Avid watchers of nature programmes can unleash their inner scientist in Antarctica with Hurtigruten next year.
The MS Midnatsol, currently operating as part of Hurtigruten’s Norwegian coastal voyages programme, will head south to Antarctica and operate with an entertainment programme including an interactive science lab and a dedicated programme for younger guests.
The ship will be based in Punta Arenas and will explore the Chilean fjords, the Strait of Magellan and Cape Horn, before heading to Antarctica.
Those who have always fancied themselves as a polar scientist can experiment in a new interactive ‘science laboratory’ where they can participate in field experiments such as examining a 3-million year-old piece of ice through a microscope or studying meteors found on shore. They can also take part in a series of lectures from the team of on-board scientists.
Teenagers can join the ‘Young Explorers’ programme, a packed entertainment programme with a scientific theme.
Other activities on-board include film and photography workshops, wine-tasting sessions, barbecues and polar film festivals.
Visitors will be able to go kayaking or snorkeling through pristine waters or try hiking and snowshoeing on polar expeditions across the white expanses. There is even the chance to sleep out on deck under the polar skies.
The Midnatsol’s sister ship, the MS Fram will continue to be based in Ushuaia in Argentina and will offer a more intimate and adult-focussed programme. Her size means she can travel further south than her sister ship, visiting places that very few people ever get to see.
She will offer more challenging and extreme excursions than her sister ship such as longer and harder hike,s and a brand new skiing expedition across the Antarctic Peninsula.
Antarctica itineraries start from £3,535 for a Southern Hemisphere Adventure in an inside cabin on full-board basis, departing on 1 March 2017. Prices include return flights from Santiago to Punta Arenas. International flights arrangements are offered at a supplement.
