Safari to the Ross Sea

landings guarded by active volcanoes

The Ross Sea is a vast dent in the otherwise blank face of the great Southern Continent below Australasia. This huge bay is home to the greatest floating ice-sheet on the planet and some extraordinary frozen volcanic landscapes.

This is the furthest south that it is possible for a ship to reach, making it a natural starting point for the expeditions of the great explorers of the late Victorian period, the base from which Amundsen and Scott raced each other to the South Pole.

For every thousand people that visit the Antarctic Peninsula below South America), only one person visits the Ross Sea. Some years there are only one or two trips down here, a busy season sees under a dozen ships pass through in January, the only month when the ice thaws sufficiently.

The two main reasons that this area remains so little-visited are that it takes the best part of a month to get here and back from New Zealand, and the itineraries tend to include fewer active options, with no kayaking and camping, only some relatively modest walking.

Along with the fascinating human history, these factors combine to ensure that the guest profile tends to be slightly older than it is for the Antarctic Peninsula.

On the page for the Antarctic Peninsula, we include long month-by-month descriptions of the seasonality. But here in the Ross Sea, it is only possible to visit during a short six week period, centred on January, but occasionally running on into early February.

It is important to remember that the main landing areas in the Ross Sea are at 76 degrees south, where the northern part of the Antarctic Peninsula is up at 62 degrees. That’s 1500 km (1000 mi) closer to the South Pole. So conditions down here are much harsher and the window of opportunity to visit is therefore much narrower.

The key seasonal change that defines accessibility is the receding of the sea-ice from the key bays and anchorages. In a warmer year, by January all of the main places of interest should be accessible, whilst in a cooler year the choice may become more restricted.

Average temperatures in this part of the world tend not to vary enormously throughout the year, with January being around 0C (32F), peaking some days up to 10C (50F). On land there is no precipitation year-round. The day length in the most southerly areas is 24 hours and very close to the region which experiences the midnight sun (65°44′).

In terms of wildlife, by January the plankton bloom should have been going for some weeks, which means that whales should now be gorged, making them more relaxed, playful and curious. The penguin and seal colonies should be very busy, with young now well on the way to leaving their nests and learning to swim in the open ocean.

only possible to visit during January