Short on time? This Australian ship can do Antarctica at express speed

It seems unlikely that in this monochrome world, where the grey of the sky blends into the white landscape which in turn seeps into the deep blue-grey of the sea, you would see such spectacular patterns. But there drifts an iceberg – a block of flats silently bobbing past.

Its side, where it once sheared off from a huge ice shelf, is brilliantly jagged, made up of a million planes, infinite tiny angles all in a different shade. It’s like a Kandinsky painting in grey, a stunning pattern that glides past the window and further out to sea where it will one day disappear.

The many shades of Antarctica.

Antarctica is like that, transient and impossibly beautiful. Small moments grab you and then they vanish. Orcas appear by the side of your ship and then they’re gone; penguins waddle up to the water’s edge and disappear; entire days slip through your fingers, lost in the excitement of so much to see and do. And those icebergs appear, each entirely different, a work of art, a jagged fingerprint, a thing of wonder.

You get time to ponder this fleeting beauty in Antarctica. The trip I’m on is Aurora Expeditions’ Antarctic Explorer Express which is a nine-day journey – surely the shortest itinerary you can have while cruising this remote corner of the world. But still, there is time to think, time to percolate, to sit by a huge floor-to-ceiling window or stand out on a frosty deck and watch icebergs and search the sea for whales and let the Antarctic experience wash over you.

But yes, nine days. That’s just six nights aboard the ship itself, Aurora’s purpose-built, sparkling-new polar explorer, the Sylvia Earle, before catching a charter flight back to Chile from King George Island in the South Shetlands.

This itinerary is designed for the time-poor, those with commitments back home who can’t afford to spend three, four or even five weeks away on a standard polar expedition.

Penguins on the move.

Many on this trip, as you could probably guess, are Americans. Short vacations but plenty of enthusiasm. So, as long as you can put up with hearing about “Ann Arctica” for nine days, you’ll be fine.

We begin those nine days in Ushuaia, at the bottom of Argentina, where most southern polar expeditions begin and end. In true express fashion we make the crossing of the infamous Drake Passage at full speed to avoid the rush of an oncoming storm and so arrive at our destination in record time – the slick X-bow design of this ship piercing the waves for less than 48 hours before we are in sight of the Antarctic Peninsula.

Or at least, technically we’re in sight. Because it’s densely foggy the afternoon we arrive, a pall of grey hiding the wonders beyond. Those big icebergs, the first tangible evidence that we really are here at the end of the world, just appear out of the murk and then slip back behind the curtain, as if they never existed.

Our speed across the passage means we can board the Zodiacs for the first time this afternoon, when we should really be crashing into waves many nautical miles to the north. Instead we’re puttering around the icebergs in the Melchior archipelago, watching for the graceful rise of humpback whales nearby, seeing penguin colonies on shore, gaping in awe any time the clouds part and the enormity of Antarctica proper reveals itself.

Out and about in the Zodiacs.

And then, that evening during dinner, there are shouts from one side of the room: “Orcas!” We rush out to the railing and stare down as a pod of at least six orcas plays in the wash of our ship, breaching and diving for what seems like an eternity before they’re gone. Incredible. Welcome to Antarctica.

You find there are two distinct experiences on any Antarctic cruise, and on an express trip there is still plenty of time to enjoy both.

One is getting off the ship, piling into Zodiacs to either land on shore in various locations and explore, or motor through iceberg fields and along shorelines to spot birdlife and elephant seals and vast penguin colonies.

The sauna onboard – popular venue on an Antarctic cruise.

The other experience is just being on board the Sylvia Earle, feeling warm and comfortable while staring out of those windows and taking in the beauty of an untouched world; sitting with a hot chocolate or a cold beer and chatting to other passengers; dining on high-quality food in the restaurant and discussing the day that was or will be. There’s a sauna on board that’s well patronised. Two open-air hot tubs out the back. A gym that’s not quite as busy.

Day two on the peninsula begins with breakfast next to icebergs before another Zodiac tour, this time at Brown Station in Paradise Bay. In an attempt to stop the spread of avian flu into Antarctic penguin colonies, the call is made by our ship’s expedition team not to land here given there are so many animals in close proximity. It’s a shame to have to keep our distance but at the same time completely justified.

The weather is still heavy, lending an almost ominous air to the landscape draped in grey. In the afternoon we take another Zodiac trip around Port Lockroy, the site of a British research base.

It’s difficult to believe after a trip like this just how much can happen in a single day. All of these moments and memories, the sort you would hope to have maybe just one of in an entire journey, just pile into each other, hour after hour.

We see humpback whales breaching while we have breakfast the next morning; we walk among seal colonies as we land at Portal Point; we watch open-mouthed as yet more whales play just near our Zodiac on the way back to the ship; we strip off our clothes for a “polar plunge”, a dive into the icy Antarctic waters, after lunch; we motor through iceberg fields beneath massive, cracking glaciers at Recess Cove; we drink mulled wine and watch as the weather clears and incredible scenery is revealed from the deck before dinner.

Aurora’s Sylvia Earle travels through Antarctica.

How can all that happen in about 12 hours? It doesn’t seem real.

And then there’s yet another day after it, just as filled with awe and adventure. We explore the caldera of a live volcano. We spy a colony of chinstrap penguins at Half Moon Island in the South Shetlands. We have a final dinner on board during which time we discover that it is not, in fact, the final dinner because the weather forecast for the following day is bleak, with low-level cloud and rain, meaning planes can’t land. We won’t be flying to Chile after all.

This is the small issue with the express itinerary and indeed with any itinerary that relies on flights over the Drake Passage: sometimes those flights just can’t take off. The express might not be so express. Although when the “downside” is that you spend an extra day exploring King George Island, among more penguins, more seals, more giant whale bones strewn across beaches, you can come to terms with the inconvenience.

Because soon enough this entire experience will be gone, like an iceberg drifting into the fog.

THE DETAILS
Aurora Expeditions is an Australian-owned, polar-specialist cruise line with two purpose-built 132-passenger ships, the Sylvia Earle and the Greg Mortimer. Antarctic cruises with Aurora include all shore excursions and Zodiac cruises, educational lectures and guiding from expert crew, all snacks and house drinks, landing fees, medical treatment if needed, and much more.

There are options, too, to add sea-kayaking, paddling, snorkelling and photography lessons. A nine-day Antarctic Explorer Express voyage will run from January 17-25, 2026. From $US16,095 ($24,875) a person for a Balcony Stateroom. For latest information visit auroraexpeditions.com.au

The writer travelled as a guest of Aurora Expeditions