Invercargill

Bluff (Invercargill), New Zealand Latitude: 46°35'S Longitude: 168°18'E The largest urban centre in New Zealand's Southland is Invercargill, a city of 49,000 people. Visitors come to admire the elegant Victorian and Edwardian buildings, gardens and landscaped parks. The fishing port of Bluff is a half hour drive south from Invercargill and is home to the famous Bluff oyster and a lively annual seafood festival. From Bluff, visitors can catch a ferry to Stewart Island - a haven for native bird life and the only place in New Zealand where you can readily see kiwi in their natural habitat.

Snares Island

Snares Islands, New Zealand – Scenic Zodiac Cruising Latitude: 47°60'S Longitude: 166°35'E Two small rocky islands, North East and Broughton, comprise The Snares, the closest sub-Antarctic islands to New Zealand. The islands are covered with heavy tussock grass and wind-beaten forests of tree daisies. Weather permitting we'll launch our Zodiacs for an exploration of the sheltered eastern coastline as the island's wildlife protection program precludes landings. The Snares are home to huge numbers of breeding birds, 99 recorded species including albatross, Antarctic Terns and Snares Crested Penguins.

Auckland Islands

Journey in Zodiacs in Sandy Bay on Enderby Island at the northern end of Auckland Island. Here you can view a large Hooker Sea Lion colony with pups all jostling for position.  You may also see the rare Yellow-Eyed Penguin as they move to and from their nests in the forests beyond the beach.

Commonwealth Bay

 Historically, on 8 January 1912 Sir Douglas Mawson landed on the Antarctic continent after a journey from Hobart that took 36 days aboard the Aurora, a ship of just 612 tons. During these voyages to the Antarctic continent, most cruises will be positioned in and around Commonwealth Bay on the Adelie coast of Antarctica. ,Most expedition teams will lead a variety of opportunistic landings which may include sites at Cape Denison, Port Martin and Dumont d'Urville. In each instance landings ashore and Zodiac explorations are wholly subject to prevailing weather conditions, in an area Mawson described as "the home of the blizzard".

Macquarie Island

Macquarie Island 
Latitude: 54°29'S
Longitude: 158°56'E

Often described as one of the "wonder spots" of the world, the sub-Antarctic island of Macquarie has been said to rival South Georgia in its magnificence, scenic diversity and prolific wildlife. Designated a wildlife sanctuary in 1933 and a World Heritage Site in 1977, Macquarie now operates a full-time manned station where biological and meteorological research is conducted. The station, located on the isthmus at Buckles Bay, is from where we will collect the Tasmanian Parks & Wildlife rangers who will be our guides.

Sandy Bay, situated halfway down the island's eastern seaboard, is our planned landing site. The Zodiacs will traverse breakwaters of giant kelp before reaching rocky beaches where landing conditions can best be described as "wet and challenging". Once ashore you'll find the bay, with its rugged backdrop of mountains and tussockcovered headlands, is home to 20,000 breeding pair of royal penguins, king penguins, rock hopper penguins, gentoo penguins and elephant seals. This profusion of wildlife wasn't always so protected, the rusting remains of machinery used by whalers being stark reminders of the exploitation which took place on the island during its early history.

Hobart

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Orion Expedition Cruises

Orion

• Constellation Restaurant
• Delphinius Outdoor Cafe

• Leda Lounge and Cocktail Bar
  
• Onboard Specialist Lecturers
• Lecture Theatre

• Gymnasium
• Libary
• Boutique
• Hair and Beauty Salon
• Jacuzzi
• Sporting Facilities
• Vega Health Spa

Ship facts

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