Since Captain James Cook's epic voyage of 1773-75, only a handful of scientists and explorers have ever circumnavigated Antarctica. Quark Expeditions is pleased to announce a historic two-monthlong Antarctic Circumnavigation aboard the Kapitan Khlebnikov - the first ever voyage for adventurous travelers ENTIRELY AROUND THE CONTINENT.
The heroic explorers once searched for Terra Australis Incognito, the unknown southern land. After his epic 70,000-mile, three-year circumnavigation, James Cook pronounced that if a southern continent existed at all, it must lie so far south as to be wholly inaccessible on account of ice.
We invite you to join us on a historic voyage completely around Antarctica - a first for Antarctic tourism and one of perhaps 10 circumnavigations in the 220 years since Cook's voyage. Until now, no passenger-carrying vessel has had the power or range to circumnavigate this last great continent.
In early November 1996 we sail south from Ushuaia, the world's southernmost city, on the first leg of a remarkable 12,000-mile journey - a voyage that includes numerous emperor penguin rookeries located all around the continent, timed early enough to witness thousands of their young on the ice.
We stand among the emperors, thrill at the spectacle of 90-pound penguins tobogganing over the ice, land by helicopter atop mile-long icebergs and spend absorbing hours on deck as the ship breaks through the pack.We encounter the seldom-seen Ross seal and experience enormous rookeries of Adelie penguins at the height of the breeding season.
Our journey includes all the great historic sites of polar exploration and never before visited sectors of Antarctica. Along the way we call at research stations of diverse nations, many for the first time ever. We navigate among hundreds of icebergs and along forbidding coasts, where killer whales and diverse seals patrol. Expertly-piloted helicopters land us on immense tabular icebergs and atop the extraordinary floating ice shelves, the biggest anywhere. Sailing east around the continent, our journey concludes back in Ushuaia, where we return around the NewYear.
With 22,000 hp and a 45-millimeter-thick hull, few vessels match the power of the world-class Kapitan Khlebnikov, an icebreaker that since 1991 has taken travelers to new lands both north and south: deep into the Weddell Sea, along the extraordinary coasts of East Antarctica and to remote Siberian archipelagos. An essential feature of icebreaker expeditions, the ships versatile helicopters take us to othewise inaccessible rookeries and landing sites blocked by ice. Our voyage will be led by a staff of experienced naturalists, lecturers and special guest speakers, a hallmark of Quark Expeditions.
To hold a cabin on this historic Antarctic Circumnavigation (for which we expect interest to be high), kindly send a deposit of $1,000 per person. Rates will be in the range of $35,000 per person for a standard twin cabin, based on double occupancy.
QUARK EXPEDITIONS 980 Post Road Darien, CT 06820 USA Tel: +1-203-656-0499 Fax: +1-203-655-6623 Toll Free: +1- 800-356-5699