research stations belonging to nearly 15 countries populate the island, including the Chilean research station Eduardo Frei Montalva, the largest of the island complexes encompassing a runway of 4,238 feet long. The station also maintains a large gymnasium that hosts a friendly soccer contest during the week held between the different stations. You will board the plane in the afternoon and fly across the Drake Passage to reach Presidente Carlos Ibanez del Campo International Airport in Punta Arenas, Chile.

Your luxury accommodation will provide a view over the Strait of Magellan and the bustling streets of Chile’s Patagonian metropolis. The wealth of the former settlement town rises from the central square of Plaza Munoz Gamero where the mansions embody the opulence that leads back to the days of cattle breeding and the early-20th-century wool boom. You are drawn to the statue of Magellan, which was placed in the square to commemorate the 400th anniversary of the explorer’s journey around the world. After returning from the far reaches of the snowy continent, you will feel a sense of pride and accomplishment. When you are ready, your private transfer will escort you from the hotel to the airport for your flight home.