Antarctica, The Falklands & South Georgia - 2021 Solar Eclipse

Antarctica is a land of superlatives. It is the coldest, windiest, driest, iciest and highest of all the major landmasses of the world. It is a continent of extremes, but also one of extreme beauty! Those fortunate enough to explore its icy shores cannot fail to be awe-struck by the sheer grandeur of the landscape, the towering glaciers, rugged snow-covered mountains and huge icebergs calved into myriad shapes by the relentless pounding of the Southern Ocean. This encircling ocean is, in turn, one of the richest of all seas and the basis for the food chain that supports Antarctica’s huge concentration of wildlife. Every spring, as the pack-ice slowly retreats, millions of penguins, seabirds and other creatures leave the vastness of these turbulent waters to converge on the continent and its surrounding necklace of islands, to breed and raise their young. By late November the breeding season will have begun in earnest, penguins and albatrosses will be busily incubating eggs or feeding small chicks, and the race to fledge will be in full swing before darkness descends once more, heralding the return of winter’s even icier grip.

In November 2021 Naturetrek will be taking full charter of the 116-berth MV Ortelius and offering our clients the opportunity to join the ultimate in wildlife cruises: a voyage from Ushuaia in Tierra del Fuego to the Falkland Islands, South Georgia and the Antarctic Peninsula. There are few things that could improve on what is already ‘the’ greatest of all Polar expeditions… apart from being there during a total solar eclipse of course! On 4th December 2021, a total solar eclipse passes over the Weddell Sea and this cruise has been timed to coincide with this rare celestial event! By taking a full charter of the ship we can design the itinerary to not only pass under the line of eclipse totality, but to include only the very best wildlife sites. It also allows us to bring along a selection of our most experienced tour leaders, ensuring that all aspects of natural history — and astronomy — are covered and that our group enjoy three weeks of unforgettable wildlife sightings and breathtaking scenery!

We begin the holiday, however, with a flight to Buenos Aires in Argentina, and then to Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world. From here we board our ship and head out along the Beagle Channel and into the Southern Ocean. En route to the Falkland Islands there will be plenty to entertain us, as the ship will be accompanied throughout by a wonderful variety of seabirds including Black-browed Albatrosses and the occasional Wandering Albatross. We now have two days to enjoy the scenery and wildlife of the Falkland Islands. Arriving from Britain the visitor finds a landscape which brings to mind the northern isles of Scotland, although the wildlife is excitingly different. We will visit King, Rockhopper, Magellanic and Gentoo Penguin rookeries, plus colonies of Black-browed Albatross which nest on windswept tussock-covered slopes.

A further two days of pelagic bird and whale-watching brings us to the isolated island of South Georgia, home to some of the world’s great wildlife spectacles. For the next three days we will enjoy the mountains, glaciers and abundant wildlife of this remote outpost, including, weather permitting, the vast King Penguin colony at St Andrew’s Bay. Huge Elephant Seals crowd the beaches whilst thousands of Macaroni and Chinstrap Penguins make their way to their huge and raucous colonies above. Light-mantled Sooty Albatross also breed here and we will also take a quick break from the wildlife to visit the grave of Ernest Shackleton, one of history’s great Polar explorers.

Moving on, we next position ourselves near the ice-edge, not far from the South Orkney Islands, for it is here that at 0707 hours on 4th December 2021 the total solar eclipse will take place. Once the eclipse has passed over, we will continue our journey south to the Antarctic Peninsula, a truly awe-inspiring landscape that dwarfs the ship and its inhabitants. Flock after flock of Gentoo and Adélie Penguins porpoise rapidly through the water on their way to and from numerous breeding colonies. South Polar Skua and the ghostly white Snow Petrel are also to be seen here, whilst beneath the waves the summer bloom of plankton and krill attract ocean giants such as Humpback Whales. The mighty Orca also patrols these waters and the menacing, almost reptilian, outline of Leopard Seals is frequently seen, as they lie hauled up on ice floes awaiting their next unfortunate penguin snack!

We will have four days in which to absorb the majesty and grandeur of the Antarctic Peninsula, before heading back out to sea for the final time to cross the Drake Passage, past Cape Horn, back to Ushuaia and ultimately home.