For centuries, the North Pole was the ultimate prize for explorers, reached at a cost of inestimable hardship. Now Peregrine is making the Pole more attainable, reducing the cost of all its journeys aboard the world's most powerful icebreakers – to both the North Pole and Antarctica – by 15 per cent.
The Kapitan Khlebnikov and the nuclear-powered 50 years of Victory (which took 20 years to build) are two of the world's most powerful icebreakers, able to break through heavy pack ice to reach further into the icy realms at either end of the planet than any other passenger ship.
Peregrine's 15-day North Pole icebreaker adventure begins in Murmansk, Russia, above the Arctic Circle, before sailing north across the Barents Sea, carving a path through the sea ice. Seabirds are constant companions; whales are frequently seen – and on-board helicopters enable passengers to gain an aerial perspective of the vast expanses of ice. It takes approximately eight days to reach the North Pole, and stand at the top of the world – perhaps even take a swim. Heading south, the voyage visits Franz Josef Land, one of the most recently discovered archipelagos in the world. The 191 islands that make up the archipelago are the most northerly islands in Eurasia and are renowned for their inhabitants – from polar bears, artic foxes and nestling seabirds to whales and walruses.
The North Pole voyage departs from Murmansk on June 27 and July 9, 2009 aboard the 50 years of Victory at the new cost of US$19,286 per person, twin share, a saving of over US$3400, including arrival and departure transfers, two nights' hotel accommodation, all voyage activities and excursions, education program and meals.
At the opposite end of the world, the icebreaker Kapitan Khlebnikov ventures into the Weddell Sea on the eastern side of the Antarctic Peninsula. Peregrine's 14-day Emperor Penguins: Snow Hill Island Safari crosses the Drake Passage from Ushuaia, Argentina, rounding the tip of the Peninsula to reach the Snow Hill Island emperor penguin rookery, home to over ten thousand penguins. The group will spend three days with these fascinating birds, which thrive in the world's harshest environment: no other animal can survive on land through the Antarctic winter. Last year, passengers were treated to the sight of chicks sitting on their parents' feet, a la Happy Feet, the movie. Passengers can helicopter from the ship or walk through a sculpture garden of towering ice – keeping out of the way of the adult emperors tobogganing to sea to feed!
The voyage also explores the western side of the Peninsula, visiting highlights such as iceberg alley (the Lemaire Channel) and going ashore to visit Adelie, gentoo and chinstrap penguin rookeries and seal colonies and cruising in the Zodiac inflatable boats for close-up whale watching.
Prices for the Emperor Penguins: Snow Hill Island Safari start at US$15,291 per person, twin share– a saving of over US$2600, including arrival and departure transfers, one nights' hotel accommodation, all voyage activities and excursions, education program and meals.
For an even more extensive exploration, this voyage continues to the sub-Antarctic islands of South Georgia and the Falklands. The 22-day Emperors and Kings: Snow Hill and South Georgia voyage departs Ushuaia, Argentina, on November 15, 2009 and costs from US$24,216 per person, twin share- a saving of over US$4200. These islands – some of the most remote on the planet – are inhabited by overwhelming numbers of penguins, seals and seabirds, which throng the beaches beneath massive mountain peaks in one of the world's most spectacular wildlife displays.
For voyages onboard the Kapitan Khlebnikov, Peregrine guarantees not to impose a fuel surcharge, regardless of the price of oil when the voyages depart.
For further information, contact your travel agent or Peregrine Travel Centre, call 1300 854 500, or visit www.peregrineadventures.com.
