You may find this piece of spam interesting. I find it tempting.

Have you ever dreamed of visiting Antarctica? Now you can with BirdLife Australia and Aurora Expeditions.

BirdLife Australia has again partnered with Aurora Expeditions, the Antarctica specialists, to create the ultimate birding experience on a special voyage to Antarctica and South Georgia.

On board the intimate, 54-passenger ship, Polar Pioneer, you’ll travel from the Falkland Islands to the wildlife oasis of South Georgia before sailing to Antarctica. Accompanied by an expert from BirdLife Australia and Aurora’s team of knowledgeable guides, including a naturalist, historian, and polar specialists, you’ll embark on the birding adventure of a lifetime.

You’ll land ashore to visit the world’s largest King Penguin rookeries and observe at least five other species of penguins. Be mesmerised by numerous seabirds – including the world’s largest flying bird, the Wandering Albatross – as they wheel in the winds and follow in our wake. And capture your favourite bird on camera with tips from our expert photographers who will lead dedicated photography workshops during the voyage.

Daily landings offer the freedom to explore rookeries at your own pace, Zodiac cruises allow opportunities to get up close to the towering icebergs, and Polar Pioneer’s 24-hour viewing platforms allow constant wildlife watching across the magnificent landscapes.

As a BirdLife Australia supporter, we are inviting you to take advantage of an exclusive offer. When you book our special BirdLife Australia package, including the 18-day Antarctica and South Georgia expedition, return economy airfares, 3-night stay in Santiago, city tour and transfers.

FREE Santiago Birding Tour to tick even more birdlife off your Life List. Expedition package departs Australia on 16 November 2016.

Click here to download the Expedition Brochure and find out more about this exclusive BirdLife Australia expedition to Antarctica and South Georgia.

Not this year but one day

two words spring to mind;

cold
seasick

not sure it would be for me, just to see birds :)

party_pants said:

two words spring to mind;

cold
seasick

not sure it would be for me, just to see birds :)

I’d quite like to go to Antarctica just to see Antarctica.

https://www.google.com.au/maps/place/77%C2%B031’12.0%22S+161%C2%B048’18.0%22E/@-77.519984,161.8049486,3a,75y,268.48h,76.99t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1siOUfLoa4Om6o44ZySLdrJQ!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo1.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DiOUfLoa4Om6o44ZySLdrJQ%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D51.641827%26pitch%3D0!7i13312!8i6656!4m2!3m1!1s0×0:0×0

party_pants said:

two words spring to mind;

cold
seasick

not sure it would be for me, just to see birds :)

Go to the Reef out of Cairns. Lots of birds at Upolu Cay. Warm & no seasickness.

Tamb said:

party_pants said:

two words spring to mind;

cold
seasick

not sure it would be for me, just to see birds :)

Go to the Reef out of Cairns. Lots of birds at Upolu Cay. Warm & no seasickness.

It’s probably for advanced bird watchers who have already done the Reel out of Cairns and other similar approved.

party_pants said:

Tamb said:

party_pants said:

two words spring to mind;

cold
seasick

not sure it would be for me, just to see birds :)

Go to the Reef out of Cairns. Lots of birds at Upolu Cay. Warm & no seasickness.

It’s probably for advanced bird watchers who have already done the Reel out of Cairns and other similar approved.

The seasickness would be a huge deterrent.

Not everyone gets seasick.

twin cabin shared bathroom – first person $28195 Second Person $25720

twin cabin private bathroom – first person $33295 second person $30820

dv said:

Not everyone gets seasick.

True but the Southern Ocean makes the Bay of Biscay look like a millpond.

Arts said:

twin cabin shared bathroom – first person $28195 Second Person $25720

twin cabin private bathroom – first person $33295 second person $30820

Another major disincentive.

Tamb said:

dv said:

Not everyone gets seasick.

True but the Southern Ocean makes the Bay of Biscay look like a millpond.

Not even a real ocean.

Arts said:

twin cabin shared bathroom – first person $28195 Second Person $25720

twin cabin private bathroom – first person $33295 second person $30820

$5,100 extra for a bathroom.

decisions, decisions…

Tamb said:

Arts said:

twin cabin shared bathroom – first person $28195 Second Person $25720

twin cabin private bathroom – first person $33295 second person $30820

Another major disincentive.

Although, when I think about it mz Tamb had us fly to the UK to go to Crufts dog show… 3 times. So I suppose it’s different strokes…

dv said:

Tamb said:

dv said:

Not everyone gets seasick.

True but the Southern Ocean makes the Bay of Biscay look like a millpond.

Not even a real ocean.

The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean or the Austral Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica.

Tamb said:

dv said:

Tamb said:

True but the Southern Ocean makes the Bay of Biscay look like a millpond.

Not even a real ocean.

The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean or the Austral Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica.

Fake.

Arts said:

twin cabin shared bathroom – first person $28195 Second Person $25720

twin cabin private bathroom – first person $33295 second person $30820

yeah bu dv is rolling in the filthy, filthy lucre the the petroleum companies bestow upon him…

Funnily enough most of my dosh comes from other fields lately…

dv said:

Tamb said:

dv said:

Not even a real ocean.

