Ross Island Antarctica Scott Base NZ, McMurdo Station USA
Antarctica
3
Cruises availables
At departure or passage at this port
Frequently Asked Questions
In the Ross Sea, on the Pacific side of Antarctica, days of sailing from New Zealand. It is dominated by Mount Erebus, the southernmost active volcano on the planet, whose summit reaches 3,794 metres.
None. Expedition ships approach the fast ice when conditions allow and put zodiacs in the water for short runs to the landing sites. Nothing is ever guaranteed.
Three refuges from the heroic age : the Terra Nova hut at Cape Evans, from which Robert Falcon Scott set out in 1911 on his last journey; Ernest Shackleton's hut at Cape Royds, from the Nimrod expedition of 1907-1909; and the Discovery hut near Hut Point, from Scott's very first mission.
Yes, but in small groups and under strict supervision. Visits are capped and managed by conservation trusts. Inside, preserved by the cold, the provision crates, laboratory bottles and bunks look as if they are waiting for the men to return.
The largest Antarctic base, operated by the United States, set on Ross Island alongside New Zealand's Scott Base. Depending on permits and programmes, some voyages allow a glimpse of these polar villages.
Adélie and emperor penguins, orcas and Weddell seals offshore, snow petrels circling the masts. These waters teem with life during the austral summer.
Access is limited to expedition ships with strengthened hulls, able to work through shifting sea ice. Landings are by zodiac, subject to ice and weather.
Below freezing even at the height of the austral summer. Full polar kit is supplied or required by the operators : this is not a call where you improvise your clothing.
Expect long passages from New Zealand. It is a trip for high latitude enthusiasts, not a stop you add to a standard itinerary.
The ice cliffs of the Ross Ice Shelf, the smoking slopes of Erebus and the Transantarctic Mountains on the horizon. On the sea ice the silence is never complete : the ice cracks, breathes and shifts.
