March 2013

Travel Channel in Cape Horn with Cruceros Australis

Hotels Information / Australis

Ben Hull experiences some of the world’s most treacherous waters as he rounds Cape Horn on a thrilling cruise. With Cruceros Australis

En route, Ben experiences Santiago, Chile’s modern capital and samples some of their most popular wines. He then flies south to Punta Arenas in Southern Patagonia to learn how to live like a Gaucho.

From Punta Arenas Ben follows in the footsteps of Darwin as he sails for Cape Horn via penguin islands and glacier alleys. The cruise then takes him to Ushuaia in the land of fire; Tierra del Fuego. Finally Ben flies to Buenos Aires, Argentina’s bustling capital and home of juicy Parrilla grilled meats and the seductive tango.

Stella Australis, from Cruceros Australis.

The Stella Australis is a purpose-built luxury expedition cruise ship that offers guests the opportunity to go where few have gone before. Constructed in Chile in 2010, it consists of just 100 outside-facing cabins, which can cater to up to 210 passengers.

Its relatively small size means that the ship can navigate the narrow straits of southern Patagonia for which it was made, getting up close with stunning natural scenery from glaciers and snow-peaked mountains, to native forest and beaches. The experience is enhanced by educational lectures and daily land excursions that include visiting a penguin colony and the legendary Cape Horn.

Despite the ship’s compact size, Stella Australis feels spacious and offers a refined atmosphere, fine dining, a library, an exercise room, panoramic top deck and comfortable cabins with breath-taking views.

Cruceros Australis: Stella Australis
 

Ship Highlights
- 3 Lounges
- Spacious open top observation deck
- Informative lectures about the history and geography of the area
- Open bar serving famous Chilean wines
- On board boutique
- Exercise room
- Library
- Game room
- Satellite phone
- Daily land excursions
 

The Cabins

All cabins feature a large picture window and low beds to maximise the awe-inspiring views. Cabins are available on three levels: category A on the second level, category AA on the third level, and category AAA on the fourth level. Facilities include an en suite bathroom, a satellite phone, individual temperature controls and a safety deposit box. 96 of the 100 cabins on board measure 16.5m2, whilst four larger superior cabins are 20.5 m2.

Ship Facts

- accommodation for 210 guests
- 62 crew members 
- 89 metres long 
- 14.6 metres wide 
- draft of 3.3 metres 
- 12 knots cruising speed 
- expedition ship built to withstand conditions around Cape Horn 
- built using approximately 2000t of steel gross tonnage of 4500

Itinerary

Embarking from the Chilean town of Punta Arena Stella Australis journeys down the Strait of Magellan and Beagle Channel to Ushuaia; the Argentinean capital of Tierra del Fuego and southernmost city in the world. Over a four or seven night expedition, guests are taken out daily in Zodiac boats to visit magnificent sub-polar Magellanic forest, a Magellanic penguin colony, Pia Glacier, a Yamana aboriginal settlement and Cape Horn National Park, known as the “end of the earth”.

Ged Cleugh, Producer says:

This trip really is end of the world type travelling. As such, you're not going to just take a three or four night cruise on its own, instead as we did it's best to sandwich the cruise in with exploration of Chile and Argentina. I really enjoyed visiting the ranch; Olga Teresa made us very welcome. Shortly after we wrapped shooting a large group of French tourists were arriving, and the smell of lamb roasting on open fires wafted across the pampa. I would have loved to have visited as they did, with time to relax over lunch, chat to Yvonne and the family and see more of the demonstrations that they offer.

Stella Australis is atypical cruising. The focus is very much on enjoying the rolling scenery rather than distractions like activities and entertainment. That said, the crew make lots of effort ensuring guests are made to feel at home. There are generally two trips per day on the zodiacs grouped by language. The trips are great, and if anything I'd like longer to dabble in the remoteness and explore the nooks and crannies. We were extremely lucky with the weather which can be unforgiving at times. Interestingly the Captain told us that calmer seas occur in the winter. It's colder, but calmer. My favourite aspect of the journey was getting up close the glacier, it's difficult to capture the falling ice on film, but it happens regularly and noisily. Getting on Cape Horn was a good moment, but it's difficult to palpate the remoteness. There was a chap moving in with his family on the day we landed there, he will spend a year tending to the lighthouse. I think he'll be feeling it a lot more than we did.

Argentina's highlight for me was Buenos Aires. We only had just over a day here so almost zero time to explore outside of La Boca and San Telmo. Though we did seek out two Tango places, the one featured in the show is fantastic as an exhibition of the dance; the second was La Catedral where it's more hands on. Basically it's a warehouse type building hidden behind a non-descript facade. Inside it is all deep Tango and cheap wine, great fun. We also visited a really nice bar called Milion, über funky and set within an old colonial mansion I'd call it a must see for people into nice cocktails.

I'd love to spend more time in BA, hopefully en route to Antartica.

Ben Hull, Presenter says:

If you are going to travel to one of the most remote places on earth, then it’s always nice to be surrounded by a little bit of luxury and the Stella Australis has that, in spades.

An ‘Expedition Class’ vessel, she’s perhaps not the biggest ship in the world but she still packs a punch with three lounges, a well stocked bar and compact, but comfortable bedrooms each with a floor to ceiling 180 degree panoramic view. The food on board is quite delicious, and the few pounds you quickly put on provide a welcome buffer against some of the harshest conditions Mother Nature can throw at you.

The itinerary was interesting and varied though personally, I wanted to get out, and ‘get amongst it’ a little more. The goal of the trip was to get to Cape Horn, and to achieve it, we sped past some of the most breathtakingly beautiful scenery imaginable. Though not a criticism in any way, I found myself yearning for more trips ashore, to pause, and drink in the splendour of an area which, lets face it, I’ll probably never have the chance to visit again.

That being said though, I’m certain the itinerary was absolutely perfect for a vast majority of the passengers, and it would certainly seem that some enjoyed life onboard the Australis more than others: Whilst watching the tourist packed Zodiacs speed off on an excursion, I was joined by a passenger who I noticed wasn’t dressed head to foot in warm weather gear. ‘Not getting off?’ I enquired. ‘Why should I?’ he replied, raising a clinking glass, ‘I can see it all, from right here.


via: http://www.travelchannel.co.uk/cruising-around-cape-horn/index.html 

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