Celebrating Shackleton: Journey from Antarctica to South Georgia

Arrive in Buenos Aires at any time during Day 1 of your itinerary. Upon arriving in this splendid city, known for its architecture and rich European heritage, you will independently transfer to your group hotel (pre-expedition hotel night included in mandatory transfer package). 

Not only will guests experience the much-anticipated crossing of the Drake Passage, considered by many to be a polar rite of passage, they will also enjoy one-of-a-kind presentations from the expedition team members—and from our two distinguished special guests who have delved deeply into the life of Sir Ernest Shackleton.

In 2013, environmental scientist, author and explorer Tim Jarvis—with a crew equipped in era-authentic gear—re-enacted Shackleton’s 800-mile (1300 km) journey from Elephant Island to South Georgia in a replica of the 23-foot whaler James Caird. In fact, the foreword to Jarvis’ book, 'Chasing Shackleton: Re-creating the World’s Greatest Journey of Survival,' was written by Alexandra Shackleton, granddaughter of Sir Ernest. 

Also on board as guest presenter: mammologist, paleontologist, anthropologist and polar historian Ross MacPhee, a curator at the American Museum of Natural History, which hosted the ground-breaking exhibit 'The Endurance: Shackleton’s Legendary Antarctic Expedition.' MacPhee is the author of 'Race to The End: Amundsen, Scott, and the Attainment of the South Pole.'  MacPhee, who has participated in more than 50 scientific expeditions (including both Polar Regions), has also researched the extinction of early mammals who roamed Antarctica 45 million years ago. 

The Weddell Sea has profound meaning for admirers of Shackleton. This is where the explorer’s ill-fated ship, Endurance, crushed by pack ice, disappeared into the harsh waters in 1915. Despite the extreme harsh environment, the Weddell Sea region is known for its rich wildlife: seals, penguins and baleen whales.

Aboard Ultramarine—with its two twin-engine helicopters and 20 quick-launching Zodiacs—you’ll be able to explore by sea and air, an experience never before possible until the launch of this game-changing expedition ship.  

On April 9, 1916, after spending 165 days drifting through the hostile ice of the Weddell Sea, Shackleton and his crew reached remote Elephant Island, one of the outermost islands of the South Shetland Island chain. Arriving here today, 100 years later, you will see the island exactly as Shackleton and his men first encountered the brutish landscape. Yet to the stranded crew, Elephant Island was a haven, offering vital shelter while they waited anxiously to be rescued.  

We hope to visit Point Wild, located on the northern shores of the island, where Shackleton and his men were able to come ashore. This was the location where Shackleton launched his epic 650-mile (1046 km) boat journey aboard the James Caird, and where his men waited for his return. If conditions are ideal, we will launch our Zodiacs to get as close as possible to land, where guests can appreciate the immensity of the Shackleton feat. 

South Georgia is one of the most fertile breeding grounds in the world for sub-Antarctic wildlife, with beaches blanketed with penguins and seals. It won’t take you long to realize that you are in a bird paradise, as burrowing seabirds, albatross and petrels can be seen in abundance.

You’ll find that on South Georgia, once a popular base for whalers and sealers, visitors can see abandoned relics and evidence of human activity from centuries gone by. Your Expedition Team will help bring those days to life while you visit old whaling stations and enjoy presentations on the South Georgia of then and now.

In re-creating the voyage of the James Caird, Shackleton’s heroic open-boat journey from Elephant Island to South Georgia, our first planned destination on the island will be King Hakkon Bay—the very site where Shackleton and his men landed before traversing the island’s harsh interior. 

South Georgia is particularly significant and, for many guests, a poignant stop on this voyage that celebrates the life of Sir Ernest Shackleton, whose enduring legacy of Polar exploration lives on through the Quark Expeditions team today. After Shackleton’s death on January 5, 1922, the explorer’s widow insisted her husband be buried in South Georgia, which figured so prominently in his life and dreams. If conditions allow, we hope to visit Grytviken, one of the first whaling stations established in the sub-Antarctic waters. It’s also the site of the modest cemetery where Sir Ernest Shackleton is buried. Guests traditionally gather at Shackleton’s grave to pay homage and raise a toast to one of history’s greatest Polar explorers.

In addition to a historical visit to Grytviken and other whaling sites, you will have the opportunity to visit many of the pristine beaches, coves, and fjords that line the protected northern coast of the island. The wildlife density in South Georgia is unlike anywhere else in the world, and each stop during our journey will bring new adventures.

We will arrive in Ushuaia in the morning after breakfast. After disembarkation, we will taste a little of Patagonia by touring Tierra del Fuego National Park before we transfer to the airport for the return group charter flight to Buenos Aires.