Hondius

Marine Life

During the Antarctic dive expedition, you may observe penguins from under the surface as well as leopard seals. The Falkland Islands are rich with krill (which is consumed by many species) and therefore interesting for finding marine wildlife. The dive sites will vary from shallow ice diving, diving along a wall, from a beach or from the zodiac. The maximum depth is around 20 meters / 60 feet. The combination of sunlight and the often extraordinary formations of ice causes an overwhelming, everchanging specter of colors, with a fantastic variety of shades and brilliance. While snorkeling or diving along the ice-floes, you will be amazed and never forget these deep blue colors. Diving in Antarctica does not only offer ice, but also an interesting marine life, such as kelp walls, sea-snails, crabs, sea butterflies, various Antarctic fish, shrubby horse-tails, jelly-fishes, sea hedgehogs, starfishes, krill and giant isopods. You may have the possibility to snorkel or dive with Fur seals, Leopard seals and Penguins.

Experience & Qualification - These voyages are not for beginners, youll have to be a very experienced diver and must be familiar with cold water diving and dry suit diving(at least 30 dry suit dives in 4C or below). Before departure, you will have to show an internationally accepted diving certificate and divers logbook, (you must include copies when completing your diver personal information form). The first dive of the trip will be a check dive to try out your gear and weights and for our Dive Team Leader to see if all individual divers have enough experience to dive in the Antarctic waters.

