Safari to Antarctica East

extremely low visitor numbers

Antarctica East is the section of the southern continent that lies below New Zealand.

It is centred on the famous polar exploring locations around the Ross Sea and ventures south via the islands of the Antipodes.

Extremely few people head down to this part of Antarctica. Remarkably, fewer than one in a thousand visitors to the continent come this way, so there is a real sense of following in the footsteps of explorers.

The area is accessed mainly from New Zealand (occasionally from Australia), with just a handful of ship-based itineraries from 25-35 nights for around USD 750-2500 per person per night.

Ross Sea

Set 3300 km southeast of New Zealand, the Ross Sea is a large open bay that encroaches into the Antarctic landmass, providing safe landings and features of diverse interest, including some historic exploration bases. The area is the main focus of cruise ship itineraries, typically over 20-30 nights.

Antipodes

Set to the south and east of New Zealand, the Antipodes is a diverse collection of island groups, most of which are protected wildlife reserves, with remarkable populations of sea birds and marine mammals. The islands are a major feature of long cruises to Antarctica and can also be explored on shorter cruises that do not head all the way south.

The upside of there being so few ships operating in this part of the world is that choosing an expedition should be rather straightforward. In fact, there is presently only one option …

Operated by Heritage Expeditions, HE Ross Sea 29A is a twenty-nine night expedition on the 140 passenger mid-specification Heritage Adventurer, cruising from New Zealand, south via the Antipodes to the Ross Sea area of Antarctica, with activities including historic sites, walking, motorboat safari and wildlife viewing. January only.
There are two key locations in this Antarctica East region. Both are always combined in Antarctic expeditions.

Link : HE Ross Sea 29A

very few, very long cruises