Shackleton’s Footsteps - A Photographic Expedition with Paul Goldstein

Land Only

Day 1 Start Port Stanley, Falkland Islands

You will be picked up at the Port Stanley Airport and transferred into town. There will be time to explore the town of Port Stanley before boarding the ship.

Day 2 Saunders Island & Carcass Island

These remote islands are havens for extraordinary birdlife - both those that fly and those that cannot! They are a perfect introduction to the avian arsenal of the South Atlantic and will be extended landings (as will all on this expedition, weather permitting). Only a handful of people live on these islands but welcome visitors from small ships with open arms and cream teas. Both the islands have white sandy beaches unlike the South Georgian black ones and there are good chances to experience Commerson dolphins as they escort the ship and Zodiacs.

Day 3 West Point 

West Point is perhaps the most photogenic island in the Falklands. There is a frankly ridiculous number of seabirds and it is home to the much loved Rockhopper penguins. Dramatic and breath-taking, it is a venue for both wide angle and telephoto lenses. Mark and Paul will be on hand for advice throughout these excursions but will advise some personal time without megapixels for a few moments to really appreciate this ornithological haven. The Magellan will then sail East after the excursion with the bow set for South Georgia.

Day 4-5 At Sea

Enjoy this new sleek ship as she rides with the tradewinds at a fair clip East. This is the coldwater convergence so there will be constant squadrons of albatrosses of many varieties as well as pintadas, prions and the sinister Giant petrels. Paul and Mark will be giving a selection of photography presentations on board to ensure everyone is locked and loaded for the first South Georgia landing. There are historians on board as well as experts in almost every facet of Antarctica: ice, birds, ecology and pinnipeds. Critically this is a very comfortable ship and top in its class: important when you are at the mercy of the South Atlantic. 

Day 6 Elsehul Bay

If it lives in South Georgia you can be sure it lives in Elsehul, a beautiful crescent of a bay. Seals (thankfully not very many Fur ones), Gentoos, Kings and a whole host of seabirds are found here. It is also a very beautiful 'harbour' and as a first excursion is a lot more than just a polar hors d'oevre.

Day 7 Fortuna Bay & Grytviken

The expedition gets big league status today as Fortuna Bay is where Ernest Henry Shackleton finished the final part of his famous walk before arriving into Stromness harbour. If there is time, this section can be walked for those wanting to plant their boots in the footprints of the greatest of all the explorers. There are also thousands of penguins, seals and a captivating backdrop.The afternoon is a mandatory landing at Grytviken where passports have to be stamped. Grytviken has the legacy of whaling, the Endurance and indeed the first shots of the Falklands war forty years ago were fired here. There are Elephant seals, King penguins and nesting albatross. The museum is fascinating as is the whole place and worthy of an afternoon, it is also a sheltered bay where Red-billed Antarctic terns dive on even the suspicion of krill. After several hours the ship will depart just as Shackleton did over a hundred years ago, with perhaps not the comforts but no doubt a similar level of excitement.

Day 8 Gold Harbour 

There are much-heralded wildernesses in the world and then there is Gold Harbour. With a flexible itinerary we will try to go ashore at the first blush of the false dawn, fortunately in early October this should not involve a brutal wake up and we may well alter the clock from GMT (because we can!)  to assist our morning excursions. Over a hundred thousand King penguins, Elephant seals fighting turf wars on the sand and surf and huge meticulously formed hanging glaciers hovering over the bay. It is a top podium landing where most of Noah's polar lot can be seen, Gold by name .......

Day 9 St Andrews Bay 

If Gold is just that, St Andrew's could very well be platinum with almost a quarter of a million Kings. It is dramatic but sometimes tricky to land. However, we have time and devote a whole day to this South Sea treasure. Nobody arrives at a place like this by accident, you have to want to go and a long landing like this will leave an indelible mark on memories, mainframes and megapixels. It is little short of witchcraft.

Day 10 Cooper Bay & Drygalski

Cooper Bay is a striking stretch of coastline best accessed by Zodiac. It is also somewhere to spot the Macaroni penguins with their foppish fringes. Being a little more exposed it also invites dramatic brooding weather and is an extremely exciting excursion.Drygalski, named after the German geographer, is a huge spectacular fjord often choked with icebergs. This is accessed best by the ship itself and with plenty of vantage points this could easily rip a few gigabytes off your cards in a manner of minutes.

Day 11 Right Whale Bay & Salisbury Plain

As a day, it would be hard to beat this for wilderness anywhere in the world. Right Whale Bay is a particular favourite of Mark and Paul. It is wild, thick with penguins and on the Eastern Beach, which is unprotected unlike the landing site, there is huge swell with King penguins being spat out of the boiling surf and spume. There are many Elephant seals and it will be an early start.After a good lunch the mighty fortress of Salisbury Plain is breached. Not only does the black sand beach have some of the best surf photography anywhere there is also the massive concentrations of birds in front of the glaciers and towering mountains. Along the Northern side of the landing there is a sharp rise and it is possible to gaze down onto tens of thousands of birds circled by the predatory petrels and skuas. Salisbury Plain is probably one of the favourite landings for any visitor to South Georgia ....

Day 12 Salisbury Plain

Day 13-14 At Sea

Just because the expedition has left South Georgia does not mean it is over. Paul and Mark are experienced hands at the final sea days and alongside the equally seasoned Antarctic 21 staff, will make sure the final wrap up days are spectacular and also enjoyable, as well as informative as concluding montages are meticulously put together as well as the fiendishly competitive photo competition. A noisy chorus of countless seabirds will trail the stern's wake all the way to Stanley.

Day 15 Disembark in Stanley

Upon arrival at Port Stanley we disembark and transfer to the airport for the ongoing flight.