The Vancouver Aquarium Travel Program: Antarctica

Antarctica 2013
The Trip Of A Lifetime

January 27 - February 19

Join Dr. John Nightingale, President and CEO of the Vancouver Aquarium, on this once in a lifetime expedition cruise to Antarctica, via the Falkland Islands and South Georgia.

Spend three nights in Buenos Aires before flying to Ushuaia where you will board the well-appointed research vessel Akademik loffe and embark on a 19 day expedition.  The first point of call is the Falkland Islands where you will see rookeries of rockhopper and Magellanic penguins and visit the city of Stanley.  The next stop is South Georgia, the most rugged island in the region, where king penguins in the hundreds of thousands cover every inch of the shore.  Fur seals can also be seen, as well as skuas, giant petrels and the majestic albatross. 

Amid increasingly large icebergs you will see the mist-shrouded South Orkneys before moving on to Elephant Island and the South Shetlands. Adelie, chinstrap and gentoo penguins thrive in this area, along with several species of seal.  Finally, after much anticipation, you will arrive at the Antarctic mainland where the view of the colossal icebergs and seemingly endless Antarctic ice sheet is truly breathtaking.  Weather permitting, you will undertake a shore excursion and set foot on the White Continent itself!

Our voyage will not only include Dr. John Nightingale, but also Dr. Stephen Bailey, an ornithologist and two nature photographers - Daisy Gilardini & David McKeon.

Daisy Gilardini
Photographer in residence
Extremely diverse in her photography of the natural world Daisy brings passion and inspiration to those she travels with. As a BBC wildlife photographer of the year winner and many other accolades, Daisy's position as photographer in residence allows her time to spend with those interested in photography.

David McKeon
Photographer in residence
Both a photographer and artist David brings a creative flair to capturing the feel of areas travelled. 

Dr. Stephen Bailey
Ornithologist
Whilse managing collections of bird and ammal specimens for first the Museum of Vertebrate Zoology and then the California Academy of Sciences he worked personally with about 500,000 scientific specimens. His last twelve years of 'day job' were as the Director of the Pacific Grove Museum of Natural History in California, and he took early retirement in 2004 to travel the world and share its natural wonders with like minded travelers onboard with One Ocean Expeditions. For over 50 years Steve has been birding passionately. Over this time he has become known for his expertize in seabirds and particularly the tubenoses.