In Search of the Emperor Penguin

When to Go

The best time to visit Antarctica is during the the austral summer and Antarctic travel season run from mid-October through to March. Outside these times, it is not possible to travel to Antarctica. Weather, sea conditions, sunlight and wildlife sightings vary greatly as the continent’s climate can change from minute to minute, a true wilderness.

M/V Ortelieus

M/V Ortelius was originally built in Gdyma, Poland in 1989 to be used as a special purpose vessel for the Russian Academy of Science. The ship was rebuilt and re-named after Abraham Ortelius, who published the first modern world Atlas, and is now to a comfortable hotel standard. There are 5 quadruples and 14 twin cabins with shared facilities. 9 twins with portholes and 10 with windows, each with private shower and toilet facilities. The 6 superior cabins have added day rooms and there is 1 suite, all with private en-suite facilities. There is a large observation deck and 2 restaurants, a bar, lecture room and a sauna.

Wildlife in Antarctica

Following in the footprints of explorers such as Shackleton and Scott, you can experience incredible wildlife in Antarctica, which seems surprising on first glance in this land of superlatives – the coldest, windiest and driest location on Earth.

Emperor Penguins Migrations

You hear them before you see them. A loud and almost brash call that alone would be shrill enough to make you jump. As the Emperor penguins call out to each other it sounds almost like a welcoming song

Antarctica Photography

The remote region of Antarctica is a photographer's paradise. From stunning ice statues to peppy penguins.

Whales

Drake Passage

At just 400 miles, the Drake Passage is the shortest crossing of Antarctica, a body of open sea located between the southernmost tip of South America and the northern tip of the mainland ‘White Continent’. Entirely comprised of open water with no land mass around at these latitudes, crossing Drake Passage is considered an integral part of the Antarctica adventure, and is a unique spot like no other in the world. It was Sir Francis Drake who first discovered this stretch of water during his crossing in 1577, and it has a reputation for being one of the world’s toughest to navigate. Allowing the unimpeded flow of the Antarctic Circumpolar it connects the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Ocean basins. At this unique conjunction the oceans flow freely and immensely, the force of which is said to equate to 135 times all the rivers on earth. It is the continuity of the Circumpolar Current that keeps Antarctica so defiantly cool, and forms its ice-cap. Despite its reputation and notoriety, one should not be deterred, as only occasionally is crossing the Passage more furious, and usually it is rather benign and surprisingly calm.