A Rare Sub-Antarctic Voyage With Zegrahm

20-Day Luxury Voyage Travels from Tasmania to New Zealand to Explore some of the World’s Most Remote and Wildlife-Rich Islands

Zegrahm Expeditions is delighted to have been granted exclusive access to visit the fragile Sub-Antarctic Islands as part of its November expedition, Tasmania to New Zealand: A Voyage through the Sub-Antarctic Islands. With wildlife encounters that rival destinations like South Georgia and the Galápagos, the Sub-Antarctic Islands offer opportunities for travellers to spot more than half the world’s albatross species; eight penguin species, including five endemics; huge numbers and varieties of birds; as well as elephant, leopard, and fur seals; unique marsupials; and dolphins.

Highlights of Zegrahm’s exploration of this amazing area include:

Macquarie Island: One of the premier wildlife sites in the world, Macquarie Island features vast numbers of penguins, albatross and seals, and is the only place on the planet where you can find royal penguins.

Campbell Island: Enjoy up-close views of southern royal albatross, second in size to the wandering albatross, the largest of all flying birds. The combination of broad bays, vertical headlands, and surf-washed beaches is a photographer's dream.

Enderby Island: Sheltered by a canopy of twisted and gnarled rata forest, travellers will find red-crowned parakeets, yellow-eyed penguins, royal albatross, light-mantled sooty albatross and some of the rarest endemics in the world - Auckland shag, Auckland flightless teal and the snipe - plus beaches covered with Hooker's sea lions.

Snares Islands: Home to millions of seabirds that darken the sky each dawn and dusk, along with the endemic Snares crested penguin.

In addition to these amazing wildlife encounters, adventurers will be treated to five days exploring Tasmania and cruising through New Zealand’s picturesque Dusty, Doubtful and Milford sounds. This 20-day journey aboard the all-suite, 100-passenger Caledonian Sky takes place November 25-December 14 and is priced from $13,980 per person.

For more info, visit www.zegrahm.com and for more adventure-cruise ideas, follow this link to The Cruise Line, the UK's adventure cruising specialists.

Time Spent at Sea has moved and can now be found at World of Cruising. You can follow World of Cruising on Twitter and Facebook for the very latest in cruise news.

If you haven't already, subscribe to the World of Cruising magazine today.

Follow In Captain Scott's Footsteps with Orion

A recent BBC documentary, “The Secret of Scott’s Hut”, saw Ben Fogle join an expedition across Antarctica to find Captain Scott’s Hut, frozen in time for a century. The hut was built to support Scott’s 1911 attempt to be the first to the South Pole and was later abandoned together with 10,000 personal, everyday and scientific items.

In January of this year, Orion Expedition Cruises, the leading operator of five-star expedition cruising in the Australasian region, voyaged to Captain Scott’s hut from which he left for the South Pole, never to return. The 106 guests onboard were all lucky enough to enter the hut, which is a perfectly preserved time capsule of Edwardian England with all the tins of provisions in place and the men’s personal items where they left them.

In January 2012, Orion will again offer guests the opportunity to join a Scott & Shackleton’s Centenary voyage, which will cover some of the polar regions famously charted during the first race to the South Pole by pioneering explorers Scott and Shackleton. The Ross Sea coast extends from the ice shelf northwards until it reaches the very tip of Victoria Land and Cape Adare. While in the Ross Sea Region, a variety of opportunistic landings will be attempted, subject to weather conditions.

Joining guests and the specialist Expedition Team onboard Orion will be renowned scientist and media presenter Dr Karl Kruszelnicki. While onboard, Dr Karl will share his wealth of knowledge with guests through a series of fabulously entertaining and witty talks presented in his inimitable style.

Orion Expedition Cruises’ 20-night Scott & Shackleton’s Antarctica departs January 21, 2012, from Bluff, New Zealand, and visits Auckland Islands, Macquarie Island, the Ross Sea Region, Campbell Island and Snares Islands before arriving back into Bluff. Prices are from £14,625 per person, including 20 nights onboard Orion, all meals, entertainment and educational programmes, use of the ship’s sporting equipment and facilities, Zodiac excursions, port and handling charges, tender transfers and government fees and taxes.

For further information and reservations, visit www.orionexpeditions.com or talk to the UK's leading adventure-cruise travel agents, The Cruise Line Ltd, on 0800 008 6677.

