Over the next two days on the Drake Passage, you enjoy some of the same experiences encountered by the great polar explorers who first charted these regions: cool salt breezes, rolling seas, maybe even a fin whale spouting up sea spray. After passing the Antarctic Convergence – Antarctica’s natural boundary, formed when north-flowing cold waters collide with warmer sub-Antarctic seas – you are in the circum-Antarctic upwelling zone. 

Not only does the marine life change, the avian life changes too. Wandering albatrosses, grey-headed albatrosses, black-browed albatrosses, light-mantled sooty albatrosses, cape pigeons, southern fulmars, Wilson’s storm petrels, blue petrels, and Antarctic petrels are a few of the birds you might see.

Gray stone peaks sketched with snow, towers of broken blue-white ice, and dramatically different wildlife below and above. You first pass the snow-capped Melchior Islands and Schollaert Channel, sailing between Brabant and Anvers Islands. 

Places you might visit include (weather-permitting):

Danco Island – Activities here may focus on the gentoo penguins nesting on the island, in addition to the Weddell and crabeater seals that can be found nearby.

Neko Harbour – An epic landscape of mammoth glaciers and endless wind-carved snow, Neko Harbour offers opportunities for a Zodiac cruise and landing that afford the closest views of the surrounding alpine peaks.

Paradise Bay – You may be able to take a Zodiac cruise in these sprawling, ice-flecked waters, where there’s a good chance you’ll encounter humpback and minke whales.

Port Lockroy – After sailing through the Neumayer Channel, you may get a chance to visit the former British research station – now a museum and post office – of Port Lockroy on Goudier Island. You may also be able to partake in activities around Jougla Point, meeting gentoo penguins and blue-eyed shags.

When conditions are right, you can snowshoe around the shore and to the old ski-way at nearby Damoy Point.

Alternate program if the route to Snow Hill Island is free of multi-year pack ice – (less than 50 % probability)

Helicopters provide an advantage in reaching the emperor penguin colony, but our ability to use them depends entirely on ice, sea, and weather conditions. 

If conditions are favorable, we will visit the colony. If conditions are exceptionally favorable, we will attempt to visit more than once. Helicopter operations take a full day, and flight duration depends on local conditions. 

Each helicopter can accommodate 4 – 5 passengers per flight. The landing site is carefully chosen so that the penguins are not disturbed. 

Upon arrival to the site, we will walk to the colony. This may take up to 45 minutes and can be challenging in places. Please keep in mind that you are in the world’s most remote region, so there are no guarantees: conditions may change rapidly, which can impact on helicopter operations. It is important to understand and respect this fact. Safety is our greatest concern, so no compromises can be made. 

We aim for all groups to spend an equal amount of time at the colony. The time at the colony (and the time to get there from landing site) will often vary, however, due to local conditions and flight times.

In the morning, you sail to Deception Island for the last landing of the voyage, either at Pendulum Cove or Whalers Bay. Conditions on the Drake Passage determine the exact time of departure. 

Your return voyage is far from lonely. While crossing the Drake, you’re again greeted by the vast array of seabirds remembered from the passage south. But they seem a little more familiar to you now, and you to them. 

Every adventure, no matter how grand, must eventually come to an end. It’s now time to disembark in Ushuaia, but with memories that will accompany you wherever your next adventure lies.