Orion Expedition Cruises
Introduction:
Orion Expedition Cruises is the leading operator of five-star expedition cruising in the Australasian region. Founded in early 2004, the company has developed voyages to encourage guests to become a part of the region they are discovering. It is a unique product that appeals to both local and international travellers alike: people who seek the mental stimulation of new experiences, places and discovery, whilst enjoying the comfort of luxurious surroundings.
Orion Expedition Cruises operates the 106-passenger expedition vessel Orion in the Kimberley region of Australia, the Australian Islands, Papua New Guinea, New Zealand and the Sub Antarctic, Melanesia, the Spice and Forgotten Islands and Antarctica.
The destinations visited by Orion have some of the most pristine and sensitive wilderness areas on our planet, with little or no infrastructure to support visits by hundreds of people at one time. Understanding this, Orion Expedition Cruises has a social responsibility to develop a marine tourism blueprint that is sustainable, one that is at the forefront of eco-sensitivity and a benchmark for internationally recognizable and environmentally sound operating practices. For Orion, sustainability is more than a fashion, a trend or a compelling need. Sustainability is a core component of the company's originating vision and values.
Orion Expedition Cruises' Scott & Shackleton's Centenary voyage covers some of the polar regions famously charted during the first race to the South Pole by pioneering explorers Scott and Shackleton 100 years ago.
This voyage to the Ross Sea region includes visits to Scott and Shackleton's bases still surviving from the 'Heroic Era' of Antarctic exploration. These timber buildings are rare in a world context. Just six complexes surviving from the 'Heroic Era' of Antarctic exploration: a period of great human adventure, exploration, research and discovery on the last continent to be explored.
Whipped by ferocious katabatic winds, it is a wonder that there are any remnants of buildings left at all. Yet, remarkably, in addition to the historic buildings, there are many examples of clothing, food, crates, sleds, ropes and kerosene tins remaining literally frozen in time. This is a true expedition crossing the Antarctic Circle and voyaging further south than the position of the South Magnetic Pole. Magnetic compasses are useless in these waters, an area that remains largely unsurveyed.
The voyage takes place on the purpose built expedition ship Orion (with the benefits of oversized stabilisers, retractable sonar and ice strengthened hull) which provides her 100 guests with the needs of today's adventurers: technology, safety and creature comforts that include fine food and wines, a gym, boutique, hairdressing, sauna and massage facilities - as well as 80 staff, specialist lecturers and polar expedition crew to look after every need. Orion's ten Zodiacs are the perfect purpose designed expedition transport for intrepid modern day adventurers and they will be put to good use for landings ashore in Antarctica.
This 21-night "Centenary Sailing" voyage departs Bluff, New Zealand on 21st January 2012 and visits Enderby Island, Macquarie Island, the Ross Sea region, Campbell Island and Snares Island before arriving back into Bluff. While in the Ross Sea Region a variety of opportunistic landings will be attempted (subject to weather conditions) and you will then be able to enter the well preserved huts of the great explorers – more people stand on the summit of Everest then enter into Scott or Shackleton's Hut's. Throughout the voyage guest speakers and historians will bring the stories back to life.
