South Georgia & Weddell Sea Antarctic Peninsula Basecamp

South Atlantic Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula

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19 days (Ushuaia)

Destinations visited: Ushuaia, Antarctica, World

Grading:

Discovery and Cruising level

Grading Definitions

Discovery & Cruising

These are our least demanding trips. These journeys of discovery and cruises involve little or no extended activity and are suitable for people with a basic level of fitness and good health. The itinerary may take place in remote areas (with basic facilities) and may involve long travel days on various types of transport. Sightseeing may be conducted on foot and all participants should be capable of carrying their own luggage from vehicle to hotel rooms. These adventures do not go above 2500m and rarely involve camping.
Suggested preparation: Once or twice a week, we recommend you walk on undulating terrain for an hour, for at least 2 -3 months prior to departure.

Adventure Touring

Suggested preparation: Two or three times a week, we recommend you walk on undulating terrain for an hour or more, for at least 3 months prior to departure.

Introductory

These trips involve trekking or walking, cycling, rafting or sea kayaking for up to five or six hours a day at a slow but steady pace and should never be misinterpreted to mean they are easy trips. These trips do not spend time at altitudes above 4000m and are usually a week in duration. You will need a reasonable level of fitness and good health.
Suggested preparation: 30 minutes of aerobic type exercise, (either cycling or jogging) three times a week for three months leading up to your trek. For trekking, hill walking with a daypack in variable weather conditions is also recommended. For a cycling adventure, road cycling twice a week for three months prior to departure is recommended.

Introductory to Moderate

These trips involve a combination of what is described in our INTRODUCTORY and MODERATE levels. The emphasis is on introductory activity with several moderate stages

Moderate

These adventures involve trekking, cycling, rafting or sea kayaking for up to 6 or 7 hours a day at a steady pace. These trips may spend successive days at altitudes not generally exceeding 5,500m and are usually between 10 and 15 days in duration. You will need a good level of fitness and be in good health.
Suggested preparation: 45 minutes of aerobic type exercise, three to five times a week for the three months leading up to your trek. Hill walking with a pack in variable weather conditions or road cycling is also recommended depending upon the activity you plan to undertake.

Moderate to Challenging

These adventures involve trekking, cycling, rafting or sea kayaking for up to 6 or 7 hours a day at a steady pace. These trips may spend successive days at altitudes not generally exceeding 5,500m and are usually between 10 and 15 days in duration. You will need a good level of fitness and be in good health. Suggested preparation: 45 minutes of aerobic type exercise, three to five times a week for the three months leading up to your trek. Hill walking with a pack in variable weather conditions or road cycling is also recommended depending upon the activity you plan to undertake.

Challenging

These adventures involve trekking, cycling or rafting in remote areas in variable weather conditions for up to 8 to 10 hours a day (possibly more subject to weather conditions and altitude). This may include spending successive days at altitudes not generally exceeding 6000m. These trips may often be over three weeks in duration. You will need an excellent level of fitness, be prepared to carry a daypack weighing up to 8kgs (and in some cases a full pack) and be completely comfortable in adverse weather conditions.
Suggested preparation: One hour of aerobic type exercise, four to five times a week for three to six months prior to departure. Hill walking with a pack in variable weather conditions or on/off road cycling is also recommended.

Entry Mtn/Exploratory Treks

These adventures are classed as expeditions. They involve either extreme trekking and or basic mountaineering. Expect remote and poorly defined trails in variable weather conditions for up to 12 hours a day (possibly more subject to weather conditions and altitude). This may include a number of demanding high pass crossings and evacuation may be difficult from remote areas. Suitable for first time mountaineers wishing to take the step from trekking into the realm of mountaineering. Prior experience trekking at altitude is preferable but not essential and you should be comfortable in adverse weather conditions. Prior technical mountaineering experience is not necessary. Terrain will involve low angle snow slopes. Ropes may be used during treks for glacier travel and steeper sections of ice and snow. When mountaineering, basic mountaineering instruction is given by our mountaineering guides.
Suggested preparation: For grade 8-10 mountaineering expeditions you will need to be very fit and healthy. A minimum of 1 hour of aerobic exercise per session, four to five times a week is essential. Running and cycling in hilly areas is particularly beneficial as are multi day walks on the weekends. This is the ideal time to try out your boots and other gear to make sure you are prepared and ready for your expedition. If you are considering Intermediate or advanced level trips, you will need to discuss your preparation leading up to the trip with our expert staff.

