In Shackleton’s Footsteps
Starts and Ends in
Call Us for Pricing
pp twin share
Departing
01 Jan 2001
Duration
0 days
Activity Level
Daily shore excursions, guided hikes & outings
Moderate
Season
2025, 2026
Polar Expeditions
Passengers
Neko Harbour, Antarctica | Credit: Adrian Wlodarczyk
Ice in Cuverville Island
Antarctica | Credit: Adrian Wlodarczyk
Shackleton's Walk
King Penguins
South Georgia | Credit: Tyson Mayr
Four Adelie Penguins
Antarctica | Credit: Scott Portelli
Zodiac Cruising
Antarctica | Credit: Jaime Lafferty
Kayaking at Paradise Harbour
Paradise Harbour, Antarctica | Credit: David Jaffe
Fur Seal in Godthul
Godthul, South Georgia | Credit: Pia Harboure
South Georgia
In Shackleton’s Footsteps
Highlights
Florence Kuyper
Expedition Leader
After receiving her Masters degree in Educational Psychology in the Netherlands, Florence had a long career as a consultant-manager in the field of social affairs. Fluent in french, she is a cosmopolitan with a passion for deserts, history and nomadic people around the globe.
In 2004, she went for the first time to the big white desert; Antarctica, and her passion for this continent has drawn her back ‘South’ ever since. But Florence can also do extreme heat: she crossed 1,200 km of Mongolian desert on foot, together with a team and her Bactrian camel.
Florence also works on sailing yachts in the Arctic and Antarctica. She was Base Leader at Port Lockroy, a British historical base on the Antarctic Peninsula. Florence has worked in both polar regions since 2012 and she looks forward to sharing her knowledge and unlimited passion for the polar regions with you, especially in the field of history.
Ian McCarthy
Naturalist
Ian has worked as a wildlife filmmaker for over 30 years, mostly for the BBC Natural History Unit based in Bristol. In that time, he’s filmed on many of the big David Attenborough series such as Life In The Freezer, Planet Earth, Blue Planet and Frozen Planet and have won a BAFTA for Life In The Freezer and two prime time EMMYs for Blue Planet and Human Planet.
During that time, Ian has lived, worked and camped for long periods in remote wildernesses, from northern and eastern Greenland, Ellesmere Island, the Antarctic Peninsula, Siberia and the Subantarctic islands of South Georgia and Marion Island.
He’s swum with huge brown bears in British Columbia and been chased by a musk ox in Greenland. He has howled with wolves in Montana, snorkelled with thousands of sockeye salmon in the icy rivers of Alaska and walked through a mine field in Afghanistan.
Ten years ago Ian moved to Cornwall with his wife Anne and opened The Wild Studio, Cornwall where they exhibit and sell Ian’s panoramic wildlife pictures.
“I try to capture the sense of space and grandeur in a landscape and yet bring a feeling of intimacy with the wild creatures that I photograph. My films and photographs come from a lifelong love affair with the natural world. But as the wild places come under increasing threat, I’m constantly reminded how fragile nature is, and with that comes a new wonder for its ephemeral beauty which I do my best to bring to my images“.
Tarn Pilkington
IFMGA Mountain Guide & Alpine Program Specialist
Tarn works year round in the outdoors of NZ and is qualified as an IFMGA Mountain and Ski guide. Since visiting Antarctica for the first time in 1994 he has returned over 15 times and admits to being completely addicted.
He is based in Queenstown NZ, his home of 25 years. Tarn spends the winter months heli skiing and ski touring and during the long South Island Summers he guides and works on film and television productions as a safety officer. He is also contracted as the Crew Chief for the local Air Ambulance service and volunteers for the local Alpine Cliff Rescue Team.
In his spare time, Tarn gets out on his mountain bike or skis as much as possible to explore his home patch in the beautiful southern lakes of the South Island.
Meet our Expert Team
Each voyage is accompanied by our highly acclaimed expedition team who we believe are the best in the business. Many are recognised leaders in their fields, keen to share their daily insights on shore and onboard. While your actual team may vary between voyages, every member of our Expedition Team is among the world's best remote area specialists.
Included Activities
Bird Watching
Lectures on wildlife, our environment, history and destinations
Marine Mammal Spotting
Photography
Polar Plunge
Scenic Cruising
Trips Ashore
Walking
Wildlife Watching
Zodiac Cruising
Our Ships
The Sylvia Earle
Capacity
130 Passengers Maximum
Year built
2022
Cabins
71
Length
104 m
Decks
8
Speed
10-12 knots
The Douglas Mawson
Capacity
154 Passengers Maximum (130 on Expedition)
Year built
2025
Cabins
86
Length
104.4 m
Decks
8
Speed
10-12 Knots
Extension Tours
Loyal Travelers
We love celebrating our loyal expeditioners who return to explore with us. After your first Aurora Expeditions voyage, you’ll automatically achieve Bronze Adventurer status. The more voyages you embark on, the higher you climb—progressing to Silver and eventually Gold!
Solo Travelers
Voyages with Aurora Expeditions are such a fantastic choice for solo travelers, giving you the chance to experience the world’s most remote and incredible destinations with like-minded travelers and our expert guides, while on board our small, social and welcoming ships.