MAWSON'S ANTARCTICA 18 NIGHT CRUISE

For many, the highlight of the voyage is a visit to Cape Denison, the site of Sir Douglas Mawson’s hut from the historic 1911-1913 expedition; a time capsule from a great era of exploration.

This is one of the most exclusive places on earth – more people have stood at the top of Mt Everest than have stood inside this historic hut. The voyage also takes us to Port Martin, the site of 100 grounded icebergs, allowing our guests to get up close and view these amazing sites; and Dumont d’Urville, the French base renowned for its rich local wildlife, including colonies of Adelie and Emperor penguins.

CRUISE SUMMARY
Day 1       Dunedin, New Zealand
Day 2     Snares Islands, New Zealand
Day 3     Auckland Islands, New Zealand
Day 4     At sea
Day 5     At sea
Day 6     Macquarie Island
Day 7     Macquarie Island
Day 8     At sea
Day 9     At sea
Day 10     At sea
Day 11     Commonwealth Bay Region
Day 12     Commonwealth Bay Region
Day 13     Commonwealth Bay Region
Day 14     Commonwealth Bay Region
Day 15     At sea
Day 16     At sea
Day 17     At sea
Day 18     At sea
Day 19     Dunedin, New Zealand

Dunedin
Orion’s shallow draft will allow her to cruise all the way into Dunedin city wharf (whereas other vessels berth at Port Chalmers) to provide guests a full day ashore to enjoy this charming city, regarded as one of the best preserved Victorian and Edwardian cities in the Southern Hemisphere.

Snares Islands, New Zealand – Scenic Zodiac Cruising
Two small rocky islands, North East and Broughton, comprise The Snares, the closest sub-Antarctic islands to New Zealand. The islands are covered with heavy tussock grass and wind-beaten forests of tree daisies. Weather permitting we'll launch our Zodiacs for an exploration of the sheltered eastern coastline as the island's wildlife protection program precludes landings. The Snares are home to huge numbers of breeding birds, 99 recorded species including albatross, Antarctic Terns and Snares Crested Penguins.

Auckland Islands, New Zealand – Wet landing
Sites in Port Ross may be visited including an abandoned Maori settlement, a German expedition observation point at Terror Cove and a WWII coast watching station at Ranui Cove. In Carnley Harbour castaway depots at Camp Cove, are marked by an A frame building built in 1887 by the crew of the Awarua, inscribed with the names of people from the French Bark Angou wrecked in 1905. We may cruise to Victoria Passage, a dramatic opening at the end of Carnley Harbour. The birdlife of Auckland Island is profuse.

Macquarie Island – Wet landing
Often described as one of the "wonder spots" of the world, the sub-Antarctic island of Macquarie has been said to rival South Georgia in its magnificence, scenic diversity and prolific wildlife. Designated a wildlife sanctuary in 1933 and a World Heritage Site in 1977, Macquarie now operates a full-time manned station where biological and meteorological research is conducted. The station, located on the isthmus at Buckles Bay, is from where we will collect the Tasmanian Parks & Wildlife rangers who will be our guides.

Sandy Bay, situated halfway down the island's eastern seaboard, is our planned landing site. The Zodiacs will traverse breakwaters of giant kelp before reaching rocky beaches where landing conditions can best be described as "wet and challenging". Once ashore you'll find the bay, with its rugged backdrop of mountains and tussockcovered headlands, is home to 20,000 breeding pair of royal penguins, king penguins, rock hopper penguins, gentoo penguins and elephant seals. This profusion of wildlife wasn't always so protected, the rusting remains of machinery used by whalers being stark reminders of the exploitation which took place on the island during its early history.

Commonwealth Bay Region
On 8 January 1912 Sir Douglas Mawson landed on the Antarctic continent after a journey from Hobart that took 36 days aboard the Aurora, a ship of just 612 tons. During these voyages to the Antarctic continent, Orion will be positioned in and around Commonwealth Bay on the Adelie coast of Antarctica. Your expedition team will lead a variety of opportunistic landings which may include sites at Cape Denison, Port Martin and Dumont d'Urville. In each instance landings ashore and Zodiac explorations are wholly subject to prevailing weather conditions, in an area Mawson described as "the home of the blizzard".

Mawson's Antarctica 18 Night Cruise Itinerary

Day	Itinerary	Ports Of Call	Shore Tours
1	Departs From	Dunedin
19	Arriving	Dunedin

Orion

Mawson's Antarctica 18 Night Cruise Departures

Departure Date	Cruise Code	Ship
28 Dec 2010	OCMA	Orion
01 Dec 2011	OCMA	Orion
03 Jan 2012	OCMA	Orion