ANTARCTIC PENINSULA Cruise 5–18 December 2008 5–18 December 2009 Leader: Monika Schillat

Antarctica is one of those places many people wish to visit. Spectacular scenery, icebergs, superb seabirds and many penguins. This tour will take you to find penguins, albatrosses, shearwaters, petrels, prions and many other species hard to or almost impossible to find anywhere else in the world.

Day 1 Overnight flight from London to Buenos Aires via Madrid.

Day 2 Arrival in Buenos Aries and flight transfer to Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world. Overnight in Ushuaia.

Day 3 Morning around Ushuaia where we may see Imperial Shag, Kelp and Upland Geese, Flightless and Flying Steamer-ducks,Southern Crested and White-throated Caracaras, Blackish and Magellanic Oystercatchers, Dolphin and Kelp Gulls, Chilean Skuas, Dark-bellied Cincloides and Black-chinned Siskin, to name just a few. At 16.00 we board the M/S Grigoriy Mikheev, a Russian research vessel, and settle into our cabins. At 18.00, we start our voyage down the Beagle Channel (named after Charles Darwin's famous ship). As we head along the channel we will be followed by numerous Black-browed Albatrosses and will encounter our first Magellanic Penguins, Southern Giant-petrels, Magellanic Diving-petrels and Sooty Shearwaters.

Day 4 We wake to find ourselves in the Drake Passage and the birds will have changed. Although we will still have the Black-browed Albatrosses around the ship, we must keep our eyes open for other species such as Slender-billed Prion, Light-mantled Sooty Albatross, Grey-headed and Yellow-nosed Albatrosses and both Northern and Southern Royal Albatrosses. Best of all however, will be the chance to see the mightiest of oceanic birds, the Wandering Albatross. There will also be smaller seabirds both following the ship and crossing the ship's bow and wake including Blue, Cape and White-chinned Petrels, Slender-billed Prion and possibly Northern Giant-petrel. There will be a seabird expert aboard the ship to help you with the identification challenges! There will also be an extensive programme of lectures and slide shows about the Antarctic, ranging from history to geology and wildlife. Food aboard the ship is excellent and, as well as three meals a day, tea, coffee and soup are available at all times.

Day 5 Sometime during the night the sea temperature will suddenly drop as we cross the zone of Antarctic convergence, and sometime during the day we will see our first icebergs! We will now have left the albatrosses behind but Cape Petrels and Southern Giant-petrels will be following us. In addition we will start to see our first Black-bellied and Wilson's Storm-petrels. As the day progresses we will see land ahead, the South Shetland Islands. Passing between the almost snow and glacier-covered Greenwich and Roberts Islands, we will anchor off Aitcho Island and make our shore landing aboard Zodiacs. On the very few snow-free areas we will find colonies of both Chinstrap and Gentoo Penguins with the ever-attendant Southern Giant-petrels, Snowy Sheathbills and Brown Skuas.

Day 6 We wake to find ourselves anchored off Deception Island in the South Shetland Islands. We will make several landings today at Bailey Head, Whaler's Bay and Telefon Bay. Whaler's Bay was an old whaling station and you will have the opportunity to view what remains of the old whaling operation as well as an old airbase for Antarctic research and an old British second world war base. Much of the area was covered by volcanic mudslides but a lot can still be seen. As well as birds previously seen this is a good place to get close-up views of Antarctic Terns.

Day 7 Leaving the South Shetland Islands, we sail south and by morning should be passing through the stunningly beautiful Gerlache Straight. On our right will be the large islands of Brabant and Anvers whilst on our left is the Antarctic Peninsula. Wilson's Storm-petrels will be criss-crossing the boat but the real prize here is Snow Petrel. Another possibility is Antarctic Petrel. We will have the opportunity to land on the peninsula at Paradise Bay (something that is denied to ships carrying more than 100 passengers) where we will visit an Argentinian base called Almirante Brown.

Day 8 This morning we find ourselves anchored at Port Lockroy, a British Antarctic Survey base. There will be the opportunity to visit the base and buy some postcards and stamps (it really is a post office!) and maybe other small souvenirs and visit the museum. You will have to pick your way carefully through the Gentoo Penguins and Snowy Sheathbills as you enter the building however! Heading south again, we will navigate the amazing Lemaire Channel. Although it is often blocked by icebergs we will keep our fingers crossed. All the time we should keep our eyes open for mammals as Humpback and Minke Whales are regularly seen here together with Crabeater and Weddell Seals. The real prize however would be Leopard Seal.

Day 9 Today we will reach the southernmost point of our journey, Petermann Island, at over 65 degrees south. Here we will find colonies of Adelie Penguins and Antarctic Shags as well as marauding South Polar Skuas. In the afternoon we will start to head north again, negotiating the Lemaire Channel and Gerlache Strait again on our way back to the South Shetland Islands. En-route we may see wintering Arctic Terns from the northern hemisphere and on a reconnoiter voyage we were lucky enough to find a lone Emperor Penguin.

Day 10 We will make a shore excursion to Livingstone Island today where, in the large colonies of Chinstrap and Gentoo Penguins, we may find a few pairs of Macaroni Penguins. Another highlight of this island is the large numbers of Southern Elephant Seals that can be found. We can also see several pairs of Southern Giant-petrels on their nests. Surprisingly, there is a small amount of vegetation on this island including grasses and lichens. We may also have time to visit Halfmoon Island before setting sail north through the Drake Passage again.

Day 11 Today we will have another chance to test our seabird skills in the Drake Passage. Prions will again start to appear but this time they will be Antarctic Prions with Slender-billed Prions not likely to re-appear until we get further north. Black-bellied Storm-petrels will again take over from Wilson's Storm-petrels although Cape Petrels will continue to be standard fare.

Day 12 Albatrosses will start to reappear today and prions will now all be Slender-billed Prions as we continue through the Drake Passage. Towards the end of the day we will see land again and, depending on weather and getting permission from the Chilean authorities, we may be able to view Cape Horn. As we continue to head north we may see large flocks of Sooty Shearwaters and the occasional Magellanic Diving-petrel before we enter the Beagle Channel.

Day 13 Overnight we will have travelled up the Beagle Channel and we will find ourselves anchored in Ushuaia harbour once again. After breakfast we will disembark and have a few hours to do some shore-based birdwatching before heading to the airport for the return flight to London via Buenos Aires.

Day 14 Arrival back in London at the end of the tour.

General Information Various levels of accommodation are available on the ship, ranging from a suite to twin berth with shared facilities. Because of the unpredictability of the weather, changes may have to be made to the itinerary at short notice, although every effort will be made to adhere to the itinerary described, within the limits of safety and time. There are no special medical requirements but you should be sufficiently active to be able to climb up and down gangplanks and board Zodiacs, sometimes in a swell. Warm and protective waterproof clothing is essential.

Other polar cruise options Birdfinders can offer a variety of other Antarctic and Arctic cruises throughout the year with the top world wildlife cruise specialists including Heritage Expeditions, Oceanwide Expeditions and Quark Expeditions. For full details and brochures please contact the Birdfinders office

Group size Minimum number for tour to go ahead: 6; maximum group size: 16 with 2 leaders.

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