ROSS SEA ODYSSEY
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ROSS SEA ODYSSEY
ITINERARY SUMMARY
| Day | Place | Highlights |
|---|---|---|
| Days 1 - 2 | Hobart, Australia | Pre-voyage hotel night, embark on Day 2! |
| Days 3-5 | At Sea | Meet your fellow travellers, learn about the fascinating places you'll be visiting |
| Days 6 - 7 | Macquarie Island | Home to 3.5 million breeding seabirds, including four species of penguin |
| Days 8 - 10 | At Sea | Attend presentations and film showings, or meet with your new travel mates |
| Days 11 - 17 | Victoria Land Coast and Ross Sea | Globally significant wildlife sanctuary, uniquely adapted Antarctic species |
| Days 18 - 21 | At Sea | Keep watch for albatross which may follow the ship, indulge in some rest and relaxation |
| Days 22 - 24 | New Zealand's Sub-Antarctic Islands | Visit Auckland Islands and Campbell Island |
| Day 25 | At Sea | Reflect on the experiences of the past few weeks |
| Day 26 | Dunedin, New Zealand | Farewell your expedition team and fellow passengers, disembark |
SHIP OFFERING THIS ITINERARY
Greg Mortimer
The Greg Mortimer is a new purpose built, polar expedition vessel taking 120 guests. This vessel has been designed in close consultation with Antarctic expedition specialists and is the first expedition cruise ship designed with the ULSTEIN X-BOW hull. This cutting edge nautical technology allows for gentle travel and motion at sea, improved comfort and safety on-board, reduced vibrations, lower fuel consumption and emissions and ‘virtual anchoring’ which means the ship can float anchor-less while launching the Zodiacs without disturbing delicate sea floor areas. There are four sea-level launching platforms for fast and efficient access to and from Zodiacs.
Days 1 – 2 Hobart, Australia
Arrive in Hobart, where you will be met by a representative of Aurora Expeditions and transferred with your fellow expeditioners to your assigned pre-voyage hotel. Enjoy your evening in Australia’s southernmost capital city. You may like to indulge in a sumptuous meal at one of Hobart’s celebrated restaurants, or perhaps enjoy a leisurely stroll along the historic waterfront.
The following morning, enjoy breakfast and check-out. Your morning is at leisure to explore Hobart. In the afternoon, 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 you 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, you 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.
Days 3 – 5 At Sea
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 travellers and learn about the history, environment and local wildlife in this fascinating corner of the globe.
As you acclimatise 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 travellers. Join them in the lecture room for entertaining talks and presentations to enrich your understanding of the wildlife, landscapes and historic sites we hope to encounter.
You may like to pamper yourself with a sauna, a visit to the Wellness Centre, or work out at the onboard gym. While away the hours spotting seabirds on deck, curl up with a book in our well-equipped polar library, or chat with your fellow expeditioners at the bar.
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.
Days 6 – 7 Macquarie Island
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 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 mesmerising 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.
Days 8 – 10 At Sea
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 4°C, signalling your entry into the Antarctic. This transition zone is known for its nutrient 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. And join your expedition team in the lecture room for presentations on the charismatic wildlife and extraordinary adventures that took place along the epic Antarctic coastline you are about to experience.
Days 11 – 17 Victoria Land Coast and Ross Sea
It’s almost impossible to describe the feeling of arriving in this storied, ice-bound sector of Antarctica. Stepping outside and taking a deep breath of some of the most fresh, crisp air on earth is an experience to cherish forever.
The Ross Sea region is a globally significant wildlife sanctuary. Its nutrient-rich waters support an astonishing array of uniquely adapted Antarctic species, including Ross Sea orcas, Antarctic petrels and South Pacific Weddell seals. It is also home to Antarctica’s largest Adélie penguin colony, and many of the largest emperor penguin colonies. The unique biodiversity of the Ross Sea has been protected within the world’s largest marine protected area since 2016.
The human heritage of the Ross Sea coast is equally impressive. Since James Clark Ross discovered the region in 1841, countless expeditions have built base camps on scattered ice-free slivers of land, using them as staging posts for bold forays across the polar plateau. Many of them departed in a hurry, leaving artefacts, scientific equipment and sometimes entire huts behind. Today these sites are preserved as open-air museums and protected under the Antarctic Treaty System.
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.
Some places you may visit include the Ross Ice Shelf, Franklin Island, McMurdo Sound, Cape Washington, Terra Nova Bay, Cape Hallett and Cape Adare.
Days 18 – 21 At Sea
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 two 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 ninety percent 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.
Days 22 – 24 New Zealand’s Subantarctic Islands
First visited by Māori navigators centuries ago, these islands are of great significance to Ngāi Tahu, the indigenous peoples of New Zealand’s South Island. Their natural beauty and astonishing biodiversity have now been recognised globally, but few have had the privilege to visit these far-flung shores, which are now yours to explore.
Some places you may visit include Sandy Bay, Carnley Harbour, Erlangen Clearing, Victoria Passage and Campbell Island.
Day 25 At Sea
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 organise 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!
We hope you become ambassadors for the great Southern Ocean, advocating for its conservation and preservation, and share your experiences with your loved ones, so they might visit and become ambassadors themselves.
Day 26 Dunedin, New Zealand
After breakfast, farewell your expedition team and fellow passengers as you all continue your onward journeys, hopefully with a newfound sense of the immense power of nature.