Ross Sea Centennial Voyage

29 days - from $35890

One hundred years ago this December, the world waited breathlessly to hear who would reach the South Pole first – the dashing Captain Robert Scott, or the determined Norwegian, Roald Amundsen. Celebrate this once-in-a-lifetime anniversary with a unique 29-day trip exploring the Ross Sea and other areas associated with the heroic age of Antarctic exploration. Plus, do it aboard storied icebreaker Kapitan Khlebnikov, sailing her final voyage on Antarctic seas.

The Ross Sea is a deep bay on the west coast of Antarctica – shown on the “bottom” of the continent on most maps. Famed as the staging point for many of the great 20th-century Antarctic explorations, it is icebound for much of the year, and thus not usually accessible to expedition travelers.

Unless, that is, you can travel aboard an icebreaker – a unique class of ship designed to crush through Antarctica’s 3-meter-thick mantle of shifting pack ice.

This year is your last chance to do just this. Kapitan Khlebnikov, the only Russian polar-class icebreaker in Antarctica, has been leading Quark travelers through polar seas for two decades, but after 2011 she returns to escort duties in the Russian Arctic. This means 2011 is your last chance to explore the otherwise-inaccessible Ross Sea area, and tread in the footsteps of heroic explorers like Ernest Shackleton, Robert Scott and Roald Amundsen.

Not only that, but 2011 marks the 100-year anniversary of the first human arrival at the South Pole. To celebrate, we’ve invited Nigel Watson to join this expedition as our special guest. Nigel is Executive Director of the Antarctic Heritage Trust (New Zealand), an organization dedicated to preserving the historic expedition bases and artifacts associated with the heroic age of Antarctic exploration.

If adventure runs in your blood, don’t miss this end-of-an-era Ross Sea expedition.

Itinerary:

Day 1 Christchurch, New Zealand. 2 Embarkation at Lyttelton, New Zealand. 3 At sea. 4 The Snares. 5-6 Auckland Islands. 7 Campbell Island. 8-9 At sea. 10 Cape Adare. 11-21 The Ross Sea. 22-23 Balleny Islands. 24 At sea. 25-26 Macquarie Island. 27-28 At sea. 29 Hobart, Tasmania, Australia.

• 1 night pre-expedition hotel accommodation in Christchurch, New Zealand, with breakfast.
• Group transfer from the Christchurch hotel to the ship on Day 2 of the itinerary.
• Shipboard accommodation with housekeeping.
• Shipboard breakfasts, lunches and dinners.
• Professional Expedition Leadership.
• Group helicopter transfers and aerial sightseeing per the daily program.
• Shore landings per the program delivered on the ship each day.
• Formal and informal educational presentations by the Expedition Team.
• All shore landings per the program delivered each day.
• All Zodiac excursions and transfers.
• An official Quark Expeditions parka to keep.
• Photographic Journal on DVD, documenting the voyage.
• The loan of a pair of waterproof boots for the duration of the voyage.
• Hair dryer and bathrobes in each cabin.
• Coffee, tea and cocoa available around the clock.
• All miscellaneous service taxes and port charges throughout the program.
• Group transfer from the ship to the Hobart airport.
• Emergency Evacuation Insurance to a maximum benefit of $100,000 per person.

• Any airfare.
• Passport and visa expenses.
• Helicopter flying time in excess of that offered for the group.
• Meals ashore other than the breakfast included with the hotel accommodation.
• Government arrival and departure taxes.
• Excess baggage charges.
• Baggage, cancellation and medical travel insurance.
• Shipboard or land telecommunication charges.
• Laundry, bar, beverage and other personal charges.
• Gratuities for ship's crew, Hospitality and Expedition Team members.