Antarctica Photography Expedition with Daniel Kordan - 2024

The Drake passage is the most difficult part of this expedition as this is known for its furious winds and many people are worried about it.  And no doubt that crossing this passage will be a great achievement.  Each time the condition is different: sometimes everything is clear but sometimes it can be wavy, best is to come prepared and bring plenty of motion sickness tablets and patches. 

After we cross the Drake Passage, we will be able to see the beautiful mountains and icebergs of the South Shetland Islands.  Our first landing spot is the Bellingshausen Polar Station located in the Waterloo Island where you will see how Russian polar explorers live.  We'll visit the southernmost church on the Earth — the Saint Trinity Church plus, we will get the chance to experience a Russian sauna.

On the 7th day, we are going to explore the Yankee Harbour Islands and the Halfmoon Island. Yankee Harbour is a protected harbour with a pebble coast where you can find some Gentoo penguin colonies, elephant seals and even fur seals. In Halfmoon Island, we can make different landscape compositions with the Antarctic moss plus if lucky we get to see some elephant seals, gentoo, chinstrap penguins and giant petrels.

We will spend a night in a submerged caldera of one of the active volcanoes in Deception Island. The island structure resembles a horseshoe with the best natural harbour inside where one can find shelter and wait till the rough weather subsides. There was a whale factory here at the beginning of the 20th century; its remains are still here. The Bailey Head headland, located on the outer part of the island, is inhabited by the largest colony of Antarctic penguins. This is an amazingly beautiful place — and it is equally amazing to land but in order to get there we'll need zero wind and still ocean.

On day 9th day, we will sail on a boat among the huge icebergs and cliff arches coming out of the water.

We'll moor for a night to a sunken ship in the place called Enterprise. But on the daytime, if we are lucky, we'll see one of the most stunning wildlife activities — bubble net feeding, the process when the whales blow bubbles from their noses to encircle their food like a net, and then several whales come up to the surface at once and gulp up the krill caught into their bubble trap. From above these bubbles look like an even spiral. That is an unbelievable, breathtaking show!  

We'll head after to Orne Harbour where we will see the Gentoo penguins colony and blue-eyed shags. If the weather is good, we'll have the chance to climb some hill and watch the whales and seals. From this viewpoint also, you will see a panorama of the island clusters and icebergs.

We will also explore the Cuverville Island Bay and Neko Harbour. You may photograph the icebergs around the dark, cliffy island of Cuverville. Wildlife photography includes a colony of papua penguins and the seals who are enjoying themselves on the ice floes. There is another penguin colony which inhabits the Neko Harbour. However, our focus in this island is to witness the calving off of the ice chunks in the gigantic glacier as it falls into the water with a roaring sound and makes a big wave.

We will cross the Lemaire Channel which separates the Booth Island from the Antarctic Peninsula mainland. The narrowest point of this channel is only 300 meters wide.  This is an amazing experience to see the sheer cliffs up to 400 meters high rising from both sides of the vessel. Plus orcas and humpback whales are usually spotted in this area. Sailing through this channel is one of the best moments of the Antarctic cruise. 

Next is the Yalour Islands, a group of low rocky islands not far from the Academic Vernadsky station. This island is surrounded by icebergs and ice floes with seals resting on them plus some colonies of Adélie penguins.

We will then stop at Port Lockroy station where you can send postcards. From a whale factory at the beginning of the 20th century, it was trasformed into a British Antarctic Exploration Centre, and in 1996 they turned it into a museum and the southernmost post office in the world. You can mail a postcard or a letter from here, and buy some souvenirs.

We will sail back to Ushuaia so we pass by the Drake Passage again. We'll enjoy a traditional barbecue at the end of the expedition as we share and cherish our Antarctic experience.  We’ll have reached the end of our adventure to one of the last great wildernesses on the planet.  Please have at least 3 days after we finish the tour in Ushuaia.