The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean or the Austral Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica.

Fake.

So having a huge island in it disqualifies a body of water from being an ocean?

Witty Rejoinder said:

dv said:

Tamb said:

The Southern Ocean, also known as the Antarctic Ocean or the Austral Ocean, comprises the southernmost waters of the World Ocean, generally taken to be south of 60° S latitude and encircling Antarctica.

Fake.

So having a huge island in it disqualifies a body of water from being an ocean?

No, but not being anything like an ocean does. There’s no strait dividing the Atlantic, Pacific or Indian Oceans from the so-called Southern Ocean.

It makes as much sense as calling those parts of the Indian and Pacific Oceans that surround Australia a separate ocean. Less, arguably, since Australia is smaller.

If I was starting with a blank slate and looking at the globe, the first ocean I’d pick out is the Pacific. It is well bound by continents and by three straits much smaller than itself.

The Indian Ocean is also fairly clear, which is also bound by two wide yet obvious straits.

The South Atlantic again is quite well bound by three straits.

It would be a toss-up whether to separate the North Atlantic and Arctic Oceans because the strait between them is pretty wide compared to the scale of the Arctic.

But there’s no Southern Ocean visible.

Seems the wassernazis at the IHB are backing me on this one, for now.

By way of his voyages in the 1770s, Captain James Cook proved that waters encompassed the southern latitudes of the globe. Since then, geographers have disagreed on the Southern Ocean’s northern boundary or even existence, considering the waters part of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans, instead. This remains the current official policy of the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO), since a 2000 revision of its definitions including the Southern Ocean as the waters south of the 60th parallel has not yet been adopted. Others regard the seasonally-fluctuating Antarctic Convergence as the natural boundary.

“The Antarctic or Southern Ocean has been omitted from this publication as the majority of opinions received since the issue of the 2nd Edition in 1937 are to the effect that there exists no real justification for applying the term Ocean to this body of water, the northern limits of which are difficult to lay down owing to their seasonal change. The limits of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans have therefore been extended South to the Antarctic Continent. Hydrographic Offices who issue separate publications dealing with this area are therefore left to decide their own northern limits (Great Britain uses Latitude of 55 South.)”

Arts said:

twin cabin shared bathroom – first person $28195 Second Person $25720

twin cabin private bathroom – first person $33295 second person $30820

Now I see why they only get less than 60 participants.

dv said:

Seems the wassernazis at the IHB are backing me on this one, for now.

By way of his voyages in the 1770s, Captain James Cook proved that waters encompassed the southern latitudes of the globe. Since then, geographers have disagreed on the Southern Ocean’s northern boundary or even existence, considering the waters part of the Pacific, Atlantic, and Indian Oceans, instead. This remains the current official policy of the International Hydrographic Organization (IHO), since a 2000 revision of its definitions including the Southern Ocean as the waters south of the 60th parallel has not yet been adopted. Others regard the seasonally-fluctuating Antarctic Convergence as the natural boundary.

“The Antarctic or Southern Ocean has been omitted from this publication as the majority of opinions received since the issue of the 2nd Edition in 1937 are to the effect that there exists no real justification for applying the term Ocean to this body of water, the northern limits of which are difficult to lay down owing to their seasonal change. The limits of the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans have therefore been extended South to the Antarctic Continent. Hydrographic Offices who issue separate publications dealing with this area are therefore left to decide their own northern limits (Great Britain uses Latitude of 55 South.)”

Oh well, by this argument the Indian ocean also doesn’t exist, it’s just the western extension of the Pacific. And there’s no separate north and south Atlantic.

Cheeseman tours do birding tours to Antarctica and South Georgia Island. On their tours they allow you to stay on land for up to eight hours each day. Because tours can only land 50 people at a time some tours require you to take turns in going onto land to photograph the wildlife. They also allow you to utilise as much time as you want on land to photograph and/or watch the wildlife. The only catch is you cannot go to the toilet on land and must return to the boat to relieve yourself, that applies to all tours. Cheesemans offer you much more time watching wildlife if that’s what you are there for.

I have not been on one of their tours but have looked at which is best because I plan to go in 2018 and Cheesemans came out as the best IMO.

http://www.cheesemans.com/trips/south-georgia-oct2016

headsie said:

Cheeseman tours do birding tours to Antarctica and South Georgia Island. On their tours they allow you to stay on land for up to eight hours each day. Because tours can only land 50 people at a time some tours require you to take turns in going onto land to photograph the wildlife. They also allow you to utilise as much time as you want on land to photograph and/or watch the wildlife. The only catch is you cannot go to the toilet on land and must return to the boat to relieve yourself, that applies to all tours. Cheesemans offer you much more time watching wildlife if that’s what you are there for.

I have not been on one of their tours but have looked at which is best because I plan to go in 2018 and Cheesemans came out as the best IMO.

http://www.cheesemans.com/trips/south-georgia-oct2016

Sounds ok, what’s the bag limit?