Southern Ocean Odyssey: Ross Sea & East Antarctica

This morning, enjoy breakfast and check-out. Please ensure your cabin luggage is fitted with cabin tags clearly labelled with your name and cabin number. By 11:00am, take your cabin luggage to hotel reception, prior to, or at check-out. Your luggage will be stored and transferred directly to the port for clearance, to be placed in your cabin ahead of your arrival on board. Please keep any valuables or personal items with you throughout the day. Your morning is at leisure to explore Hobart.

Settle into your beautifully appointed cabin and discover the many public spaces designed with your comfort in mind. This luxurious vessel is yours to explore! As the crew members throw the lines and set sail down the Derwent River, join your expedition team on deck to enjoy panoramic views of the Hobart foreshore, and the dramatic fluted columns of the Tasman Peninsula. From Storm Bay, set a southerly course, following in the wake of the vessel Aurora, which carried Sir Douglas Mawson’s Australasian Antarctic Expedition (AAE) 100 years ago.

On an expedition such as this, the journey is as significant as the destination. Sea days are a wonderful opportunity to relax, meet your fellow travelers and learn about the history, environment and local wildlife in this fascinating corner of the globe.

As you acclimatize to life on board, your expedition team is available to answer any questions you may have and offer pro-tips on photography and birdwatching. With decades of collective experience in the region, they love to share their expertise and enthusiasm with fellow travelers. Specialists across a range of fields will offer entertaining talks and presentations on the local wildlife and history, which you won’t want to miss!

Once you’ve settled in, you may like to pamper yourself with a sauna, or work out at the onboard gym. For the bookworms, the well-equipped polar library is the perfect place to while away the hours at sea, and the bar is a vibrant social hub to get to know your fellow expeditioners.

As you take in the vast expanse of the Southern Ocean, spare a thought for Mawson and his party, who made this transit aboard the Aurora, a wooden vessel no longer than an Olympic swimming pool! Mawson reported sightings of many whales and albatross in these waters, so spend some time out on deck with your binoculars—or grab a ‘cuppa’ and find a vantage point in one of the spacious observation lounges.

“Penguins were in thousands on the uprising cliffs, and from rookeries near and far came an incessant din…seabirds of many varieties gave warning of our near approach to their nests” Douglas Mawson, 1911.

As they sailed towards Antarctica, Mawson and his men encountered ‘an exquisite scene.’ Macquarie Island (known affectionately as Macca) rises steeply from the Southern Ocean in a series of emerald summits: a beautifully fierce, elemental landscape teeming with life.

Keep your binoculars handy because this subantarctic refuge is home to 3.5 million breeding seabirds, including no less than four species of penguin! Alongside boisterous colonies of tuxedoed kings, charming gentoos, robust rockhoppers and endemic royal penguins, you’ll find three types of fur seals and a large proportion of the world’s elephant seals. Layer up and head out on deck to experience the sound, sight (and smell!) as you approach one of the largest concentrations of life in the Southern Ocean. Remember to keep an eye out for Macca’s kelp forests—these remarkable underwater ecosystems are quite mesmerizing as their fronds sway back and forth on the water’s surface.

In addition to being a globally recognised and protected wildlife refuge, Macquarie Island played an important role in Antarctic history. It was here, in 1911, that five men disembarked Mawson’s Aurora and established a radio relay station which would transmit the first communication from Antarctica to the outside world.

As Macquarie Island slips over the horizon, keep watch for wandering, grey-headed, black-browed and light-mantled albatross, which may follow the ship to bid you farewell as you continue south.

Close observers may notice a subtle change in the character of the sea as you cross the Antarctic Convergence. Beyond this zone where the waters of the north and south mix, the sea surface temperature drops by about 39°F (4°C), signaling your entry into the Antarctic. Mawson reported spotting ‘innumerable’ birds in these waters, so keep watch for porpoising penguins, flocks of fluttering Antarctic petrels, or perhaps the more solitary snow petrel. You’re not far from the Antarctic Circle, so your first iceberg can’t be far away!

Sea days are a great opportunity for some R & R as you digest your subantarctic experiences and prepare for the next phase of your voyage. Relax and unwind your way, perhaps meeting newfound friends at the bar, treating yourself to a sauna, or editing some images in the comfort of your cabin.

As the ship continues along the path taken by the Aurora in 1911, join your expedition team in the lecture room for presentations about Antarctic ice, wildlife, and of course the remarkable story of the Australasian Antarctic Expedition. Led by Australian geologist and explorer Sir Douglas Mawson, the expedition successfully charted vast swathes of previously explored Antarctic coastline, and over 3,728 miles (6,000 kilometers) of the interior. Despite its tremendous contribution to the advancement of Antarctic science, the expedition is perhaps best known for its nail-biting tales of triumph and tragedy. Hear the story of the extraordinary sledge journey undertaken by Mawson, Ninnis and Mertz, and rediscover why this remains one of the most incredible polar survival stories of all time.

