Drink the Wild Air with 1.5 Million Penguins
Live in the sunshine, swim the sea, drink the wild air.
Ralph Waldo Emerson
Amazing Discovery
In December 2015, scientists discovered a “supercolony” of 1.5 million Adelie penguins on the Danger Islands, a chain of remote, rocky islands in Antarctica.
About 2 feet in height, Adelie penguins can dive up to 600 feet deep, swim up to 185 miles round trip and walk up to 30 miles to find food. Male and female penguins both take turns sitting on their eggs, to keep them warm and safe from predators.
Top 3 Things to Do in Antarctica
- Danger Island: Newly discovered, spellbinding Danger Island is home to 1.5 million Adelie penguins.
- Lemaire Channel: This 6.8 mile long, narrow channel between Booth Island and the Antarctic peninsula is a photographer’s paradise, offering some of the most spectacular scenery on the planet. Snow capped mountains perfectly reflecting off the calm waters of the Antarctic and with icebergs bobbing all around you, the channel offers the quintessential Antarctic landscape. Giant glaciers tower over the channel and occasionally drop loads of ice that crash into the crystal-clear waters below. Orca, humpback, and minke whales often show up.
- Deception Island: Home to an active volcano, Deception Island is for the brave. Though the water is frigid, you can still wade into it for a minute or two, and then heat up by soaking in steaming thermal pools dug up on the beach. Though most of the volcano is submerged, there are a few walking and hiking opportunities. Deception Island is also known for its colony of 100,000 Chinstrap penguins.
Planning Tips
Permit: A permit is required to travel to Antarctica. Further, there are no tourist facilities in Antarctica. Therefore, the only way to experience it, is on a tour.
Best Time to Visit: October to March which is the period from Spring to Autumn in the southern hemisphere.
Key Decisions: There are two key decisions you must make when considering a trip to Antarctica.
- Fly/Boat: You can fly to and from Antarctica over the Drake Passage, saving six days of ship travel or you can take a ship across choppy Drake Passage.
- Small Boat or Large Ship: Small boats get you up close to wildlife and make landfall in hard-to-get-to spots.
Tour: Cheesemans’ Ecology Safaris offers once-in-a-lifetime, small group tours into Antarctica’s wilds!
Cheesemans’ Ecology Safaris grew out of Doug, Gail, and Ted Cheesemans’ passion for exploring, protecting, and learning about the incredible wildlife and environments found around the world. For more than 35 years, Cheesemans’ Ecology Safaris has designed and led nature tours to the world’s most ecologically diverse regions, emphasizing wildlife watching and photography with one simple goal in mind, to create life-changing safari experiences.
With maximum time out in nature, expert tour leaders, and a focus on wildlife and ecology, you will get to experience Antarctica, the way it should be experienced.
The Antarctic Peninsula Small Group Fly In and Fly Out or Sail Out Expeditions begin with a flight to the Antarctic, bypassing the Drake Passage, followed by sailing on a 12-passenger ship to experience the Antarctic Peninsula’s incredible vistas and abundant wildlife. Led by exceptionally experienced and knowledgeable expedition guides and crew, you will travel among curious penguins, whales, and mountainous scenery and benefit from the ease and flexibility of getting such a small number of travelers ashore. Conditions permitting, focus will be on areas completely out of range of larger tour vessels, such as the newly discovered Adelie penguin super-colony on the secluded Danger Islands, home to over 1.5 million penguins.