Falkland Islands - South Georgia - Elephant Island Antarctica - Polar Circle

• Day 1 (End of the world, start of a journey) -Your voyage begins where the world drops off. Ushuaia, Argentina, reputed to be the southernmost city on the planet, is located on the far southern tip of South America. Starting in the afternoon, you embark from this small resort town on Tierra del Fuego, nicknamed The End of the World, and sail the mountain-fringed Beagle Channel for the remainder of the evening.
• Day 2 (The winged life of the westerlies) -Several species of albatross follow the vessel into the westerlies, along with storm petrels, shearwaters, and diving petrels.
• Day 3 (Finding the Falklands) -The Falkland (Malvinas) Islands offer an abundance of wildlife that is easily approachable, though caution is always advised. These islands are largely unknown gems, the site of a 1982 war between the UK and Argentina. Not only do various species of birds live here, but chances are great youll see both Peales dolphins and Commersons dolphins in the surrounding waters.
• During this segment of the voyage, you may visit the following sites:
• West Point Island This beautiful island hosts a bounty of birdlife, from shore birds near the landing site to black-browed albatrosses on the nest. Among them is a rookery of rockhopper penguins who have to undertake an incredible climb from the sea to get to their nests among the albatrosses.
• Saunders Island On Saunders Island you can see the black-browed albatross and its sometimes-clumsy landings, along with breeding imperial shags and rockhopper penguins. King penguins, Magellanic penguins, and gentoos are also found here.
• Day 4 ( The seat of Falklands culture) -The capital of the Falklands and center of its culture, Port Stanley has some Victorian-era charm: colorful houses, well-tended gardens, and English-style pubs are all to be found here. You can also see several century-old clipper ships nearby, silent witnesses to the hardships of 19th-century sailors. The small but interesting museum is also worth a visit, covering the early days of settlement up to the Falklands War. Approximately 2,100 people live in Port Stanley. Feel free to wander at will, though be aware that admission fees to local attractions are not included in the voyage.
• Day 5 - 6 (Once more to the sea) -En route to South Georgia, you now cross the Antarctic Convergence. The temperature cools considerably within the space of a few hours, and nutritious water rises to the surface of the sea due to colliding water columns. This phenomenon attracts a multitude of seabirds near the ship, including several species of albatross, shearwaters, petrels, prions, and skuas.
• Day 7 10 (South Georgia journey) -Today you arrive at the first South Georgia activity site. Please keep in mind that weather conditions in this area can be challenging, largely dictating the program.
• Over the next several days, you have a chance to visit the following sites:
• Prion Island This location is closed during the early part of the wandering albatross breeding season (November 20 January 7). From January on, the breeding adults have found their partners and are sitting on eggs or nursing their chicks. Enjoy witnessing the gentle nature of these animals, which possess the largest wingspan of any birds in the world.
• Fortuna Bay Near beaches inhabited by various penguins and seals, you have the chance to follow the final leg of Shackletons route to the abandoned whaling village of Stromness. This path cuts across the mountain pass beyond Shackletons Waterfall, and as the terrain is partly swampy, be prepared to cross a few small streams.
• Salisbury Plain, St. Andrews Bay, Gold Harbour These sites not only house the three largest king penguin colonies in South Georgia, theyre also three of the worlds largest breeding beaches for southern elephant seals. Only during this time of year do they peak in their breeding cycle. Watch the four-ton bulls keep a constant vigil (and occasionally fight) over territories where dozens of females have just given birth or are about to deliver. You can also see a substantial number of Antarctic fur seals here during the breeding season (December January).
• Grytviken In this abandoned whaling station, king penguins walk the streets and elephant seals lie around like they own the place because they basically do. Here you might be able to see the South Georgia Museum as well as Shackletons grave.
• Day 11 (Southward bound) -There may be sea ice on this route, and at the edge of the ice some south polar skuas and snow petrels could join the other seabirds trailing the vessel south.
• Day 12 (The scenic vistas of South Orkney) -Depending on the conditions, you might visit Orcadas Base, an Argentine scientific station on Laurie Island in the South Orkney archipelago. The personnel here will happily show you their facility, where you can enjoy expansive views of the surrounding glaciers. If a visit isnt possible, you may instead land in Signy Islands Shingle Cove.
• Day 13 (Legendary Elephant Island) -Youve now completed roughly the same route (albeit in the opposite direction) as Sir Ernest Shackleton did using only a small lifeboat, the James Caird, in the spring of 1916. Watching Elephant Island materialize on the horizon after crossing all that water, its hard not to marvel at how he and his five-man crew accomplished that feat.
• The purpose of Shackletons crossing was to rescue 22 shipwrecked members of his Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition, also known as the Endurance Expedition, who were stranded on Elephant Island. For four and a half months, Shackleton undertook this legendary rescue.
• Conditions on Elephant Island are severe. The coastline is mostly made up of vertical rock and ice cliffs highly exposed to the elements. If possible you will take the Zodiacs to Point Wild, where the marooned members of Shackletons expedition miraculously managed to survive.
• Day 14 (Along the Antarctic Peninsula) -If ice permits, you sail into the Antarctic Sound at the northwestern edge of the Weddell Sea. Here colossal tabular icebergs herald your arrival to the eastern edges of the Antarctic Peninsula. Brown Bluff is a potential location for a landing, where you may get the chance to set foot on the continent.
• Day 15 (Scenes of South Shetland) -The volcanic islands of the South Shetlands are windswept and often cloaked in mist, but they do offer subtle pleasures: Theres a wide variety of flora (mosses, lichens, flowering grasses) and no small amount of fauna (gentoo penguins, chinstrap penguins, southern giant petrels).
• In Deception Island, the ship plunges through Neptunes Bellows and into the flooded caldera. Here you find hot springs, an abandoned whaling station, and thousands of cape petrels along with kelp gulls, brown and south polar skuas, and Antarctic terns. A good hike is a possibility in this fascinating and desolate volcanic landscape.
• Day 16 20 (Onward into Antarctica) -Gray stone peaks sketched with snow, towers of broken blue-white ice, and unique polar wildlife below and above welcome you into the otherworldly expanse of Antarctica. You enter the area around Gerlache Strait, venturing into one of the most beautiful settings Antarctica has to offer.
• Sites you may visit here include:
• 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 theres a good chance youll encounter humpback and minke whales.
• Plneau & Petermann Islands If the ice allows it, you could sail through the Lemaire Channel in search of Adlie penguins and blue-eyed shags. There is also a possibility youll encounter humpback and minke whales here, as well as leopard seals.
• The aim is then to cut south, reaching Crystal Sound and the Antarctic Circle. You may make a landing at Detaille Island and visit an abandoned British research station, taking in the limitless landscape. Afterward, you venture back into the area around Lemaire Channel and the Gerlache Strait.
• As with all of our Antarctic trips, conditions on the Drake Passage determine the exact time of departure.
• Day 21 22 (Familiar seas, familiar friends) -Your return voyage is far from lonely. While crossing the Drake, youre 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.
• Day 23 (There and back again) -Every adventure, no matter how grand, must eventually come to an end. Its now time to disembark in Ushuaia, but with memories that will accompany you wherever your next adventure lies.