AUSTRALIS Tierra Del Fuego Cruise

USHUAIA to PUNTA DE ARENAS on the AUSTRALIS

We cruised on the Australis from Ushuaia to Puntas De Arenas through fjords and channels, past glaciers flowing into the sea. A dramatic part of the world, close to the Antarctic.

USHUAIA

The southernmost city in South America, Ushuaia is itself a charming town surrounding my majestic scenery of mountains, cliffs, icebergs and sea. We sailed off with Ushuaia’s lights and snowy mountains in the background.

AUSTRALIS CRUISE

In the morning we visited Cape Horn, the southern tip of the continent. We boarded zodiacs for the visit on a rainy windy day. Not unusual at this point in the world. But we made it to the the monument at the top of the island. Thankfully, the conditions were never that bad the rest of the voyage. Later that day, we hiked on a beautiful island.

On the ship we could follow our voyage on chart-screens updated as we went along. We traveled through channels lined with snowcapped peaks. We became very good friends with a father, David, and son, Jeremy, traveling together. Here’s Jeremy, Sarah, David and Chris on one of the expeditions.

The next day we visited our first a glacier (left), a loudly cracking and creaking calving hunk of ice, oozing down the mountain at a meter per day and 7 kilometers long. Later that day we visited another glacier with a glacial lake behind it.

The next day started with a Zodiac ride through fields of ice to visit a beautiful glacier having a waterfall and remarkable towers of jagged ice. We took some shards of the glacier. Then we hiked to another glacier mirrored in the water.

On our final cruise day, we visited an island populated with penguins, delightfully amusing creatures to watch. Emerging from their burrows, they stand around or gather for “meetings”, or re-enact the cover of Abbey Road (a great picture taken by Jeremy). Then waddle down to the sea for a dip and breakfast.

We had a wonderful time in this unique part of the world. I'd love to help plan and book your trip to this Antarctic world.