ANTARCTIC 2021.22 SOUTH GEORGIA & ANTARCTIC PENINSULA Penguin Safari Contents 1 Overview 2 Itinerary 5 Arrival and Departure Details 7 Your Ship 11 Included Activities 12 Adventure Options 13 Dates and Rates 14 Inclusions and Exclusions 15 Your Expedition Team 16 Extend Your Trip 17 Meals on Board 18 Possible Excursions 22 Packing Checklist Overview South Georgia and Antarctic Peninsula: Penguin Safari The Antarctic and sub-Antarctic regions offer so many extraordinary things to see and do for adventurous travelers. We’ve designed this guide to help you figure out what interests you most in order to plan the perfect expedition that suits your interests and passions. The South Georgia and Antarctica: Penguin Safari itinerary is the fastest way to get to the rarely visited South Georgia Island while also stepping foot on the 7th Continent. As we set sail, photograph massive albatross and beautiful pintado petrels as they swoop and soar around the ship, guiding us toward South Georgia. Beaches teeming EXPEDITION IN BRIEF with king penguins and elephant seals greet us on this fabled island, where we’ll See South Georgia’s incredible wildlife, including 30 breeding bird pay our respects to famed explorer Sir Ernest Shackleton. Antarctica awaits, with its species and four penguin species soaring peaks and overwhelming enormity. Relax on a Zodiac ride, hike to overlooks Follow in the wake of Sir Ernest of glistening glaciers, share comical moments with inquisitive gentoo, chinstrap and Shackleton’s perilous voyages to South Georgia and pause for a Adélie penguins, or witness the rugged peninsula from a sea kayak. Antarctica will moment at his grave site surprise and delight, and never disappoint. Explore the Antarctic Peninsula by ship, Zodiac and foot Antarctica has been inspiring explorers for centuries and this expedition offers the Learn about Antarctica’s unique chance for you to discover why. We’re excited to host you on your unforgettable geology, history and wildlife with our onboard lecturers polar adventure! Feel free to reach out to our team of Polar Travel Advisers who can Immerse yourself in the icy realm answer your questions and provide assistance at any time. of the Antarctic, with an optional paddling excursion 1 Itinerary DAY 1 | ARRIVE IN DAYS 3–6 | AT SEA USHUAIA, ARGENTINA There are many activities to keep you Santiago Buenos Aires You will begin your journey in Ushuaia, engaged while you are at sea. Learn to ARGENTINA a small but bustling port at the tip of identify seabirds that glide alongside the South America. It’s the ideal gateway ship, or attend dynamic presentations for you to explore the southern extent CHILE by your Expedition Team. You will be Falkland Islands of Patagonia while preparing for (Islas Malvinas) prepped on safety procedures for Zodiac your adventure ahead. Get active in Atlantic Ocean cruises and shore landings, and also South Georgia the mountains or enjoy handcrafted Punta Arenas be given instructions for getting the Ushuaia chocolate at a café in town. most out of your optional sea kayaking Elephant Drake Passage South Island Shetland adventures (extra cost), a truly intimate Islands DAY 2 | EMBARKATION DAY way to experience Antarctica. Embarkation will occur in the late Lemaire Channel afternoon, after which your vessel will LE If conditions are right, the first indication RC Weddell Sea CI TIC sail down the historic Beagle Channel, RC that you are approaching South Georgia TA Antarctic AN which transects the Tierra del Fuego is the sight of birds around a group of Peninsula archipelago in the extreme south rocky spires called Shag Rocks. Have SOUTH GEORGIA & ANTARCTIC PENINSULA of South America. Expect an air of your binoculars and cameras ready to Penguin Safari anticipation as you depart! capture these rocky spires rising out of On board the Ocean Adventurer, Ocean Diamond, or World Explorer 2 the icy ocean waters. Shags and prions You’ll find that South Georgia, once a Team, who will prepare you for the often rest here, and due to nutrient rich popular base for whalers and sealers, wildlife and landscapes that will upwellings around the rocks it can be a is also scattered with abandoned relics surround you upon your arrival. good place to keep a lookout for whales. and evidence of human activity from DAYS 11–13 | ANTARCTIC PENINSULA centuries gone by. Your Expedition Team DAYS 7 & 8 | SOUTH GEORGIA The most common reaction upon will help bring those days to life while After enjoying South Georgia from a reaching the White Continent is a sense you visit old whaling stations and enjoy distance, we’ll head toward its numerous of reverence and awe. The experience is presentations on the South Georgia of beaches to find a bay for your first hard to put into words, since few places then and now. excursion. Landing sites