Travel Scandinavia Baltic Tours Antarctica Expedition Cruises

Categories Winter & Spring Cruises Small Ship Cruises Antarctica Cruises Adventure & Eco Travel Cruises

Falkland Islands, South Georgia and Antarctic Peninsula are the focus of Joshua Holko’s photographic workshops on this springtime voyage. Capture perfect light as the days grow longer, king penguins shuffle eggs on their feet, elephant seals pup and fur seal males battle for mating rights. Toast the graves of Wild and Shackleton and visit Grytviken’s whaling museum. Sail to Elephant Island and the Antarctic Peninsula, with ample time to photograph penguin rookeries during nest-building and breeding, whales and seals, historic sites and the continent itself before crossing Drake Passage to Ushuaia.

Complimentary Photography Option: Joshua Holko is a full-time professional landscape, nature and wilderness photographer and teacher, who specializes in polar and sub-polar regions, and will be conducting Canon-accredited photography workshops, including informal talks and image reviews, opportunities for one-on-one instruction and informal side-by-side shooting from the deck or Zodiacs and during landings.

Kayaking

Kayaking in the far-flung corners of the world is an experience guaranteed to refresh your soul. Led by experienced guides, paddling in small groups allows us the opportunity to paddle between ice floes, brash ice and icebergs of all shapes and sizes in the north and south as well as allowing easy and intimate access to beautiful coastlines in some of the world's most remote destinations. Find out more.

Photography

Antarctica is a photographers dream. Whether it be sitting quietly in the middle of a penguin rookery, visiting quaint historic sites or enjoying the thrill of whale and leopard seal encounters amongst the icebergs, there are an overwhelming number of opportunities to snap to your heart’s content. Catering to both amateurs and the more serious photographer, our on board professional will pass on tips to get the most out of your equipment and the unique Antarctic conditions.

Itinerary

Embark Polar Pioneer in Ushuaia at 4 p.m. A warm welcome before we sail the Beagle Channel.

At sea, albatross, plunging dolphins and flighty petrels mesmerize us, our photography program begins and special briefings prepare us for landings.

Falkland Islands’ Camp life gives way to elephant seals, penguins, sea lions and an astounding mix of water-birds. Our Zodiacs offer plenty of room for camera gear.

Stanley, the Falklands undeniably British capital, features an excellent war museum, welcoming shops and pubs.

We cross the Scotia Sea, entertained by our expert naturalists and historians, review photographs and prepare for shooting in South Georgia.

Spring brings an explosion of life to South Georgia and we have ample time to explore and photograph the island’s spectacular northern coast. We visit wildlife havens that include the world’s largest king penguin rookeries, majestic albatross nests and beaches cluttered with basking elephant seals, feisty fur seals and penguins. Inspired by Shackleton’s epic, we hope to retrace the expedition’s final steps from Fortuna Bay to Stromness.

We cross the Scotia Sea, watch seabirds, our first iceberg and great whales including blues, fin and sei. We have time to reflect on South Georgia and prepare for Antarctica, the next leg of our adventure.

Conditions permitting, we approach Cape Wild, a bleak, rocky spit along Elephant Island’s dramatic north coast. If sea state allows, we’ll Zodiac cruise, possibly even step ashore, to pay tribute to Shackleton’s 22 men who survived four months here.

We hope to land in the South Shetland Islands before sailing down Gerlache Strait and awaken to the drama of Antarctica – a photographer’s paradise! We encounter pack ice and penguin rookeries alive with courtship, mating and nest-building, visit historic sites and land on the continent proper.

Return to the realm of the albatross – Drake Passage. We celebrate, recap our many experiences and learn to manage our abundant collection of new photos.

Dawn greets us in the Beagle Channel. We bid farewell and continue onward travel, or stop in Ushuaia.

Notes