Intermediate Mtn Expedition

Participants should be competent and self sufficient in the outdoors and have experience in multi day trekking at altitude. Prior experience on an entry level mountaineering expedition is highly recommended. The terrain will involve low to moderate angle snow slopes and traveling on crevassed glaciers. Experience using ice axe and crampons is preferred but not essential.
Suggested preparation: For grade 8-10 mountaineering expeditions you will need to be very fit and healthy. A minimum of 1 hour of aerobic exercise per session, four to five times a week is essential. Running and cycling in hilly areas is particularly beneficial as are multi day walks on the weekends. This is the ideal time to try out your boots and other gear to make sure you are prepared and ready for your expedition. If you are considering Intermediate or advanced level trips, you will need to discuss your preparation leading up to the trip with our expert staff.

Advanced Mtn Expedition

These are our most challenging expeditions. Clients must have prior mountaineering experience. Most are participatory expeditions & involve load carrying, setting up of camps, cooking and campcraft. Altitude is generally greater than 6500m. Some of these expeditions also involve “technical” climbing and are for experienced alpine climbers / mountaineers only. Technical expeditions involve steep climbing at high altitude (including rock climbing). Participation on one of these expeditions is subject to acceptance by one of our high altitude mountaineering guides.
Suggested preparation: For grade 8-10 mountaineering expeditions you will need to be very fit and healthy. A minimum of 1 hour of aerobic exercise per session, four to five times a week is essential. Running and cycling in hilly areas is particularly beneficial as are multi day walks on the weekends. This is the ideal time to try out your boots and other gear to make sure you are prepared and ready for your expedition. If you are considering Intermediate or advanced level trips, you will need to discuss your preparation leading up to the trip with our expert staff.

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Cruise to the Falklands, South Georgia, South Orkney's & Antarctic Peninsula

This voyage cruises to the Falkland Islands, where on the western side of the archipelago, we will discover Black-Browed Albatross sharing their colony with sturdy Rockhopper Penguins and Port Stanley, the capital of the Falklands. We then cruise to South Georgia, a region boasting a huge diversity of mammals, whales and birds. The island comprises of a series of harbours that once sheltered large fleets of whaling ships. In South Georgia we plan to visit Stromness Bay, the King Penguin colonies on Salisbury Plain, Grytviken (Whaling History Museum) as well as Shackleton's grave. Combine this with the natural wonders of the South Orkney Islands and the spectacular Antarctic Peninsula and you have the makings of a truly memorable voyage. Exploring the western flanks of the Antarctic Peninsula provides a further highlight to our trip, with regular shore excursions to stretch your legs while enjoying the wildlife and visiting the scientific stations.

Highlights

The most wildlife-rich part of Antarctica - penguins, whales, seals, sea birds
South Georgia and Falkland Islands
Narrow sheltered waterways and fjords
Spectacular mountains rising directly out of the sea
Historic sites, including Shackleton’s last resting place
Active scientific stations
Great variety of terrain over short distances
Icebergs and active glaciers
Hiking excursions with snowshoes

Itinerary

Day 1 Embark Ushuaia

You will be warmly greeted by the crew and expedition staff as you embark Plancius in the afternoon. Sailing down the Beagle Channel, we will settle into shipboard life and enjoy our first meal on board, and set our course for the Falkland Islands.

Day 2 At Sea

At sea, in the Westerlies the ship is followed by several species of albatrosses, storm petrels, shearwaters and diving petrels.

Day 3 Falkland Islands

In the Falkland Islands (Malvinas) we plan to spend the whole day on the fascinating western side of the archipelago. A hike along the shore of Carcass Island will give us views of Magellanic and Gentoo-Penguins, as well as close encounters with water fowl, Night herons and passarines. In addition, on Saunders we will be able to observe four species of breeding penguins (Gentoo, King, Magellanic and Rockhopper), Black-browed Albatrosses and King Cormorants.

Day 4 Stanley, Falkland Islands

In Stanley, the capital of the Falklands, we can experience Falkland culture, which has some South American characteristics as well as Victorian charm. In Stanley and the surrounding area, we can see quite an important number of stranded clippers from a century ago. All passengers are free to wander around on their own. We recommend a visit to the local church and museum.

Days 5-6 Cross the Antarctic Convergence

At sea, on our way to South Georgia we will cross the Antarctic Convergence. Entering Antarctic waters, the temperature will drop by as much as 10 degrees C in the time span of only a few hours. Near the Convergence we will see a multitude of southern seabirds near the ship: several species of Albatrosses, Shearwaters, Petrels, Prions and Skuas. You may decide to join the whale watchers on the bridge, or just relax and read a favourite book.

