Journey Across the Southern Ocean To Antarctica

Travelling to Antarctica from New Zealand feels primal from the moment you set sail. The Southern Ocean widens, the air cools, and shapes appear on the horizon, carved rather than formed. Approaching the Ross Sea is a slow reveal. Ice builds up. Light sharpens. Days follow a rhythm shaped by weather more than clocks. The transition south is unhurried. You feel it.

This area is tied to New Zealand’s story of exploration. The voyage often includes the Subantarctic Islands: Snares, Auckland, Campbell, and Macquarie. Each one is unique. Wind-sculpted cliffs, fields of seasonal megaherbs, albatross soaring above open water, and sea lions moving along the shore.

Further south, the history of human endurance is palpable. Travellers can visit the preserved huts of Sir Ernest Shackleton at Cape Royds or Carsten Borchgrevink at Cape Adare. Their wooden rooms stand intact amid the vast ice and silence. Mount Erebus rises behind the landscape with quiet power. In McMurdo Sound, orcas sometimes feed at the edge of the pack ice. In the Ross Sea, the sun circles overhead without setting, creating a clarity that feels both grounding and otherworldly.

Respect shapes this experience. Wildlife appears in its own rhythm: emperor and Adelie penguins, royal and king penguins on the Subantarctic islands, whales in blue channels, and seals resting on ice floes. Modern expedition vessels have warm interiors and smart designs that keep the focus on the environment. For New Zealand travellers, this journey feels close to home, reaching a region just beyond our southern horizon yet entirely distinct.