Arrive at Queenstown, New Zealand’s world-famous alpine resort town. Guests should make their way to the designated hotel where you spend the first night of the expedition. Grab some last-minute luxuries before meeting your fellow expeditioners for an informal get-together over dinner.

Breakfast in the hotel restaurant and have the morning free to explore Queenstown before transferring to the Port of Bluff to board the Heritage Adventurer. Settle into your cabin and join your Expedition Staff and the Captain for a welcome reception onboard.

Staggeringly, The Snares Islands are home to more nesting seabirds than all of the British Isles put together. Zodiac cruising the coast, learn how the islands got their name. In the sheltered bays, keep your eyes out for the endemic Snares crested penguin, Snares Island Tomtit and Fernbirds. 

Enderby Island is one of the most beautiful islands in this group and is named after the same distinguished shipping family as one of our own vessels. This northern most island in the archipelago is an outstanding wildlife and birding location and is relatively easy to land on and walk around. Our plan is to land at Sandy Bay, one of three breeding areas in the Auckland Islands for the Hooker’s or New Zealand Sea Lion, a rare member of the seal family. Birds that we are likely to encounter include the following species: Southern Royal Albatross, Northern Giant Petrel, Auckland Island Shag, Auckland Island Flightless Teal, Auckland Island Banded Dotterel, Auckland Island Tomtit, Bellbird, Pipit, Red-crowned Parakeet, Yellow-eyed Penguin and Light-mantled Sooty Albatross. There is also a very good chance of seeing the Subantarctic Snipe.

Take the chance to learn more about the biology and history of these islands and the tempestuous Southern Ocean through informal lectures with your experts. Crossing the confluence of warmer and cooler waters at the Subantarctic Convergence, a very productive stretch, you can expect many seabirds, including five or six kinds of albatross and numerous species of petrel.

Described by one Australian explorer as “One of the wonder spots of the world” this is the only place in the world where the beautiful Royal Penguin breeds. Three other species of penguins, the King, Gentoo and Rockhopper also breed here. On arrival, we meet with scientists and Park Rangers based here who accompanies us on all our landings.

Soaring albatross and petrels circle the vessel as we steam south through the Southern Ocean. Lectures now concentrate on the Ross Sea region and beyond the bow of the ship; drifting icebergs of extraordinary shapes begin to appear. Manoeuvring in close for your first ice photographs we pass the Antarctic Circle and into the continent’s realm of 24-hour daylight.

With unpredictable ice and weather conditions, a day-by-day itinerary is not possible but your expedition team assesses conditions daily and takes every opportunity to launch the zodiacs and make landings. You can anticipate wildlife viewing, visits to scientific bases and historic sites, as well as the spectacular white and blue scenery.

Your ship crew hopes to make landings in the following areas:

Cape Adare: A large flat spit of land, teeming with the staggering sight of Antarctica’s largest Adelie penguin rookery. You may witness a tumult of chattering, feeding chicks, territorial disputes, petty pilfering, and courtship displays. Curious penguins often come very close, offering superb photographic opportunities. Among the shifting mass of penguins you can find Carsten Borchgrevink’s Hut, the oldest in Antarctica, an overwintering shelter for the first expedition to the Antarctic continent in 1899.

Cape Hallett: The enormous Admiralty Range heralds your arrival. Wild and extraordinary, the mountains rear up from the sea to over 4,000 meters, bounded by colossal glaciers. Land at an abandoned base site, now home to large numbers of Adelie penguins and Weddell seals.

Terra Nova Bay: An Italian research station where the scientists are always hospitable and enjoy showing you around their lonely but beautiful home. They share with you their scientific research and also, perhaps, the best ‘cafe espresso’ in Antarctica!

Franklin Island: Desolately beautiful and rugged, this is home to a large Adelie penguin population and other nesting seabirds. A landing is attempted to explore the coastline.

Ross Ice Shelf: This is the world’s largest body of floating ice and a natural barrier, at times creating hazardous weather, with sheets of snow blown at gale force by winds off the polar ice cap. Just 800 miles from the South Pole, this daunting spectacle prevented many early explorers from venturing further south. Cruise along its dizzying 30-meter ice cliffs, perhaps lucky enough to see icebergs ‘calving’.

Ross Island: Mt. Erebus/Cape Bird/Shackleton & Scott’s Hut and visits to a scientific field station (Scott and McMurdo Stations are high on the wish list but ice, weather and station operational requirements often make them inaccessible). Ross Island was and is the ‘hub of activity’ in the Ross Sea, dominated by Mt Erebus, a monstrous active volcano named after the ancient Greek God of Darkness. The carefully preserved huts of the ‘Heroic Era’ help make the history come alive. If possible reach the bases to get a modern perspective on Antarctic Research.

Possession Islands: Rarely visited, small and rugged, these rocks support tens of thousands of penguins. Observe the birds’ busy and humorous activity, with the Admiralty Mountains forming a superb backdrop across the water.

Take time to rest and enjoy shipboard life in the bar or library after the excitement and long daylight hours of the Antarctic. As the ship sails, you have plenty of time for lectures on your final destination and for some pelagic bird spotting.

Drop anchor in Perseverance Harbor, an occasional refuge for southern right whales who come here to calve. Visit Campbell Island, the main island in the group, and spend the day exploring the island on foot from Perseverance Harbour, a long inlet cutting into the undulating landscape. Campbell Island is a truly magnificent place of rugged scenery, unique flora and abundant wildlife.

Relax and reflect on a remarkable journey, join your experts for a recap of highlights, and enjoy a farewell dinner tonight.

Early this morning arrive in the Port of Bluff. After a final breakfast we bid farewell to our fellow voyagers and take a complimentary coach transfer to either Invercargill or Queenstown Airports.