Days 7-10 Explore South Georgia

In the afternoon of day 7, we will arrive at our first landing site in South Georgia. We might visit the bay of Elsehul, with its very active fur seal breeding beach; and then set course to Right Whale Bay, Salisbury Plain, Godthul, St. Andrews Bay, Gold Harbour, Cooper Bay and Drygalski Fjord, to give you a good opportunity to see a wide spectrum of landscapes and wildlife, like the introduced Reindeer, Elephant seals, Fur seals, King and Macaroni Penguins. One of the highlights might be our visit to Prion Island, where we will witness the breeding efforts of the huge Wandering Albatross and enjoy watching their displays. At Fortuna Bay we might try to follow in the footsteps of the great British Explorer Ernest Shackleton and hike over to Stromness Bay. There, and at Grytviken, we will see an abandoned whaling village, where King Penguins now walk in the streets and seals have taken over the buildings. At Grytviken, we will also offer a visit to the Whaling History Museum, as well as to Shackleton´s grave nearby. We will depart from South Georgia in the afternoon of day 10.

Day 11 At Sea

Leaving South Georgia we head across the Scotia Sea in a south-westerly direction towards the South Orkney Islands, a stunning group of islands, remote and alone jutting out of the sea. At some point we might encounter sea-ice, and it is at the ice-edge where we might have a chance to see some high-Antarctic species like the McCormick Skua and Snow Petrel.

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Day 12 South Orkney Islands

We are aiming to visit the Argentine Orcadas Station on Laurie Island (South Orkney Islands). Orcadas Station is the oldest continuously operating weather station in Antarctica. The friendly base personnel will show us their facilities and we can enjoy the wonderful views of the surrounding glaciers.

Day 13 At Sea

Today we set course for the Weddell Sea. Time to reflect and enjoy the lectures on board.

Days 14-16 Weddell Sea and Antarctic Peninsula

We will sail into the Weddell Sea through the ice-clogged Antarctic Sound. Huge tabular icebergs will announce our arrival to the eastern side of the Antarctic Peninsula. We plan to visit Brown Bluff where we may set foot on the Continent. Charlotte Bay on the west coast of Graham Land was discovered by Adrien de Gerlache during the 1897–99 Belgica expedition and named after the fiancée of Georges Lecointe, Gerlache's executive officer, hydrographer and second-in- command of the expedition. At Portal Point, there used to be a Falkland Islands Dependency Survey (British Antarctic Survey from 1962) hut which was built there between Brabant Island and the Danco Coast in 1956. The hut has been removed to the Falkland Islands Museum in Stanley. Portal Point served as the gateway for a route to the polar plateau. Immediately behind the low point on which the hut was located, the (usually snow-covered) land rises steeply upslope toward the plateau. The topography of the surrounding area is mountainous, with nunataks rising through the ice. Charlotte Bay is often filled with icebergs. Mostly we will see seals on floes in Charlotte Bay, and occasionally, kelp gulls, skuas, shags, or penguins. From the slope above Portal Point, and at its highest point, there are excellent views of Charlotte Bay. In Wilhelmina Bay we will admire the rugged ice coated mountains of the Arctowski Pensinsula. At Deception Island, we will try to land at Baily Head, home to a colony of ten thousand Chinstrap Penguins (please note this landing is not always guaranteed and is only possible in good weather conditions). Good walkers may hike from Baily Head over the ridge of the crater into Whalers Bay, while our ship braves its entrance into the crater through the spectacular Neptune’s Bellow into the ring of Deception Island. Deception itself is a sub-ducted crater, which opens into the sea, creating a natural harbour for the ship. Here we will find hot springs, an abandoned whaling station, thousands of Cape Pigeons and many Dominican Gulls, Brown and South Polar Skuas and Antarctic Terns. Wilson’s Storm Petrels and Black-bellied Storm Petrels nest in the ruins of the whaling station in Whalers Bay. We will leave from here to the open sea towards Ushuaia.

Days 17-18 Drake Passage

While at sea there is ample opportunity to observe the sea birds that follow the ship. This is a time for reflection and discussion about our many experiences with shipboard friends.

Day 19 Disembark in Ushuaia, where trip concludes

During the early morning we will cruise up the Beagle Channel, before quietly slipping into dock in Ushuaia. It is a busy time, with people saying farewell to our crew and others who have shared the intensity of being in a magnificent white wilderness. We will head off in our different directions, hopefully with a new found sense of the power of natural forces.

Additional Information

Inclusions

18 breakfasts, 17 lunches and 18 dinners
Comfortable cabin accommodation and use of all public areas on cruise
Specialist expedition staff
All shore excursions from the ship including the use of Zodiacs
Lectures, videos, slide and film shows and guide services
Medical services (there is a resident medical officer and infirmary on board)
Port taxes and port charges imposed by government authorities
Pre-departure information
Snowshoeing is complimentary

South Atlantic Islands and the Antarctic Peninsula

Summary

18 nights aboard the Plancius

Trip Main Activities

Cruising
Wildlife Viewing
Optional Snowshoeing on certain departures only

Group Size Min

Group Size Max

Accommodation Summary

Equipment Required

A comprehensive gear list is provided in the pre-departure information supplied on booking.

What You Carry

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USD$11,450

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