TAHOE CITY, CA, June 26, 2012– The active travel company that secures matches between adventure-seeking clients and a treasure trove of small, expedition ships, AdventureSmith Explorations (
http://www.adventuresmithexplorations.com/), earmarks some of the best places in the world to watch the antics of penguins.
Todd Smith, company founder and director, reminds that there are 17 species of penguin, all of which, except for the Galapagos Penguin, live in the Southern Hemisphere. For example, there are six common penguin species in Antarctic regions alone: Adelie, Chinstrap, Emperor, Gentoo, King and Macaroni.
“Penguins are marvelous creatures that capture the imagination of travelers young and old. The dream of encountering penguins in the wild, in their natural habitat, for some, like me, is the holy grail of wildlife adventures,” Smith said.
Small ship cruises make viewing penguins in the wild easy, comfortable and low impact. Ice-strengthened hulls allow small expedition vessels carrying between 49 and 149 guests to navigate around the ice and into protected coves and bays. Once in the region, expedition leaders take over, presenting the life and lore of penguins during shore excursions and through on-ship education programs. Depending on the cruise guests can often ski, camp, snowshoe and kayak among the friendly creatures.
Following are Smith’s top-five locations for viewing penguins from the comfort and vantage of small ships. Participation can be arranged by
AdventureSmith Explorations.
Patagonia: Megallanic Penguins live along the coasts of South America and are easily observed in Chile’s Tierra del Fuego region of Patagonia.
Patagonia Expedition Cruisesaboard the 128 guest
Via Australis operates September through April; penguins can be seen throughout this time. Cruises begin in Ushuaia, Argentina, and end in Punta Arenas, Chile, or reverse. These cruises are commonly combined with overland explorations of Patagonia’s Torres del Paine, the Atacama Desert or Santiago, Chile.
Antarctica - Ross Sea, Commonwealth Bay and Macquarie Islands and Antipodes:Explorations to Antarctica from Australia and New Zealand are adventures to the most remote regions on the planet. Midway between Oceana and Antarctica are the New Zealand’s Sub Antarctic Islands, home to a huge variety of penguin species congregating in vast colonies and are visited on Macquarie, Snares and Stewart islands on a
New Zealand and Sub Antarctic Islands Cruise or on Antipodes, Campbell and Macquarie islands on
Exploration of the Antipodes aboard the 5-star, 106 passenger
MV Orion.
Cruises (also aboard the
MV Orion) from Australia and New Zealand to the Antarctic continent visit the
Ross Sea region or
Commonwealth Bay and include historical sites related to early Antarctic explorers Scott, Mawson and Shackleton. These cruises depart from various ports in Southern Australia and New Zealand, making them popular with travelers in this region. Travelers from North America ofte
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