Australis Expedition Cruise: Penguins and Glaciers

The first tour of its kind, our Gauchos, Glaciers & Penguins Patagonia expedition provides a round-trip experience from Punta Arenas, visiting by land and sea the stunning landscapes and wildlife of Tierra del Fuego. While on a Cape Horn cruise, we visit a small king penguin colony, before overnighting at Tierra del Fuego and and visiting an estancia (cattle ranch) the next day for a true gaucho experience.

We’ll then make our way into the lovely port of Ushuaia where we will embark on the Stella Australis. During this Patagonia adventure, we visit areas only accessible using our small expedition ship.

Our excursions via Zodiac take you sailing on Cape Horn, where you have the opportunity to disembark (weather and seas permitting) and visit Wulaia Bay, a colony of Magellanic penguins, stunning glaciers, and other areas visited by the great explorers. The voyage will end in charming Punta Arenas.

Ship: M/V Stella Australis

Day 1: Punta Arenas

Arrive in Punta Arenas and transfer from the international airport to the Hotel Cabo de Hornos on the main square in downtown Punta Arenas.

Day 2: Porvenir – King Penguin Park – Rio Grande

The journey begins early in the morning with a ferry crossing of the Strait of Magellan from the Punta Arenas waterfront to the town of Porviner on the north shore of Tierra del Fuego. The ferry journey normally takes around two to four hours depending on the weather and sea conditions. Founded in the 1880s, Porviner was settled by many Croatian immigrants and for a brief time was the hub of a local gold rush. Despite it’s small size, the Museo de Tierra del Fuego makes a worthwhile stop, with exhibits that range from 600-year-old Selk’nam mummies to the historian of Patagonian cinema.

Day 3: Gauchos – Ushuaia

We start the day with a gaucho experience and Patagonian-style “asado” barbecue at the 80-year-old Estancia Las Hijas, located about 50 miles (80 km) south of Rio Grande. Back on the road, the highway leaves the pampas behind for a landscape of Magellanic forest with snowcapped mountains in the distance. Herds of guanaco graze meadows on either side of the road. A brief stop in the hilltop town of Tolhuin affords views of Lake Fagnano, the island’s largest freshwater body. There’s time to munch pastries at the legendary Panadería La Unión before hitting the road again. Cutting through the southernmost part the Andes, we arrival at Ushuaia for check-in, boarding the Stella Australis and departure.

Day 4: Cape Horn – Wulaia Bay

y early morning, Stella Australis is cruising 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: Agostini and Aguila Glacier

After nightfall we reenter the Beagle Channel and sail westward along the southern edge of Tierra del Fuego into a watery wonderland protected within the confines of Alberto de Agostini National Park. Part of the channel is called Glacier Alley and on full moon nights you can often see several of the seven major glaciers that give the passage its name. Rounding the Brecknock Peninsula as the western extreme of Tierra del Fuego, Stella Australis is for a brief time exposed to the open Pacific. We then navigate a zigzag route through the Cockburn Channel, Magdalena Channel and Keats Fjord to reach scenic De Agostini Sound.

Day 6: Magdalena Island – Punta Arenas

After an overnight cruise back into the Strait of Magellan, we anchor off Magdalena Island, which lies about halfway between Tierra del Fuego and the Chilean mainland. Crowned by a distinctive lighthouse, the island used to be an essential source of supplies for navigators and explorers and is inhabited by an immense colony of Magellanic penguins. At the break of dawn, weather permitting, we go ashore and hike a path that leads through thousands of penguins to a small museum lodged inside the vintage 1902 lighthouse. Many other bird species are also found on the island. In September and April — when the penguins dwell elsewhere — this excursion is replaced by a ride aboard Zodiacs to Marta Island to observe South American sea lions.

After a short sail south along the strait, disembarkation at Punta Arenas is scheduled for around 11:30 AM.

*Camera extension poles are prohibited on Magdalena Island

The price does not include: travel insurance, administration fees, client contribution to the Compensation Fund for Customers of Travel Agents of $ 1 CAD per $ 1,000 CAD.