Join New Zealand Geographic Award-winning landscape and wildlife photographer Richard Young on a photography adventure of a lifetime, from New Zealand to the stunning Ross Sea region of Antarctica!

This exclusive photography expedition offers a rare opportunity to explore and capture breathtaking images of one of Earth’s most remote and pristine marine ecosystems – an untouched region of Antarctica that very few expeditions can reach.

You will have the opportunity to experience and photograph the Ross Sea region’s otherworldly beauty, characterised by towering icebergs, vast glaciers, the ethereal charm of endless ice fields, and an abundance of rare wildlife, including Emperor Penguins, orcas, seals, and soaring albatrosses.

You will also explore the historic huts of early Antarctic explorers Scott, Shackleton, and Borchgrevink, and witness the stunning beauty of the Ross Ice Shelf, the largest ice shelf in Antarctica.

With Richard as your guide throughout the expedition, you will benefit from his vast wealth of photography expertise and guidance, both on deck and on land. He will also dedicate time to tuition and review sessions, ensuring you leave the trip with incredible images.

This tour is not to be missed by any photography enthusiast or adventurer looking to experience Antarctica’s awe-inspiring beauty. (It departs from New Zealand.)

The Ross Sea
The Ross Sea region of Antarctica is one of the most remote places on Planet Earth and one of the most fascinating in the continent’s human history. With shipping restricted by impenetrable pack ice to just two brief months each Austral summer, few people have ever visited this strange and beautiful territory – opportunities are limited to a handful of expedition ships – unlike the much-visited Antarctic Peninsula.

The dramatic landscape that awed early explorers – Mt Erebus, Mt Discovery, and the Transantarctic Mountains – remains as inspiring today as it was 100 years ago. The penguin rookeries described by early biologists fluctuate in numbers from year to year, but they still occupy the same sites. The seals, no longer hunted for food, lie on ice floes, seemingly unperturbed. The whales, which were hunted so ruthlessly here in the 1920s, are now returning. Snow Petrels, Wilson’s Storm Petrels, Antarctic Prions, and South Polar Skuas all breed in this seemingly inhospitable environment.

There is so much to see and do there, from exploring historic huts and sites to visiting penguin rookeries, marvelling at the spectacular glacial ice tongues and ice shelves, and learning about icebergs and sea ice. Additionally, there are all the seabirds, seals, and whales to observe and photograph, modern scientific bases and field camps to explore, and simply the chance to capture the marvellous landscape that has always captivated visitors.

Locations we visit
• Cape Adare
• Cape Hallett
• Franklin Island
• Possession Islands
• Ross Ice Shelf
• Ross Island
• Mount Erebus – Cape Bird
• Shackleton’s Hut/Scott’s Hut
• McMurdo and Scott Base
• Scott’s Discovery Hut
• Terra Nova Bay

Subarctic Islands
The Snares, Auckland, Macquarie and Campbell Islands.

Our journey south to the Antarctic continent from New Zealand allows us to stop at the Subantarctic Islands. Our voyage south includes stops at The Snares, Auckland, Macquarie and Campbell Islands. These stops break our long journey, but more importantly, they help prepare us for what lies ahead, for these islands are part of the amazing and dynamic Southern Ocean ecosystem of which Antarctica is at its very heart. The islands provide some truly unique wildlife photography opportunities. We will get the chance to photograph five different penguin species – Yellow-eyed, Rockhopper, Gentoo, and the endemic Royal – that breed here, along with the vast colonies of regal King Penguins on Macquarie Island. Other wildlife photography highlights include the Southern Royal and Light-mantled Sooty Albatross, as well as gigantic elephant seals that all breed on these remote islands’ rugged landscapes.

Islands we visit
• Macquarie Island
• Campbell Island – Perseverance Harbour
• Auckland Islands – Enderby Island
• The Snares – North East Island