Time Spent at Sea has moved and can now be found at World of Cruising. You can follow World of Cruising on Twitter and Facebook for the very latest in cruise news.

If you haven't already, subscribe to the World of Cruising magazine today.

Sub Antarctic Wildlife Adventure

By guest blogger Steve Newman

Here's a great option to voyage south - WAY south! - on the world’s youngest purpose-built expedition cruise ship, Orion, to the World Heritage listed Sub-Antarctic Islands and mainland Antarctica.

These expeditions particularly suit modern-day adventurers, those with an interest in polar exploration, nature lovers and keen wildlife and seascape photographers, as well as anyone with an adventurous spirit interested in visiting remote places of outstanding historic and ecologic importance.

Surrounded by the Southern Ocean, secluded and seldom visited, these Sub-Antarctic Islands have UNESCO World Heritage status, recognising one of our planet’s most important bio-diverse regions with their volcanic and glacial geological formations and extraordinary diversity of flora and fauna.

The remnants of the old whaling station on Macquarie Island, the high cliffs and numerous caves and arches formed by marine erosion on Campbell Island and the enormous sea stacks on the southern peninsulas of The Snares present dramatic contrast to the prolific bird life, penguins, fur and elephant seals, sea lions, killer whales and unique flora seen in this remote region.

This 13-night cruise departs Jan 15 and Dec 20, 2011, from Dunedin and visits Fiordland, Stewart Island, Snares Island, Auckland Island, Campbell Island and Macquarie Island before arriving in Hobart. Prices from £5,745 per person, including 13 nights onboard Orion, all meals, entertainment and educational programmes, use of the ship’s sporting equipment and facilities, Zodiac excursions, port and handling charges, tender transfers and government fees and taxes.

For more information on this and other sub-Antarctic expeditions, visit http://www.orionexpeditions.com/ or see the Adventure Cruise Collection of UK adventure crusie specialists The Cruise Line Ltd.

Time Spent at Sea has moved and can now be found at World of Cruising. You can follow World of Cruising on Twitter and Facebook for the very latest in cruise news.

If you haven't already, subscribe to the World of Cruising magazine today.

Experience the Heroic side of Polar Exploration

By guest blogger Steve Newman

Have you ever imagined spending New Year's Eve or early 2011 as part of an Antarctic expedition? If so, you can join the purpose-built expedition cruise ship Orion for a modern-day exploration of Antarctica with departures leaving from Dunedin (New Zealand) in December 2010, and Hobart in January 2011.

Cross the Antarctic Circle before heading for Cape Denison and a rare visit to Douglas Mawson's historic huts, built for the 1911-1914 'Australian Antarctic Expedition'; or explore the Ross Sea region, including Scott and Shackleton's bases still surviving from the 'Heroic Era' of Antarctic exploration. These timber buildings are rare in a world context and are literally frozen in time.

The purpose built expedition ship Orion (with the benefits of oversized stabilisers, retractable sonar and ice-strengthened hull) provides her 100 guests with all the needs of today's adventurers: technology, safety and creature comforts that include fine food and wines, a gym, boutique, hairdressing, sauna and massage facilities - as well as 80 staff, specialist lecturers and polar expedition crew to look after their every need.

These are true expeditions, crossing the Antarctic Circle and voyaging further south than the position of the South Magnetic Pole. Magnetic compasses are useless in these waters, an area that remains largely unsurveyed. Orion's ten Zodiacs, purpose designed expedition transport for intrepid modern day adventurers, will be put to good use for landings ashore in Antarctica and World Heritage listed sub-Antarctic Snares, Auckland and Macquarie Islands, pristine breeding grounds for a huge array of wildlife.

On Macquarie Island, the King penguin colony alone is estimated to have in excess of 170,000 breeding pairs. So rare are visitors here that they are usually ignored by birds, seals and penguins alike as they go about their daily business. See Elephant seals, some weighing as much as three tonnes - more than a car - and the massed gathering of Royal penguins coming and going from the sea.

These are never-to-be-forgotten expeditions to some of the most exciting and wondrous places on earth.

For more information, go to http://www.orionexpeditions.com/ or see the Adventure Cruise Collection brochure.

Time Spent at Sea has moved and can now be found at World of Cruising. You can follow World of Cruising on Twitter and Facebook for the very latest in cruise news.

If you haven't already, subscribe to the World of Cruising magazine today.