| During this 26-day voyage, which pays homage to the legendary reputations of Antarctic explorers, intrepid explorers will attempt to set a new record, adding to a long list of firsts which the Kapitan Khlebnikov can boast of in this sturdy icebreaker's repertoire.
In addition to a visit to the Bay of Whales, the closest area to the South Pole accessible by ship, we hope to visit the humble remains of century old base camps, accompanied by a renowned Antarctic historian. At the same time specialists in marine biology, ornithology and glaciation provide expert commentary on the wildlife you encounter.
The full itinerary can be seen below!
Day 1: | Auckland is the staging point for our Great Explorers expedition. Overnight at the centrally located Carlton Hotel or similar. | Day 2: |
In November 1901, Scott and Shackleton, on board the steamship Discovery, sailed into Lyttelton harbor to make final preparations for their exploration of
Antarctica’s Ross Sea region. You and your companions fly from Auckland to Christchurch (the flight is not included in the voyage price), where you are transferred from the airport to that same port to embark the icebreaker Kapitan Khlebnikov. |
Day 3: | Watch for whales, dolphins and seabirds from the ample openair decks of the icebreaker. Resident specialists assist you to identify the wildlife that may momentarily join the expedition. | Day 4: | Visiting the home of the rare Hooker sea lion and yellow-eyed penguin is today's goal. Red-crowned parakeets flit in the canopy of rata forests - gnarled and twisted trees that rarely exceed six feet (1.9m) in height. | Day 5: |
Campbell Island’s Perseverance Harbor was named for the first ship known to have anchored there. You explore the harbor in a Zodiac landing craft if weather conditions permit. During the pre-excursion briefing, the ship’s historian could relate the rescue of three men and a woman who, abandoned by their shipmates, survived four years on the island. Tragically, the day of her rescue, the woman died under mysterious circumstances. |
Days 6-7: |
The Expedition Staff may speak of the Russian Antarctic explorer, Admiral Thaddeus von Bellingshausen today. Sailing under the patronage of Czar Alexander I, the admiral became the second man to cross the Antarctic Circle, exactly 186 years ago. |
Day 8: | Spend time watching the powerful Kapitan Khlebnikov crush her way through dense pack ice. Tonight's dinner might have a Russian flavor as this is the 186th anniversary of the first sighting of the Antarctic continent. More than a century passed before Admiral von Bellinghausen was recognized for his accomplishment. | Day 9: | Kapitan Khlebnikov’s helicopters may be deployed to take you sightseeing in the Cape Hallet area. | Day 10: |
In accounts of Antarctic exploration the exploits of lesser known members of expeditions are frequently overlooked. Victor Campbell, a member of Scott’s Terra Nova expedition, with five others, decided to explore Terra Nova Bay in January 1912. They carried a tent and food for ten weeks of exploration. The ship meant to collect them was unable to make the rendezvous. The seven dark months the men spent in an ice shelter ended in a 39-day, 225 mile sledge journey. Their tale of survival underscores your exploration of the Bay. While you add to your knowledge of the great explorers, you continue to learn about the indigenous wildlife, such as orcas and Minke whales. |
Day 11: | Another name to be reckoned with is that of Erich Dagobert von Drygalski, a German geophysicist, with a passion for the science of ice formation. He used the first telephone in the Antarctic to communicate with his crew on the ground, having ascended 1500 feet in a hydrogen-filled balloon to take aerial photographs of a never before seen region of the continent. The Drygalski Ice
Tongue, the focus of today’s activities, was named in his honor. | Day 12: |
Perhaps there are no protected monuments in the world as humble as the huts left by the expeditions of Carsten Borchgrevnik, Robert Falcon Scott, and Ernest Shackleton. Small and dark – some still stacked to the rafters with canned goods – they sheltered men, animals and machinery against the deep freeze and long dark months of the Antarctic winter.
Scott’s Discovery Hut is now encircled by an American research facility, McMurdo Station. Your Expedition Leader will request a tour of the base and that of the New Zealand's research station, across the bay. Scott also built a hut on Cape Evans, now maintained by the Antarctic Heritage Trust. As you enter you step back in time to spartan living conditions, which are in sharp contrast to the comforts you experience aboard the icebreaker. Still standing in a corner of the hut is the printing press used to publish the first newspaper in the Antarctic. In the entry you find a pile of seal skins left stacked just as they were nearly a century ago.