“The tranquility of the water heightened the superb effects of this glacial world. Majestic tabular bergs, lofty spires, radiant turrets…illumined by pale green light within whose fairy labyrinths the water washed.” Douglas Mawson

When Captain John King Davis skillfully steered the Aurora through heavy pack ice in 1912, the Australasian Antarctic Expedition became the first to chart this stretch of coastline. As you sail into these waters over a century later, you are entering one of the most inaccessible and seldom-visited parts of Antarctica.

Find a spot on deck as the captain navigates carefully through glittering fields of frozen ocean, or dress warmly for a Zodiac cruise through the pack, keeping watch for elegant emperor penguins, sweet-faced Weddell seals resting on ice, and the unmistakable ‘pouf’ of an orca’s exhalation. Embrace the spirit of exploration as your expedition team designs your voyage from day to day, bringing decades of experience to selecting the ideal sites based on the prevailing weather, ice conditions and wildlife opportunities.

“Seals and penguins on magic gondolas were the silent denizens of this dreamy Venice. In the soft glamour of the midsummer midnight sun, we were possessed by a rapturous wonder—the rare thrill of unreality.” Douglas Mawson

For many expeditioners, approaching Commonwealth Bay evokes a profound sense of awe and humility. This is where Mawson and his men established their Main Base, on the shores of a ‘beautiful, miniature harbor’ at the foot of the Antarctic Ice Sheet. Imagine their dismay when they realized that their ice-free oasis lay directly in the path of fierce katabatic winds, which rushed like rapids off the Polar Plateau! Despite its unfortunate position, Main Base housed 18 expedition members for up to 2 years in this bay Mawson dubbed the ‘Home of the Blizzard.’

Katabatic winds and ice permitting, make landfall on the storied shores of Cape Denison, where several of the huts of Mawson’s Main Base still stand. The Magnetograph House and the Main Hut, where the men lived and worked, remain largely intact despite over a century of exposure to the elements. Bleached pine cladding bears witness to the passage of time, and ice drifts partially fill the huts, the past literally frozen in time. Scientific instruments and scattered personal items provide an intimate glance into the austere daily lives of Mawson and his men.

In addition to being the site of Mawson’s huts, Cape Denison provides a rare ice-free refuge for Antarctic wildlife, including nesting Adélie penguins, snow petrels and Wilson’s storm petrels. Weddell, elephant and leopard seals regularly haul out to rest on the rocky shores. You may like to wander along pebbly beaches, or perhaps ramble up a snow-covered ridge to a vantage point over this spectacularly monochrome landscape.

Before leaving East Antarctica your captain will attempt to maneuver the ship into position over the South Magnetic Pole. Spare a thought for Mawson who, accompanied by fellow Australian geologist T.W Edgeworth David and Scottish doctor Alistair Mackay, undertook a grueling 3-month march to become the first to stand in the vicinity of the South Magnetic Pole in January 1909. Conveniently for you, the Pole has since migrated out to sea, so you can celebrate its attainment with a glass of bubbly in the comfort of the ship’s bar!

Leave the grandeur of the ice to the seals and penguins and head northwards, but your voyage is far from over. In the days ahead there is plenty of time to enjoy the magic of the Southern Ocean and the life that calls it home. If the mood takes you, join your expedition team in the lecture room for presentations and polar film showings, or meet your new travel mates in the bar, library or observation deck to reminisce on your Antarctic experiences.

These days at sea also offer time and space to reflect on the emotions and special moments you’ve lived over the past 2 weeks. You may like to review your photos, jot some notes in a journal, mark your passage on a map, and reflect on your journey so far.

As you approach the rugged New Zealand subantarctic islands you have a rare opportunity to spot the endemic white-capped mollymawk (a type of albatross) in flight. The largest of the mollymawk family, over 90% of its population breeds on the Auckland Islands. Keep an eye out also for the playful New Zealand sea lion and southern right whale, which are known to frolic in these waters.

Scattered across the Southern Ocean 300 miles (465 kilometers) south of New Zealand, these islands have been visited by Polynesian and Māori navigators for centuries, and are of great cultural and spiritual significance to Ngāi Tahu, the indigenous peoples of New Zealand’s South Island. Here you have the opportunity to witness a finely tuned subantarctic ecosystem populated by unique endemic species such as the yellow-eyed penguin (hoiho) and Campbell mollymawk.

As your journey draws to a close, take some time to reflect on the experiences of the past few weeks. Perhaps take some time to organize your photos, jot some more notes in your journal or simply relax and soak up the ambiance on board as you farewell your travel mates…until next time!

Hopefully you become an ambassador for Antarctica and tell your family, friends and colleagues about your journey to this magical place, advocating for its conservation and preservation so that they might one day visit the region to experience what you have been lucky to see and do here.

After breakfast, say farewell to your expedition team and fellow passengers as everyone continues their onward journeys, hopefully with a newfound sense of the immense power of nature.