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The Eight Albatrosses of Antarctica and the Sub-Antarctic
Our guests are typically wildlife enthusiasts, with a particular interest in bird life. While many bird lovers focus on the penguins we encounter, there's a smaller yet equally passionate group that favors the more airborne seabirds. Among this birdwatching subset, the albatross is a species that garners (and deserves) significant attention.
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Antarctica Cities (and Five Other Things That Don’t Exist There)
Why write about what you won't find in Antarctica? Most travel blogs highlight what a destination offers, but many polar tourists visit Antarctica to experience a new world and escape their old one.
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Going Green: Ascension Island Sea Turtles
Gold beaches, green mountains - and greener turtles.
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The Seven Best Things to Do in Antarctica
Unless you’re a scientist, there’s no such thing as a means-to-an-end trip to Antarctica.
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South Georgia in Spring
What a fantastic time to be in South Georgia! Perhaps the best time of the year! The wildlife is abundant, and the light is simply magical for photography. Kings, Gentoos, Chinstraps, and Macaronis are all present along the shorelines. Elephant and Fur seals are also plentiful! Wandering albatrosses are welcoming their newly hatched chicks, while the non-breeders are actively engaged in their courtship rituals, practicing a ceremonial dance. Light-mantled, Sooty, and Grey-headed albatrosses are still feeding their fluffy chicks, as are the Giant petrels. We've been fortunate with the weather, finding ourselves in the right place at the right time to succeed in all our landings and zodiac cruises so far.
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International Polar Bear Day
It will come as no surprise to you that we're crazy about polar bears. We have multiple blogs about where to find polar bears, we offer dozens of polar bear trips, and we've even written a short story from a polar bear's point of view. (Yes, we actually did that.) So if you were to say that our love of polar bears borders on obsession, you wouldn't be far off.
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A Look Into the International Research Stations of Antarctica
In 1902, William S. Bruce, along with a team of naturalists, explorers, and sailors, embarked on the first Scottish expedition to Antarctica’s South Pole aboard the Scotia. The Scottish National Antarctic Expedition (SNAE) aimed to establish the continent's first meteorological station and explore its largely undocumented biological, topographic, and meteorological features.
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Top 10 Antarctic Attractions
There’s a reason people go to such lengths to visit Antarctica, and its abundance of whales, seals, penguins, and seabirds are only part of the polar story.
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Six Seal Species You Might See On Your Greenland Cruise
If you spot a grand old whiskered man lounging in solitary splendor, there's a good chance you're looking at a bearded seal. Your Greenland cruise will take you to bays where these solitary fellows (except during breeding season) hunt for fish in the relatively shallow waters near the shores.
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Puffins: Clown Birds of the Atlantic
Puffins are part of a family of 22 seabird species known as auks, which are pigeon-sized birds that thrive on a diet of small fish and crustaceans.
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Ice streams and lakes under the Greenland Ice Sheet
The Greenland ice sheet is a dynamic mass of dense, flowing, and deforming ice. Snow deposited on the central parts of the ice sheet is gradually compressed into ice that slowly moves towards the ice margin. At the ice margin, the ice is removed by melting or by breaking off into icebergs.
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15 Toothy Facts About the Atlantic Walrus
The walrus is one of the most recognizable animals on the planet, and for good reason. Try sneaking into a cinema with those tusks!
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Harp seals harping on in Greenland
Harp seals are a moderately sized species, typically reaching about 1.6 meters in length and weighing around 130 kilograms. Both males and females are similar in size and weight, with males being only slightly larger. They possess a thick, robust body, a small broad and flat head, short narrow flippers, and a narrow muzzle.
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Five Reasons Why Snowshoeing is a Perfect Polar Activity
One of the most beloved polar sports is also one of the oldest. Snowshoeing has been the preferred means of foot travel in the Arctic since antiquity, and in the years since Antarctica was discovered, it has been highly popular among researchers and polar tourists alike.
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Living the Antarctic Dream
From October to March, during the Austral summer, thousands of breeding gentoo, Adèlie, and chinstrap penguins flock to the Western Antarctic Peninsula to rear their chicks and feast on krill before the harsh winter arrives. Alongside the penguins, field biologists from around the world gather to study these habits for conservation research. Observing these animals is one thing, but residing in an Antarctic field station for an entire breeding season is another. One particular field camp on King George Island, managed by American scientists, has perfected this Antarctic lifestyle and has thrived for over 30 years.
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The Ancient Fossil Forests of Antarctica
Over a hundred years ago, Robert Falcon Scott’s expedition to Antarctica discovered fossils of plants on the Beardmore Glacier, less than 500 km (310 miles) from the South Pole. Edward Wilson, who was the expedition’s chief scientist, recorded the findings in his diary, stating that “most of the bigger leaves were like beech leaves in shape and venation.”
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Flowers in Antarctica
The polar regions are among the most inhospitable environments for plants and animals. Life here faces numerous challenges, including low temperatures, high winds, solar radiation, and cell freezing. The Antarctic continent experiences extreme conditions, with darkness during winter and continuous light during summer. Winter temperatures can drop to -60°C or lower.
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Tracking Greenland’s Wildlife from Space
Despite Greenland’s harsh environment, life has found a way to thrive there. If you’re lucky enough to embark on a Greenland cruise, you stand the chance of encountering many species of cold-adapted mammals, birds, and fish.
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Seven Tips to Get the Most out of Your Expedition Cruise
Polar cruises are easy to enjoy, but there’s an art to getting the most out of them.
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The first race to the South Pole in 50 years
Before the South Pole could be reached, the question was what exactly lay at the southern ends of Earth. The concept of Terra Australis Incognita, an unknown continent, was first introduced by Aristotle, who reasoned that a southern landmass must exist to ‘balance’ the known lands in the northern hemisphere.