DISCOVER ANTARCTICA
Including 29 nights Epic Antarctica cruise via the Phantom Coast and Ross Sea aboard Russian Icebreaker Kapitan Khlebnikov from Port Stanley to Lyttelton
33 days
Departs from Auckland Thursday December 3, 2009. Ends in Christchurch Saturday Sunday January 3, 2010.
See and experience Antarctica where no ordinary cruise ship can go aboard one of Russia's largest and most powerfull icebreakers. The 122 metre, Ice class LL3, icebreaker Kapitan Khlebnikov carries just 108 passengers in 54 twin cabins and suites, all with private facilities and on the outside of the ship, and catered for by 70 crew, predominantly Russian. The ship has a heated indoor swimming pool, theatre, shop, library, satellite communications, and doctor. A special feature is that it carries its own helicopter for transport ashore to remote inland areas (and also for some spectacular filming of the ship powering through the ice), as well as the usual zodiacs. All shore excursions are in the care of of the experienced expedition team. Come and join us for a very special experience of Antarctica featuring such place as Scott Base etc.
PLEASE NOTE
This is an expedition - not a luxury cruise! You will not have Broadway shows every night and 60 activities to choose from during the day, or even 24 hour restaurant and room service! You will have a fabulous experience in a vast wildermness area in a ship designed for the conditions. You will have comfortable, but not flash, cabins, and be well fed and looked after by your Russian crew. The daily itinerary and activities are subject to change depending on ice conditions. The Captain, crew, and expedition team are committed to your safety and well being
Day 1. Thursday 3rd December, 2009. AUCKLAND DEPART
Depart Auckland late afternoon for Santiago. Crossing the dateline means arrival the same day.
Day 2. Thursday. 3rd December (again)SANTIAGO ARRIVE
Arrive Santiago early afternoon and transfer to our first class hotel in the centre of the city. The rest of the day is free to relax.
Day 3. Friday. 4th December. SANTIAGO. (BD)
Our morning sightseeing tour of Santiago includes the central city and historic areas. Free afternoon to explore at your leisure.
Day 4. Saturday. 5th December. SANTIAGO - FALKLAND ISLANDS (B)
Transfer to the airport and fly to Stanley, capital of the Falkland Islands. Transfer to the Alexander Khlebnikov on arrival. Time to explore the town this afternoon.
Days 5,6,7. DRAKE PASSAGE AND SOUTH SHETLAND ISLANDS. (BLD)
Seabirds accompany the ship across the Drake Passage to the South Shetland Islands, our first landfall in Antarctica. We expect to visit penguin rookeries, and deploy zodiacs to cruise through the ice floes where seals lounge in the Antarctic summer sun.
Days 8,9,10. THE ANTARCTIC PENINSULA (BLD)
We push southward and cross the Antarctic Circle, entering a world where daylight is continuous. We'll explore bays ringed by glaciers, and islands where penguins and seals co-exist in relative harmony. From Marguerite Bay we will enter the Bellingshausen sea.
Days 11,12. THE PHANTOM COAST (BLD)
For 2 centuries the ice locked coastline defied the efforts of explorers to chart the coastline given the name "Phantom Coast" by explorer Richard E. Byrd. As we follow the Phantom Coast we expect to visit Peter 1 Island, very rarely visited by humans.
Days 13 - 18. AMUNDSEN SEA (BLD)
Look forward to several adventurous days breaking through the Amundsen Sea pack ice. We will have the opportunity to deploy the helicopters to witness and film the power of the ship from the air (cost included). The expedition team will deliver a series of illustrated presentations about the history and geology of the region. The Naturalists will explain the natural life cycle of the prolific life of Antarctica.
Days 19,20. ROSS ICE SHELF. (BLD)
We will approach the immense Ross Ice Shelf and if conditions permit we will take the helicopters to land atop the floating ice barrier and see the Emperor Penguins, the worlds largest
Days 21,22. ROSS ISLAND AND MCMURDO SOUND. (BLD)
Ross Island is home to the United States research base McMurdo Station, and also New Zealand's Scott Base. Nearby is Robert Falcon Scotts DISCOVERY HUTT from his ill fated 1901-4 expedition. We plan to visit the hut in an envirobnmentally sensitive way, and also Scott Base. The helicopters will be deployed to take us to travel over the vast icefields into the Dry Valleys. Virtually no precipitation has fallen there for millions of years. The sole vegetation is lichens that grow inside rocks. If conditions permit we will see unusual granite formations eroded by the winds, and mountain glaciers coloured by the sand and rock blown into the ice.
Days 23,24,25,26 CAPE ROYDS AND ROSS SEA. (BLD)
At Cape Royds we will visit Ernest Shackleton's Nimrod Hut (1907-09). At Cape Evans we will visit a hut associated with both Shackleton and Scott. A century after its construction, the Cape Evans hut is considered one of the 10 most endangered monuments in the world. Your cruise company supports the restoration projects through on board charity auctions, and visitor admission fees.
Days 27,28,29,30. SOUTHERN OCEAN AND CAMPBELL ISLAND. (BLD)
Its time to leave the ice and head north. We will stop at Campbell Island, a nature sanctuary where Royal Albatross nest. Explore the island and meet the wildlife.
Days 31,32. ENDERBY ISLAND - LYTTELTON (BLD)
We cruise to Enderby Island (Auckland Islands) where Yellow Eyed penguins, Royal Albatross, and seals, share the habitat with Red crowned Parakeets. If conditions are right we will explore ashore before taking our final sea passage to Lyttelton, port for Christchurch.
Day 33. Sunday 3rd January, 2010. CHRISTCHURCH. (B)
Arrive Lyttelton to say farewell to your crew and expedition team and to disembark between 10am and 11am. You will be transferred to Christchurch city or airport. Please do not reserve domestic flights departing before 1pm or international flights departing before 2pm.
Tour cost per person
Share twin cabin....$NZ53,950
Share suite.........$NZ61,500
Share Corner Suite..$NZ64,160
Tour cost includes:
** Economy class air fare from Auckland to Santiago and Quark charter flight to Port Stanley
** Two nights accommodation and breakfast with transfers, half day sightseeing, and dinner in Santiago
** 29 nights accommodation in a twin bed cabin aboard Kapitan Khlebnikov including all breakfasts, lunches, dinners, shore excursions by zodiac, and by helicopter, Photographic journal on DVD, Quark expeditions parka to keep, coffee, tea, cocoa, and bottled water available at any time. (Please note that the number of suites is very limited)
A deposit of $NZ4,500 per person is required to confirm this reservation with the balance being due on the 31st August, 2009