| Cruise Line |
Hapag-Lloyd Cruises |
| Ship |
Hanseatic Inspiration |
| Destination |
Antarctica |
| Nights |
33 |
| Departure Date |
05 Feb 2022 |
| Description |
33 Night Cruise sailing from Ushuaia to Lyttleton aboard Hanseatic Inspiration.
The Antarctic and a semi-circumnavigation with the HANSEATIC inspiration – no other expeditions compare with these experiences. With the highest ice class (PC6) and driven by a pioneering spirit, the ship sets sail for icy worlds that few people have laid eyes on before. Brave the extremes and become a polar explorer.
Highlights of this cruise:
Ushuaia
Situated on the Beagle Strait, Ushuaia is the largest city in Argentine Tierra del Fuego, and arguably the southernmost city in the world. In the past, the town has been a missionary base, penal colony and naval base for the Argentine navy. Ushuaia is now a major tourist town, complete with casinos and nice restaurants, and commonly used as a base for hiking, winter sports and cruises to Antarctica
Founded just over one hundred years ago, this rustic town is situated amidst incredible snowcapped mountains, dramatic waterfalls, massive glaciers, and a forest known for its red foliage. Tierra del Fuego, the "Land of Fire," twelve miles to the west of Ushuaia, is known for its glacial landscape and its national park, which is a bird-watcher's paradise.
South Shetland Islands
The South Shetland Islands are a string of islands located 960 k m south of Tierra del Fuego at the tip of Sth America. They are currently covered by the Antarctic Treaty where all territorial claims are suspended. The islands are largely ice covered and there are eight permanently manned research bases run by various countries. Tourist cruise ships frequently visit the islands.
The South Shetland Islands consist of eleven major islands and several minor ones. Between 80 and 90 percent of the land area is permanently glaciated. The highest point on the island chain is Mount Irving on Clarence Island at 2,300 metres (7,546 ft) above sea level.
King George Island is the largest of the group and the least isolated. There are twelve bases established here. Other major islands include Elephant and Clarence Islands; Nelson Islands; Robert, Greenwich, Livingston, Snow, and Deception Islands; Smith and Low Islands.
Antarctic Peninsula
The Antarctic Peninsula is the northernmost part of the mainland of Antarctica, and almost the only part of that continent that extends outside the Antarctic Circle. It lies in the Western Hemisphere, facing South America. The peninsula is highly mountainous, its highest peaks rising to approximately 2,800 metres (9,186 feet).
The Antarctic Peninsula is regarded by many visitors as being one of the most beautiful places on earth. Jagged mountain peaks clad in glaciers flowing sometimes down to the sea and sometimes spilling into mid air from an altitude of hundreds of feet or more.
Attractions include giant icebergs, penguins, seals, whales, pack ice, sea birds and more.
Ross Island
Ross Island is an island formed by four volcanoes in the Ross Sea near the continent of Antarctica, off the coast of Victoria Land in McMurdo Sound. Only a small part of the island is free of ice and snow. The planet's southernmost active volcano, Erebus (3,794 m/12,448 ft), as well as the dormant volcano Terror (3,230 m/10,597 ft), are situated on the island.
Ross Island was the base for many of the early expeditions to Antarctica. It was and still is the southernmost island reachable by sea. Huts built by Scott's and Shackleton's expeditions are still standing on the island, preserved as historical sites.
Today Ross Island is home to New Zealand's Scott Base, and the largest Antarctic settlement, the U.S. Antarctic Program's McMurdo Station. Greenpeace established World Park Base on the island and it ran for five years, from 1987 to 1992.
Terra Nova Bay
Terra Nova Bay is a bay which is often ice free, about 64 km (40 miles) long, lying between Cape Washington and the Drygalski Ice Tongue along the coast of Victoria Land, Antarctica. The bay, an often ice-free area about 40 miles long is overlooked by the active volcano Mount Melbourne.
Discovered by the British National Antarctic Expedition under Scott, 1901-1904, and named by him after the Terra Nova, one of the relief ships for the expedition. The Italian Mario Zuchelli research base is located there.
