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Day 1 Puerto Williams, Chile
Puerto Williams is a Chilean city located on Navarino Island on the southern shores of the Beagle Channel. It claims to be the “southernmost city in the world”, however owing to its small size – 2500 residents approximately – the much larger Argentinean city of Ushuaia, which sits on the northern side of the same channel, also claims that title. The surrounding scenery is magnificent. The wild windswept mountains rise above the tree line and are regularly dusted with snow.
Day 2 Day At Sea
Day 3 New Island
Remote and raw, New Island lies to the west of the Falkland Islands, and the humble human population here is far outweighed by the extraordinary birdlife that resides along its craggy coastline. Out in the tempestuous wilds of the South Atlantic Ocean, the island is a sanctuary of animal life - with crowds of rockhopper penguins, wrinkled seals and stern-looking albatross among its many residents. The penguins of the Falklands are a sight to see, fooling and falling on the beaches, before diving in and whipping through the waters. Home to five different species, including king penguins - who strut with their orange collars glowing against the pure white feathers of their chests. Sea lions, seals and elephant seals bark and lumber along the shoreline, while sleek orcas patrol and Peale’s dolphins cut through the waves. Settlement Rookery’s cliffs rattle with the sounds of crashing sea waves, and the echoing shouts of hollering black-browed albatross, king cormorants and rockhopper penguins. Enjoy gorgeous sweeping landscapes, littered with shipwrecks and sprinkles of colourful wildflowers. A warm welcome is guaranteed, especially when the local custom of smoko is served up – towering platters of cakes and biscuits with tea and coffee. Things haven’t always been so peaceful here, however, and you can pay a visit to the battlefields and memorials of the costly war in 1982, when the British and Argentinians clashed fiercely over these islands.
Day 3 West Point Island
Located slightly northwest of West Falkland, West Point Island is used for sheep farming and nature observations. Peale’s dolphins and the distinctive black and white markings of the Commerson’s dolphin can usually be seen in the waters around West Point Island. Rolling moorland and steep cliffs make for great photographic opportunities, but the main attraction is the Devil’s Nose, a cliffside colony of Black-browed Albatrosses nesting side-by-side with feisty Rockhopper Penguins. Magellanic Penguins and Magellanic Cormorants can also be found on the island.
Day 4 Stanley
Tiny Stanley, capital of the Falklands, seems in many ways like a British village fallen out of the sky. Many homes are painted in bright colours, adding visual appeal to this distant outpost. Not far offshore, the wreck of the Lady Elizabeth, is one of the many vessels remaining as a silent testimonial to the region's frequent harsh weather conditions. The islands, also known by their Spanish name of Islas Malvinas, are home to arguably more tuxedo-clad inhabitants of the penguin variety than human residents.
Day 5-6 Day At Sea
Day 7-9 South Georgia
South Georgia is a breathtaking destination of towering snow-covered mountains, mighty glaciers, and low-lying grasslands that attract an astounding concentration of wildlife. It is possible to find Southern fur seals, Southern elephant seals and a variety of albatross species including Black-browed, Light-mantled Sooty, Grey-headed and the spectacular Wandering Albatross, plus thousands of King and Macaroni Penguins. South Georgia is also linked to the early Antarctic explorers.
Day 10-11 Day At Sea
Day 12 The Antarctic Sound
The Antarctic Sound is a stretch of water named after the first ship to have passed through this body of water from the Bransfield Strait to the Weddell Sea in 1902. The Antarctic eventually sank and crew and scientists had to spend quite some time in this area before they could be rescued. Sites that have to do with this story - like Hope Bay or Paulet Island - are sometimes visited. At Paulet, Hope Bay and Brown Bluff Adelie and Gentoo Penguins breed, as do Kelp Gulls and Cape Petrels, Snow Petrels and Skuas.
Day 13-15 Antarctic Peninsula
Remote and otherworldly, Antarctica is irresistible for its spectacular iceberg sculptures and calving glaciers, and for the possibility of up-close encounters with marine mammals and the iconic penguins. The Antarctic Peninsula – the main peninsula closest to South America – has a human history of almost 200 years, with explorers, sealers, whalers, and scientists who have come to work, and eventually intrepid visitors coming to enjoy this pristine and remote wilderness.
Day 16 King George Island
As the largest of all the South Shetland Island, King George is considered the gateway to Antarctica. At just 120 kilometres from the Antarctic Peninsula and the only airport in the South Shetlands, it is the connection between “real life” and “Antarctic life”. More than 10 different nations have year-round or summer-only scientific research stations on the island (considering that 90% of the island is covered by snow and ice, that is quite an achievement!). Maintaining a base on the island allows membership of the Antarctic Treaty. There is even a Russian Orthodox church, with a permanent on-site priest. The island might be home to a few international scientists, but they are very much outnumbered by the diverse wildlife that considers King George Island rightfully theirs. Adelie, Chinstrap and Gentoo Penguins all commute to and from the Antarctic peninsula from the island, while Weddell and leopard seals are regular visitors and can be spotted either in the water or on the shore. Naturally, this brings a huge amount of birdlife: skuas and southern giant petrels are regular summer residents, attracted by the warm climate (warm being a relative term, average temperature is between 1.5 and -6.5˚C). The island was named after King George III after British explorer discovered it in 1819. Since then the island has been claimed by both Chile (1940) and Argentina (1943), but remains part of British Antarctic Territory.
