Discovering the white continent

STOPOVERS AND EXCURSIONS

Every day, depending on the ice conditions, we will offer you landings or outings in a zodiac to discover the infinite wealth of Antarctica: Glaciers, pack ice, icebergs, tabulars, mountain peaks plunging steeply into the water, volcanic beaches, scientific bases, enchanting bays and even vestiges of the whaling industry.
But above all we are the privileged guests of these extreme lands where nature dictates its law. Programs can therefore vary from day to day, making each cruise a unique moment.

Day 1 – Buenos Aires (Argentina)
Accommodation at the Palladio Hotel
MGallery 5* (or similar)
Day 2 – Ushuaia (Argentina)
Flight Buenos Aires / Ushaia (Argentina)
Excursion and lunch in Ushuaia
Boarding at the end of the afternoon
Day 3 – At sea
Day 4 – At sea
Day 5 – Antarctic Peninsula
Day 6 – Antarctic Peninsula
Day 7 – Antarctic Peninsula
Day 8 – Antarctic Peninsula
Day 9 – Antarctic Peninsula
Day 10 – At sea
Day 11 – At sea
Day 12 – Ushuaia (Argentina)
Morning disembarkation and transfer for the flight Ushuaia / Buenos Aires
(Argentina)

Excursion
(included on day 2)

Discovery day of Tierra del Fuego with lunch, until boarding at the end of the afternoon.

Program for information only.

Above all, we are the privileged guests of these extreme lands where nature dictates its law. Programs can therefore vary from day to day, making each cruise a unique moment.

Your program

DAY 1 | Buenos Aires (Argentina)

Accommodation at the 5* PalladioMGallery Hotel (or similar)

Free evening.

DAY 2 | Ushuaia (Argentina)

In the morning, domestic flight to Ushuaia. After your excursion to discover Tierra del Fuego, Exploris awaits you, moored at the foot of the city of Ushuaia. Its commander and crew welcome us on board for a first night in the Antipodes.

The end of the world already reverses our perspectives: the city is very small and the horizon immense. From this evening, we are sailing in the Beagle Channel, the most important maritime route in Tierra del Fuego – except for the Strait of Magellan.

DAY 3 et 4 | At sea

Depending on the weather conditions, we have two days – perhaps a little less – to prepare for the big meeting, for the strong emotion that you have come to seek in the Deep South. During information meetings and your first conferences, the expedition team fuels your spirit of exploration. This is inseparable from the preservation of the environment, our common leitmotif. Also, as navigators aware of our impact on the world, let us take advantage of this crossing to clean our equipment of anything that could pollute the Antarctic lands during our disembarkations. Once sanitized, gloves and hats can also be used to slip onto the deck to admire the synchronized ballet of waves and birds. Cape checkerspots, giant petrels and albatross are part of the trip. Their tireless flight sets the course for our route.

DAY 5 | Sailing in the Antarctic Peninsula

During these five full days, Exploris One sails from marvel to marvel. Sea conditions and weather determine the decisions of the commander and expedition leader regarding our stops. Below we discuss a possible program, adjusted from day to day to take advantage of any unexpected encounters. They obviously come from the sea, because we are not alone in knowing how the Brabant and Antwerp islands are an excellent shield against the rages of the Southern Ocean: humpback whales and minke whales also know the tranquility of the Strait of Gerlache. There, we feast on the majestic spectacle of these marine mammals feeding, both gigantic and delicate.

DAY 6 | Sailing in the Antarctic Peninsula

A little further, a zodiac ride allows us to travel through the heart of the ice floe broken up by the return of the southern summer: our naturalist guides teach us to read the accidents of this icy geometry and to distinguish the black shapes of the cormorants at blue eye on the dark rock of the cliffs. We alternately listen to the cracking of an impressive glacier and the yelps of gentoo penguins building their nest. Their way of fiercely fighting over the slightest stone constitutes a real lesson in neighborliness…And if a seal (in which, thanks to the briefings of our naturalists, we now know how to recognize a Weddell) lazes on an ice cube within camera range, our exploration takes on an air of intimate conversation with wildlife.

DAY 7 | Sailing in the Antarctic Peninsula

Our landings, as numerous as possible, are all done “with our feet in the water” and of course with our feet in our boots. They allow us to access remote places without the need for a dock or pontoon. For example, at Port Charcot, we often have to slalom in a zodiac among the icebergs to reach the shores where the first French Antarctic expedition wintered (1905). Sometimes, the ice conditions prevent us from “bringing down the zodiacs”, so it is on board the ship itself that we undertake the journey up the Lemaire Channel. A moment of high intensity that the commander and the officers share by opening the bridge for us. Seeing the “burgundians” (ice cubes the size of a barrel of Burgundy) dive and give way under the bow of Exploris One is a rare experience, worthy of the audacity of sailors of yesteryear.

DAY 8 | Sailing in the Antarctic Peninsula

Equally heroic seem to us the British researchers at the Port Lockroy base, who spend the entire southern summer in the heart of the Peninsula. They welcome us to the only store for thousands of kilometers around, where they take care of sending your postcards from the southernmost post office in the world. Spending a few hours with us aboard Exploris One, they bear witness to the daily life of their “summering” under a sun that never really sets. Cuverville Island could serve as a last stopover on the Peninsula before leaving for the Shetland archipelago. From the top of its hill, a breathtaking panorama opens up over the Gerlache Strait. But nothing is certain about our stopovers, all deviations from the planned route are permitted – and welcome!

DAY 9 | Sailing in the Antarctic Peninsula

Exploris One is already heading north, towards civilization. We find its imprint, for example, on Deception Island, in this case the former whaling station of Whalers Bay. From a distance, its remains are impressive: ovens for melting whale blubber, wooden houses for workers, cemetery for those perished at sea during this dangerous industry. Antarctica has now finished with this era of massacres, which are as damaging to human life as to the survival of species. What remains is the poetry of ruins. At the exit of the Caldera, a colony of chinstrap penguins has taken up residence. This completes the animal panorama of our cruise. Depending on the weather, the expedition team suggests a hike to the heights of the island to, for a few more hours, become one with this untouched nature.

DAY 10 et 11 | At sea

Exploris One is once again embarking on Drake Passage. By crossing the Antarctic Convergence, this line beyond which the water temperature rises, we leave the Southern Ocean for the South Atlantic. We enter the world of the screaming 50s and the roaring 40s. Sometimes, all the “wild animals” are tamed and the crossing turns out to be a gentle return to reality. Latest conferences given by our naturalists, latest exchanges of photos, addresses, contacts…So that the end of the journey is not the end of the journey.

DAY 12 | Ushuaia (Argentina)

Disembarkation in the morning. Transfer to the airport for the domestic flight to Buenos Aires.

Your ship

EXPLORIS ONE

Number of passagers : 144 (120 en zones polaires)
Length : 108 mètres
Ice Class : 1A
Classification : Llyod’s register
Crew : 102
French flag (2023)
Volume : 6,158 TJB
Passagers Desks : 5
French Officers 
Width : 16 mètres
Zodiacs : 12
Average speed : 12,5 nœuds