Atlantic Odyssey: Ushuaia to Ascension Island

In the afternoon, embark in Ushuaia, Argentina, the southernmost city in the world. Set sail through the Beagle Channel and enjoy the evening on board.

Spend two days sailing across the Drake Passage and hope to view whales, wandering albatrosses, grey headed albatrosses, black-browed albatrosses, light-mantled sooty albatrosses, Cape pigeons, southern fulmars, Wilson’s storm petrels, blue petrels and Antarctic petrels.

Arrive in South Georgia and aim to visit some of the major king penguin rookeries in the world. The late season offers an outstanding chance to see the king penguins on eggs and with small chicks. The rookeries are packed at this time of year, and the traffic to and from the beach is astounding. At Salisbury Plain, view elephant seals and endless numbers of fur seal pups playing in the surf. On Prion Island in the Bay of Isles, search for breeding wandering albatross, then sail for the old whaling settlement in Grytviken, where penguins now walk through the streets. Grytviken is home to a small but highly informative museum and offers a chance to visit the grave of Sir Ernest Shackleton, who is buried alongside his trusted friend and companion Frank Wild. Attempt to land at Gold Harbor and St Andrews Bay to view king penguins, with stunningly beautiful scenery and a wildlife density second to none.

Observe many species and great numbers of Antarctic and sub-Antarctic seabirds as you sail for Gough Island.

Approach Gough Island for a zodiac cruise around Quest Bay, weather permitting. Gough Island is a strictly-protected nature reserve and landings are not allowed, but Zodiac cruises in the area have proven to offer spectacular scenery and a great abundance of wildlife not easily seen elsewhere in the world. Hope to circumnavigate the entire 33-mile island by ship and see the northern rockhopper penguins and sub-Antarctic fur seals.

In the Tristan da Cunha archipelago, plan to call on the settlement at the west side of the main island. Landings at Nightingale Island and Inaccessible Island are attempted to view millions of seabirds including yellow-nosed albatrosses and brown noddies. An extra day is built in to allow for possible bad weather, as 35% of previous sailings have been unable to make landings in the Tristan da Cunha for this reason.

Enter sub-tropical waters which feature their own species of seabirds and dolphins.

St. Helena has a good anchorage and landing site at Jamestown. Enjoy the local culture, pleasant climate, and endemic plants and birds, then visit Longwood House, where Napoleon lived and died in exile. Take the opportunity to explore the island on your own and snorkel in its clear waters. Or, stroll by the shallow surf and spot a variety of tropical and sub-tropical fish species.

Enjoy a last few days at sea along the mid-Atlantic Ridge while drawing near Ascension Island.

Ascension Island is a dry volcanic island with a richly-vegetated top. The sooty tern (wide-awake) colony sometimes consists of more than one million breeding pairs. Try to summit the hill of Ascension Island and make a zodiac-cruise around Boatswain Bird Island, offering great opportunities for snorkeling. At Comfortless Cove near Georgetown enjoy a very comfortable swim with good snorkeling too (no snorkeling gear is supplied). You may be fortunate to witness egg-laying sea turtles coming ashore at night.

Please note: At the present time, all RAF (Royal Air Force) flights to and from Ascension have been cancelled. Therefore, passengers should also book the 7-day voyage from Ascension to Praia in order to catch outbound flights. In the evening the vessel departs from Ascension Island.