The fortunate few who visit Antarctica, the world’s last great wilderness, cannot fail to be awestruck by its scale and grandeur. The encircling oceans, some of the richest on the planet, are home to millions of penguins, seabirds and other creatures that visit this icy wilderness during the brief Antarctic summer to feed and raise their young. A number of excellent expedition cruises operate to Antarctica, visiting South Georgia with its vast rookeries of King Penguins, as well as the Falkland Islands with their rich history and obliging albatross colonies en route. We would recommend joining one of the small ice strengthened vessels, such as the MV Ortelius, which not only offer unforgettable expedition cruises, but also the best chances of making it through to the key wildlife sites should the sea ice start to close in!

When to visit: November to March

The sub-Antarctic Islands of New Zealand and  Australia are home to the world’s largest  concentration of seabirds. Millions of penguins,  albatrosses, shearwaters and petrels return to  these isolated outposts each southern summer to  breed, converging to create one of the most  magnificent wildlife spectacles to be found in  either hemisphere. Few vessels cruise these  seas, but fortunately the 140-berth MV Heritage  Adventurer offers the unique opportunity of  exploring these little-visited islands. This 13-day  cruise starts on the southern tip of South Island,  New Zealand, before visiting Snares Island, home  to 60 million ‘tubenoses’ (petrels and their kin) –  more seabirds than breed around the entire  British coastline! Whilst 850,000 pairs of Royal  Penguin and 218,000 pairs of King Penguin will  take centre stage on remote Macquarie Island. The 7,500 pairs of Southern Royal Albatrosses on  Campbell Island makes for a fitting finale!

When to visit: December & January