Fjords of Tierra del Fuego
Our Patagonia cruise tours follow the fjords of the southern edge of Tierra del Fuego highlights the stunning, natural beauty of Patagonia and several of its most important historical sites. Whether you are sailing aboard the Australis Cruise, this four-day journey includes visits to wildlife rich Ainsworth Bay, massive Pia Glacier and Glacier Alley, as well as mystical Wulaia Bay and the legendary Cape Horn.
Australis Cruises has two ships: M/V Stella Australis and from January 2nd, 2018 M/V Ventus Australis, twin ship of Stella Australis. 100 cabins. Weekly departures from Ushuaia (Argentina) and from Punta Arenas (Chile).
STELLA & VENTUS AUSTRALIS: 100 cabins of 16,5 mq, low beds, all of them with extern windows and private bathroom: 3 cabins cat. B, 34 cat. A, 36 cat. AA, 2 cat. AA superior, 23 cat. AAA, 2 cat. AAA superior. The different of costs depends on in which bridge are situated. Superior cabins are lightly more spacious: 20,5 mq.
Duration: 4 nights.
ALL INCLUSIVE (meals and beverages).
Promotional departures: 26 and 30 September 2018 from Punta Arenas, 02 April 2019 from Ushuaia.
Departures low season: October 2018 + from 17 to 31 March 2019.
High season departures: from November 2018 to March 2019.
On average: 8 monthly departures from November to March 2019.
PRICES: please contact us for your best quotation.
The price include: accommodation in dbl cabin, cruise as detailed in program, full board with beverages and meals, OPEN BAR from 12 to midnight, expedition in Zodiac and land excursions, life on board: information about the expeditions and entertainment.
Price does not include: tips, transfers or any other services not mentioned before.
Suggested outfit: trekking shoes, rain jacket, impermeable paints, warm and confortable cloth, hat, scarf (there won't be given any extra cloth on board, but there is a boutique).
Booking & deposits: It is required USD 300 per person to garantee the booking. Final payment must be done 60 days before the departure.
Notes: The company has the right to modify the rates and dates without previpus notice.
Time of arrival is approximate, the ship can be late due climate conditions, without causing any responsability to the company.
Number of nights: 4 |
|
Period: October - April |
Departures: Groups with fixed dates |
Minimum Pax: 2 |
Difficulty: Low |
Supplements:
IMPORTANT
Cancellation policy. Penalties: Cancellation between 120 and 60 days before the departure: penalty USD 300,00 p/pax.
Cancellation between 59 and 50 days before: penalty = 25% of total.
Cancellation between 49 and 40 days before: penalty = 50% of total.
Cancellation between39 and 30 days before: penalty = 75% of total.
Cancellation between 29 and the day of departure: penalty = 100% of total.
KIDS: From 0-3 years onld, free in cabin with the parents. From 4-12 years old: 50% discount in dbl cabin.
Port tax: USD 50,00 per person.
Suppl. SGL Cabin: + 50%
CAT AA: + 5%
CAT AAA: + 10%
Itinerary:
Day 1:
Punta Arenas
Check in at 1385 O’Higgins Street (Arturo Prat Port) in Punta Arenas between 13:00 and 17:00 (1-5 PM) on the day of your Australis cruise departure. Board the M/V Stella Australis (6 PM). After a welcoming toast and introduction of captain and crew, the ship departs for one of the remotest corners of planet Earth. During the night we cross the Strait of Magellan and enter the labyrinth of channels that define the southern extreme of Patagonian. The twinkling lights of Punta Arenas gradually fade into the distance as we enter the Whiteside Canal between Darwin Island and Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego.
Day 2:
Ainsworth Bay - Tuckers Islets
By dawn the ship is sailing up Admiralty Sound (Seno Almirantazgo), a spectacular offshoot of the Strait of Magellan that stretches nearly halfway across Tierra del Fuego. The snowcapped peaks of Karukinka Natural Park stretch along the north side of the sound, while the south shore is defined by the deep fjords and broad bays of Alberto de Agostini National Park. We go ashore at Ainsworth Bay, which harbors copious bird life and a colony of southern elephant seals which can sometimes be spotted from the Zodiacs. Two guided excursions are available: one is along the edge of a stream, peat bog and beaver habitat to a waterfall-and-moss-covered rock face tucked deep inside a pristine sub-polar forest; the other is a more strenuous hike along the crest of a glacial moraine. Both afford views of Marinelli Glacier and the Darwin Mountains.
Leaving our Ainsworth Bay tour behind, we sail west along the sound to the Tucker Islets. After lunch, we board the Zodiacs again for a close-up view of the Magellan penguins that inhabit the tiny islands. More than 4,000 penguins use Tucker as a place to nest, give birth and nurture their chicks. Many other bird species also frequent the area including king cormorants, oystercatchers, Chilean skuas, kelp geese, dolphin gulls, eagles and even the occasional Andean condor. In September and April -- when the penguins live elsewhere -- this excursion is replaced by a short walk to a glacier at nearby stunning Brookes Bay.
Day 3:
Pia Glacier - Glacier Alley
Overnight we sail around the western end of Tierra del Fuego via the very narrow Gabrial Channel, Magdalena Channel and Cockburn Channel. After rounding the remote Brecknock Peninsula, Stella Australis tacks eastward and enters the Beagle Channel again. By morning we are entering Pia Fjord and boarding the Zodiacs for a Pia Glacier tour. After disembarking we take a short hike to gain a panoramic view of the spectacular glacier, which extends from the mountaintops down to the sea or a longer much more difficult walk up a lateral moraine of the old Pia Glacier.
No one knows for certain how the hulking mass of snow and ice got its feminine moniker, but one theory says it was named for Princess Maria Pia of Savoy (1847-1911), daughter of the Italian king.
Back onboard the ship, we continue east along the Beagle Channel through an area called Glacier Alley. Living up to its name, the passage features a number of impressive tidewater glaciers flowing down from the Darwin Mountains and Darwin Ice Sheet on the north shore. Most of them named after European countries -- Holland, Italy, Germany, Spain and France.
Day 4:
Wulaia Bay - Cape Horn
During the early morning we navigate the narrow Murray Channel between Navarino and Hoste islands and drop anchor at historic 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 in the old radio station -- which is especially strong on the Yámana people and European missionaries in the area -- passengers have a choice of three hikes (of increasing degrees of difficulty) that ascend the heavily wooden mountain behind the bay. On all of these you will be strolling through an enchanted Magellan forest of lengas, coigües, canelos, ferns, and other endemic fauna to reach a panoramic viewpoint overlooking the bay. Before leaving Wulaia Bay, drop something into the wooden mail barrel inside the museum – letters or postcards meant to be hand delivered by future travelers – an ancient mariner tradition revived by Australis.
In the afternoon we cruise across Nassau Bay into the remote archipelago that includes Cape Horn National Park. Weather and sea conditions permitting, we shall go ashore on the windswept island that harbors legendary Cape Horn (Cabo de Hornos). Discovered in 1616 by a Dutch maritime expedition -- and named after the town of Hoorn in West Friesland -- 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. The Chilean navy maintains a permanent lighthouse on the island, staffed by a lightkeeper and his family, as well as the tiny Stella Maris Chapel and modern Cape Horn Monument.
Day 5:
Ushuaia
The following morning we sail into Argentine waters and dock in Ushuaia, the world's southernmost city.
Arrival at 08:30 a.m. and 9:30 am according to date of departure.