are varied, are as untouched and enduring largely determined by the weather One of the most significant sites you as Antarctica. conditions of your voyage. Whichever will visit on the island is Grytviken. You will discover that Antarctica is a sites we visit, they’ll provide you with This settlement is the first whaling land of extremes. At one moment you’ll wildlife encounters unrivaled anywhere stations established in sub-Antarctic be overcome with a feeling of complete else on earth. waters. Many travelers find that this isolation and silence, and at the next place has a special appeal, as it is the site South Georgia is one of the most fertile moment you’ll be inspired by nature as of the grave of Sir Ernest Shackleton, one breeding grounds in the world for a calving glacier crashes into a brilliant of the most famous Antarctic explorers. sub-Antarctic wildlife, with beaches blue sea or a penguin waddles by to blanketed with penguins and seals. It DAYS 9 & 10 | AT SEA inspect your footwear. won’t take you long to realize that you Say goodbye to the king penguins, as Your Expedition Team will take care of are in a bird paradise, as burrowing your next destination is Antarctica! Your you at each excursion, whether you are seabirds, albatross and petrels can be days at sea are filled with presentations Zodiac cruising, visiting a historical site seen in abundance. and workshops led by your Expedition 3 or consorting with penguin colonies. DAYS 14 & 15 | CROSSING Chinstrap, Adélie and gentoo penguins THE DRAKE PASSAGE are found here, along with Weddell, After more than a dozen days of unique EXPEDITION SPIRIT fur, crabeater and leopard seals. Keep wildlife encounters and remarkable Embracing the unexpected is part of the legacy—and excitement—of a lookout for Antarctic whales, such as landscapes, your journey home begins. expedition travel. When traveling minkes, while on a Zodiac cruise. Each Crossing the Drake is your unofficial in extremely remote regions, your day and each excursion will present a rite of passage. Spend time on deck watching for seabirds and whales, enjoy Expedition Team must consider the new collection of creatures to delight sea, ice and weather to guide the route presentations by your Expedition Team, you and keep your camera busy. and itinerary details. This itinerary is or simply relax and reminisce about a tentative outline of what you may As exciting as the Zodiac excursions and your experiences. landings are, perhaps you’ll treat yourself experience on this voyage; please be aware that no specific itinerary can be to an extra-special Antarctic experience DAY 16 | DISEMBARK IN USHUAIA guaranteed. By the same token, wildlife by partaking in an optional paddling You will arrive in Ushuaia in the encounters as described are expected, excursion (at an extra cost) or cast reason morning, which allows for you to but not guaranteed. Your Expedition continue your adventure onward or aside and jump into Antarctic waters for Team will use their considerable the Polar Plunge! catch your flights home. experience to seek out wildlife in known habitats, but the presence of any particular species of bird or marine wildlife is not guaranteed. 4 Arrival and Departure Details As you prepare for your journey, you may be interested in your arrival and departure details. Since international air transportation is not included in the cost of your expedition, you have some flexibility in planning your flights. Looking to extend your adventure beyond your polar expedition? On page 16, learn how to add on a pre- or post-expedition stop—or both!—in your gateway city. Arrival Day and Embarkation ARRIVING IN USHUAIA You may arrive in Ushuaia at any time during Day 1 of your itinerary. Ushuaia is a destination worth exploring, so we do encourage you to arrive a day or two before your expedition. Based on the arrival information you send us, we will arrange for a transfer from the airport to your hotel. A Quark Expeditions® representative will be available to answer your questions in the lobby of your hotel in Ushuaia during your optional pre-departure briefing on Day 1, at 6pm. 5 EMBARKATION IN USHUAIA Included Hotel Arrival and On the morning of Day 2, your luggage will be collected from the lobby of your Accommodations Departure Transfers hotel, transferred to the ship and stored Your included accommodation begins on USHUAIA AIRPORT TRANSFERS in your cabin. Day 1 of your itinerary, and the specific ARRIVAL: A group transfer in Ushuaia hotel will be indicated on your final Ship embarkation will occur on Day 2 is included from the airport to your voyage confirmation. If you are arriving of your itinerary, usually around 4pm. included pre-expedition hotel on Day 1 of prior to Day 1 of your expedition or are You and your shipmates will meet at a your itinerary.