Campbell Island
Campbell Island is a remote, sub-Antarctic island, located 700km’s south of New Zealand and the main island of the Campbell Island group. It is surrounded by numerous stacks, rocks and islets like Dent Island, Folly Island (or Folly Islands) and Jacquemart Island, the latter being the southernmost extremity of New Zealand. The Island is mountainous, rising to over 500 metres in the south. A long fiord, Perseverance Harbour, nearly bisects it, exiting to the sea on the east coast.
The island is uninhabited today, human presence is limited to periodic visits by research and conservation expeditions.
Christchurch
Christchurch is the largest city on the east coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It is located on the edge of the Canterbury plains and is a major stepping off point for touring the South Island. Mountains, ocean beaches, rivers, lakes and wide open spaces can be found less than an hour from the city centre.
The Avon River, a spread of Victorian architecture, and the avenues and squares, are a responsible for Christchurch’s reputation of "Englishnessâ€. Internationally famed ‘The Garden City’, one-eighth of its area is devoted to public parks, reserves, and recreation grounds, with the 186-hectare (459-acre) Hagley Park smack in its center.
Due to an earthquake which hit Christchurch on February 22nd 2011, part of the central city of Christchurch is still cordoned off to the general public to ensure people's safety while safety checks and the clearing of damaged areas takes place. This cordon is gradually receding as more of the city is deemed safe and open for business. It is likely however, that some isolated parts of the city will remain behind cordons for some time while rebuilding takes place. |
|
| Itinerary |
Cruise Itinerary
| Day | Date | Activity | Arrive | Depart |
|---|
| 1 |
05/02 |
Ushuaia, Argentina |
|
06:00 PM |
| 2 |
06/02 |
Drake Passage |
|
|
| 3 |
07/02 |
South Shetland Islands, Antarctica |
|
|
| 4 |
08/02 |
South Shetland Islands, Antarctica |
|
|
| 5 |
09/02 |
South Shetland Islands, Antarctica |
|
|
| 6 |
10/02 |
Antarctic Peninsula |
|
|
| 7 |
11/02 |
Antarctic Peninsula |
|
|
| 8 |
12/02 |
Antarctic Peninsula |
|
|
| 9 |
13/02 |
At sea |
|
|
| 10 |
14/02 |
At sea |
|
|
| 11 |
15/02 |
At sea |
|
|
| 12 |
16/02 |
At sea |
|
|
| 13 |
17/02 |
At sea |
|
|
| 14 |
18/02 |
At sea |
|
|
| 15 |
19/02 |
At sea |
|
|
| 16 |
20/02 |
At sea |
|
|
| 17 |
21/02 |
Date Line Crossing |
|
|
| 18 |
22/02 |
Ross Island, Antarctica |
|
|
| 19 |
23/02 |
Ross Island, Antarctica |
|
|
| 20 |
24/02 |
Terra Nova Bay, Antarctica |
|
|
| 21 |
25/02 |
Terra Nova Bay, Antarctica |
|
|
| 22 |
26/02 |
Terra Nova Bay, Antarctica |
|
|
| 23 |
27/02 |
Cape Adare, East Antarctica |
|
|
| 24 |
28/02 |
At sea |
|
|
| 25 |
01/03 |
Balleny Islands, Sub Antarctic Islands |
|
|
| 26 |
02/03 |
At sea |
|
|
| 27 |
03/03 |
At sea |
|
|
| 28 |
04/03 |
Macquarie Island, Sub Antarctic Island |
|
|
| 29 |
05/03 |
At sea |
|
|
| 30 |
06/03 |
Campbell Island, New Zealand |
|
|
| 31 |
07/03 |
Auckland Islands, New Zealand |
|
|
| 32 |
08/03 |
Snares Island, New Zealand |
|
|
| 33 |
09/03 |
At sea |
|
|
| 34 |
10/03 |
Christchurch (Lyttleton), New Zealand |
06:00 AM |
|
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All itineraries and ports of call at the discretion of the cruise line subject to local weather conditions and may change without notice.
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