 Since 1991, Quark Expeditions has been the foremost provider of Antarctica cruises and expeditions to remote glacial regions. Six massive, powerful icebreakers, which are former warships transformed in to first class luxury liners, are used for these extravaganzas. It is an amazing, one-of-kind experience where participants see the magnificent White Continent. This is an opportunity for sightings that very few encounter.
You have either seen or heard of "March of the Penguins," one of the most phenomenally successful documentaries ever to hit theaters. Now the opportunity to make your own personal "movie," up close and personal, avails itself by booking passage on the upcoming Emperor Penguin Safari in October 2006.
It starts in Ushuaia, Argentina, aboard the Kaptian Khlebnikov, with hotel accommodations included. As you sail across the Southern Ocean, ornithologists will enthrall you with info on the biology and habitat of emperor penguins. Massive tubular icebergs come into view when the ship crosses the Antarctic Sound. At Snow Hill Island, a helicopter transports you to a spot just distant enough not to disturb the emperor penguin's rookery-where you will have extended time to see them frolic and care for young ones. Even imagining such an event is tingling.
The itinerary also includes plans to land on the Trinity Peninsula, enabling passengers to actually set foot on the White Continent. But visiting the penguin's rookery, with approximately 4,000 emperor penguins, is the top priority.
For LxM James Rothaar |
