Upon arrival in Dunedin, a representative will assist in transferring you and your fellow expeditioners to the designated pre-voyage hotel. If you are already in Dunedin, please proceed directly to your hotel. Later in the afternoon, visit the hospitality desk in the lobby to collect luggage tags. Ensure your name and ship cabin number are clearly labeled on the tags. The team will provide details regarding your embarkation day, address any queries, and offer information on dining options and last-minute purchases.

In the evening, join your fellow expeditioners for a Welcome Reception and Pre-Embarkation Briefing, where light refreshments will be served. Following the briefing, feel free to explore New Zealand's southernmost city. You may opt to dine at one of Dunedin's esteemed restaurants or take a leisurely stroll along the picturesque Otago harbor.

Assigned accommodation: To be advised

In the morning, enjoy breakfast and complete the check-out process. Ensure your cabin luggage is equipped with cabin tags clearly marked with your name and cabin number. By 11:00 am, deliver your cabin luggage to the hotel reception either before or during check-out. Your luggage will be stored and transferred directly to the port for clearance, ready to be placed in your cabin before your arrival on board. Keep any valuables or personal items with you throughout the day.
The morning is yours to explore Dunedin at your leisure.

Once aboard, settle into your cabin, meticulously designed for your comfort. This luxurious vessel awaits your exploration! Cast off and begin the voyage, join your expedition team on deck before indulging in a delightful dinner, raising a toast to the journey ahead.

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 travelers 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 well-equipped polar library, or chat with your fellow expeditioners at the bar.

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.

As Campbell Island slips over the horizon, keep watch for Campbell, Salvins and white-capped albatross, which may follow the ship to bid you farewell as travelers continue south.

Close observers may notice a subtle change in the character of the sea as you cross the Antarctic Convergence. Beyond this belt where the waters of the north and south mix, the sea surface temperature drops by about 4°C (39°F), signalling entry into the Antarctic. This transition zone is known for its nutrient-rich 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.

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. 

Leave the grandeur of the ice to the seals and penguins and head northwards, but the 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. You won’t want to miss presentations from your onboard specialists about the wonderful wildlife and rich human history of Macquarie Island. 

These days at sea also offer time and space to reflect on the emotions and special moments you’ve lived over the past few weeks. You may like to take a moment of quiet contemplation or reminisce with your fellow travellers over a cuppa (or other beverage of choice!) 

As you approach Macquarie Island keep watch for graceful grey-headed, black-browed and light-mantled albatross, which may venture from their nests to welcome their human visitors.

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 to experience the sound, sight (and smell!) 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.

The South Shetland Islands is a volcanic island group around a day’s sail from the Antarctic Peninsula. Aim to land or Zodiac cruise at one of the many appealing coves, bays and beaches, with the opportunity to see chinstrap and gentoo penguin colonies, fur and elephant seals, and the historic remnants of the sealing and whaling age.

In the afternoon, begin your transit north across the Drake Passage.

As your journey draws to a close, take some time to reflect on the experiences of the past few weeks. Perhaps you’d like 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!

The team 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.

After breakfast, farewell your expedition team and fellow passengers as travelers all continue our onward journeys, hopefully with a newfound sense of the immense power of nature.

Note: At the conclusion of the voyage, it is not recommended booking flights departing prior to 12.00 pm on the day of disembarkation in case there are delays.