Ernest Shackleton built a hut on Cape Royds during his Nimrod expedition. Since the expedition abandoned the building, Adélie penguins have established a penguin rookery that is the breeding grounds of thousands of the comical, flightless birds. The backdrop to this visit is Mounts Terra Nova, Terror and the steaming volcano, Erebus, named for three celebrated expedition ships. | Day 13: | Ironically getting to the Dry Valleys, where virtually no precipitation has fallen for millennia, is subject to weather conditions. If the conditions are right, you transfer by helicopter to one of the most surprising regions in Antarctica. | Day 14: | In 1841, Captain Ross with two ships, the Erebus and Terror, set out in search of the South Magnetic Pole. Although he failed, his voyage revised the map of Antarctica. Ross felt disappointment when he encountered a 200 foot wall of ice blocking his path. Searching for a way through, he sailed along the wall, he named the Victoria Ice Shelf, for 250 miles. In time the wall became known as the Ross Ice Shelf. Captain Ross' accomplishments are put into context during formal and informal presentations by the onboard Expedition Staff. | Day 15: | At sea. | Day 16: | The Bay of Whales is associated with three legendary names in Antarctic exploration: Shackleton, who gave it its name; Amundsen, who established a winter base there in 1911; and Richard Byrd, who used the Bay as a staging area in 1946, and now you, your fellow passengers and the officers and crew of the icebreaker Kapitan Khlebnikov. Today, you participate in an historic event, as the Kapitan Khlebnikov attempts to reach the most southerly position ever reached by ship. | Day 17: | Captain Ross has been credited with a long list of discoveries. You learn about many of them as you continue to explore the sea that bears his name. For example, on Foyn Island, one of the Possession Islands, you visit a penguin rookery and learn that Francis Crozier shared the discovery of the islands with Ross. | Day 18: |
The first person credited with over-wintering in Antarctica was Carsten Borchgrevink. He shared the experience with nine other men, one of whom built the first sauna in Antarctica. If you have not yet relaxed in the sauna onboard Kapitan Khlebnikov, the visit to Cape Adare may be the impetus you need. Borchgrevink's small group shared Cape Adare with a rookery that now boasts a population of more than a quarter million pairs of Adelie penguins. |
Day 19: | John Balleny mounted an expedition to the high southern latitudes in search of sealskins and whale oil. He was credited with the discovery of the Balleny Islands on that voyage. Excerpts from the journals he kept aided Ross during his voyage of discovery. These remote, rugged islands are virtually inaccessible to traditional cruise ships. | Day 20: | At Sea | Day 21: | Over dinner lift a glass to John Balleny, who, 167 years ago today, discovered the islands that bear his name. | Days 22-23: | Virtually the entire world population of royal penguins lives on Macquarie Island, only one of the compelling reasons that led to the designation of this place as a World Heritage Site. Geologically the island is distinct from other subantarctic islands as it was formed when an oceanic ridge lifted upward. During the anticipated two day visit to the Island you hear another story of a woman stranded with a group of men. She too died under suspicious circumstances days before their rescue. | Days 24-25: | As the expedition draws to a close recap sessions will be conducted by the Expedition Staff. Romantics enjoy a dinner with a Valentine's theme on the last evening at sea. | Day 26: | You disembark the Kapitan Khlebnikov after breakfast. | Note: | This itinerary is intended as a guide only; the exact route and program varies according to ice and weather conditions - and the wildlife encountered. Flexibility is the key to the success of this expedition. |
With the most keenly priced pre-Christmas flights disappearing fast, now is a great time to book this voyage, but spaces are limited so make sure to secure your cabin now! The itinerary commences with an overnight in Auckland on 12 December, before passengers then fly to Christchurch on 13 December (flight at an additional cost) to join the icebreaker at Lyttleton, New Zealand and set sail for the wondrous white continent. Prices start from £10,585 per person (please contact our team for details of flight prices and additional arrangements in Australasia as well as an update as to the fuel surcharge applicable for this voyage).
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