Aurora Expeditions has launched its exciting and intrepid new Global and Arctic 2022 program aboard both the Greg Mortimer, and the company’s newest ship, the Sylvia Earle, which is on track for delivery in October 2021.
The program features 12 brand new itineraries and destinations that continue to push the boundaries of expedition voyaging and will take expeditioners to some breathtaking and incredible remote corners of the planet, including the Russian Far East, Raja Ampat, Alaska, the Northwest Passage, and Baja California.
Both the Sylvia Earle and the Greg Mortimer Global and Arctic 2022 programs will visit some of the Mission Blue Hope Spots, as championed by Sylvia Earle herself. These include The Gulf of California, the Coral Triangle and Misool Marine Reserve in Raja Ampat, and the Northwest Passage. Through visiting these places, Aurora Expeditions aims to raise further awareness of the importance of conserving these incredibly biodiverse, marine areas.
Some of the main itinerary highlights of the new Aurora Expeditions Global and Arctic 2022 program include a 17-day journey through the Northwest Passage on the Greg Mortimer, during which guests will be afforded a glimpse into the world that captivated early explorers such as Franklin, Amundsen, and Larsen. Passengers will visit the final resting places of some of the legendary explorers who have ventured here and experience the archipelago of islands and channels that make up Canada’s High Arctic region. Along the way, there will be chances for guests to meet the local indigenous people who call this remote wilderness home, and encounter enigmatic Arctic wildlife, including walrus, beluga whale, polar bear, and the elusive narwhal.
The 16-day Wrangle Island voyage aboard the Sylvia Earle departs from Nome, Alaska, bound for one of Russia’s most remote and treasured wildlife sanctuaries, Wrangel Island Nature Reserve. Discover a wonderland offering the world’s highest concentration of polar bear dens (home to both parents and cubs), the largest population of Pacific walrus, nesting grounds for 100 migratory bird species, including snowy owls, snow geese, and long-tailed skuas; and reindeer, musk oxen, and arctic fox.
Having escaped glaciation during the last ice age, Wrangel Island is a bonsai garden of some 400 plant species and boasts a human history as spare and dramatic as the land. Guests will explore the Chukotka coast, where beluga, gray, and humpback whales feed and experience traditional Chukchi life before returning to Nome.
The nine-day Baja California and Sea of Cortez itinerary aboard the Sylvia Earle explores a body of water once famously dubbed the ‘aquarium of the world.’ The rugged islands, coastal desert, and surrounding turquoise waters are of striking natural beauty. The islands and protected areas of the Gulf of California are one of Dr. Sylvia Earle’s designated Hope Spots and a UNESCO World Heritage-listed site. It is one of the most productive ocean regions in the world, home to over 900 species of fish, including sharks – 90 of them endemic – as well as more than 2,000 invertebrate species and a variety of whales, dolphins, rays, sea turtles, and sea lions.
Sailing aboard the Sylvia Earle, the 13-day Alaska Adventure & Haida Gwaii journey weaves through fjords, coves, and bays that are best enjoyed on a small ship, and offers guests chances to explore small settlements, including Annette Island’s Metlakatla Indian Community, the only Indian Reserve in Alaska. In Sitka Sound, passengers will Zodiac-cruise at Saint Lazaria National Wildlife Refuge, home to over 500,000 breeding seabirds, as bald eagles and peregrine falcons circle the skies and Mount Edgecumbe looms nearby.
In Misty Fjords National Monument, the ship will sail along Tracy Arm Fjord towards the splendid twin Sawyer Glaciers, and, with special permission, will visit Haida Gwaii, where indigenous Haida guides will welcome guests to their community and share stories about their history and culture. Near Bella Coola, Nuxalk Nation guides will lead expeditioners on an exclusive excursion for a grizzly bear encounter, a unique selling point of this voyage.
During the 14-day voyage through remote Raja Ampat in eastern Indonesia aboard the Sylvia Earle, intrepid travelers will explore a melting pot of culture, history, and nature. Discover the influence of Melanesia, Islam, and the Portuguese explorers and Dutch traders who ventured to the ‘Spice Islands’ in search of highly prized spices such as nutmeg. Raja Ampat is also a marine biodiversity hotspot. With 75 percent of the world’s coral species and over 1,500 species of tropical fish found here, it is a paradise for divers and snorkellers.
Finally, the 17-day Kamchatka & Chukotka adventure, also aboard the Sylvia Earle, allows guests to soak in coastal hot springs serenaded by thundering waterfalls, Zodiac cruise along black-sand beaches, where Kamchatka brown bears and cubs forage and share swift rivers with Steller’s sea eagles diving on salmon. There will be time to visit the Commander Islands (‘South Georgia of the North Pacific’) where seabirds populate a breathtaking maze of arches and sea stacks and where Red-legged kittiwakes, red-faced cormorants, parakeet, whiskered auklets, and perhaps even Laysan albatross are on show. Passengers will visit the grave of explorer Vitus Bering near waters bustling with sea lions, fur seals, and busy sea otters, while orcas and humpback whales patrol the bays, and, in Chukotka, enjoy tundra wildflowers, cliff-climbing bears, and a warm welcome by reindeer herders.
Other new itineraries include Greenland Odyssey, Kuril Islands, Baja California Odyssey, Aleutian Islands, Alaska Odyssey, and Alaska Adventure. These new itineraries sit alongside some of our most popular Arctic voyages including Svalbard Odyssey, Iceland Circumnavigation, and Jewels of the Arctic.
Aurora Expeditions has also revealed tantalizing details of its latest ship, the Sylvia Earle. Named after the world-renowned oceanographer and marine conservationist, the Sylvia Earle features a cutting-edge Ulstein X-BOW, a core design element that’s essential to the speed, agility, and impressive fuel efficiency of ships in the Aurora Expeditions fleet.
The Sylvia Earle will be the second in the fleet to sail with the patented ULSTEIN X-BOW, whose inverted design, in combination with Rolls-Royce dynamic stabilizers, offers unrivaled stability and comfort on ocean crossings. The Ulstein X-BOW on the Sylvia Earle is predominately glass, offering extraordinary views to the front of the ship. In polar regions, this means that passengers will be able to appreciate the majesty of an iceberg immediately as it appears on the horizon. The vessel will also feature an outdoor swimming pool, heated by repurposing engine heat, which will be a welcome addition in warmer regions.
The ship will visit many new destinations within the Aurora Expeditions program, including Alaska, Baja California, the Russian Far East, Raja Ampat, and West Papua. Many of the itineraries also visit Mission Blue Hope Spots including The Gulf of California, the Coral Triangle, and Misool Marine Reserve.
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