8D/7N | Punta Arenas / Punta Arenas | From January to March 2018
DAY 1 - PUNTA ARENASCheck in and board the M/V Stella Australis (6 PM). After a welcoming toast and introduction of captain and crew, the ship
DAY 2 - AINSWORTH BAY & TUCKERS ISLETSBy dawn the ship is sailing up Admiralty Sound (Seno Almirantazgo), a spectacular offshoot of the Strait of Magellan that
DAY 3 - PIA GLACIER & GLACIER ALLEYOvernight we sail around the western end of Tierra del Fuego via the very narrow Gabrial Channel, Magdalena Channel and
DAY 4 - CAPE HORN & WULAIA BAYDuring the early morning we navigate the narrow Murray Channel between Navarino and Hoste islands and drop anchor at
DAY 5 - USHUAIAThe following morning we sail into Argentine waters and dock in Ushuaia, the world’s southernmost city. Disembarkation is
DAY 9 - CAPE HORN & WULAIA BAYBy early morning, Ventus Australis is cruising across Nassau Bay into the remote archipelago that includes Cape Horn National Park. Discovered in 1616 by a Dutch maritime expedition, Cape Horn is a sheer 425-meter (1,394-foot) high rocky promontory overlooking the turbulent waters of the Drake Passage. For many years it was the only navigation route between the Pacific and Atlantic, and was often referred to as the « End of the Earth. » The park was declared a World Biosphere Reserve by UNESCO in 2005. Sailing back across Nassau Bay, we anchor at fabled Wulaia Bay, one of the few places in the archipelago where the human history is just as compelling as the natural environment. Originally the site of one of the region’s largest Yámana aboriginal settlements, the bay was described by Charles Darwin and sketched by Captain FitzRoy in the 1830s during their voyages on the HMS Beagle. This area is also renowned for its mesmerizing beauty and dramatic geography. After a visit to the Australis-sponsored museum, passengers have a choice of three hikes (of increasing degrees of difficulty) that ascend the heavily wooden mountain behind the bay.
DAY 7 - DE AGOSTINI SOUND & AGUILA GLACIERAfter nightfall we reenter the Beagle Channel and sail westward along the southern edge of Tierra del Fuego into watery
DAY 8 - MAGDALENA ISLAND & PUNTA ARENASAfter an overnight cruise through Magdalena Channel and back into the Strait of Magellan, we anchor off Magdalena Island,
|