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Friday 4 March to Monday 16 March with James Lidster as leader Cost: Prices start at £4230 in a shared triple cabin plus about £1050 for flights Please click here for details and an explanation of the price breakdown Maximum group size: 10 participants and 1 Sunbird leader (there will also be onboard guides and lecturers)
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Day 1: The tour starts with a flight from London to Buenos Aires where we spend the night. Day 2: In the morning we take a flight south to Ushuaia in Tierra del Fuego and in the afternoon we board our ship. Ushuaia is the southernmost city in the world and located in the shadow of the Andes and right at the Beagle Channel shore. We’ll sail through this scenic waterway during the afternoon. Days 3-4: During these two days we sail across the Drake Passage. When we cross the Antarctic Convergence, we arrive in the circum-Antarctic up-welling zone. In this area we may see Wandering, Grey Headed, Black- browed, and Light- mantled Sooty Albatrosses, Cape Pigeons, Southern Fulmars, Wilson’s Storm Petrels, and Blue and Antarctic Petrels. Near the South Shetland Islands, we glimpse at the first icebergs. Days 5-9: The itinerary in Antarctic Peninsula varies and is determined by the Expedition Leader on board. Typically we will sail directly to “High Antarctica”, passing the Melchior Islands and the Schollaert Channel between Brabant and Anvers Island. On Cuverville Island, a small precipitous island nestled between the mountains of the Antarctic Peninsula and Danco Island, we'll find a large colony of Gentoo Penguins and breeding pairs of Brown Skuas. On Danco Island we can observe Chinstrap Penguins and possibly Weddell and Crabeater Seals. In Neko Harbour and at Portal Point we'll have the opportunity to set foot on the Antarctic Continent amidst a magnificent landscape of huge glaciers. During the cruise we will also offer zodiac trips such as near Foyn Harbour on Nansen Island and Neko Harbour. When sailing to Paradise Bay, with its myriad icebergs and deep cut fjords, we'll have the opportunity for zodiac trips between the icebergs in the inner parts of the fjords, an area where we have good chances of seeing Humpback and Minke Whales. After sailing through the Neumayer Channel, we visit the British research station and post office Port Lockroy on Goudier Island. Close to Port Lockroy we can also offer a landing on Jougla Point with Gentoo Penguins and Imperial Shags. We sail through the spectacular Lemaire Channel to Pleneau and Petermann Island where we can find Adelie Penguins and Blue-eyed Shags. In this area there are good chances to encounter Humpback, Minke Whales and Fin Whales. A visit to one of the scientific stations in Antarctica will give you an insight about the life of modern Antarcticans working on the White Continent. Further south we may visit the Ukrainian Vernadsky Station, where we'll receive a warm welcome from the station crew. Sailing north through Neumayer Channel we arrive at the Melchior Islands with a very beautiful landscape and again possibilities for zodiac cruising among the icebergs, where we may encounter Leopard Seals, Crabeater Seals and more whales. Days 10 - 11: Returning through the Drake Passage we have again a chance of seeing many seabirds. Day 12: We arrive in the morning in Ushuaia and disembark. Later we take a flight back to Buenos Aires and connect with an overnight flight back to London where the tour ends on Day 13.
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Bird list 