DATES: 15 December 2019
–8 January 2020
COST: From US$17,880
BOOKINGS: Email info@
heritage-expeditions.comPHOTOCREDITS: © MARTY PASSINGHAM, MAWSON’S HUTS FOUNDATION, HERITAGE EXPEDITIONS124 Australian Geographic
Expedition diary
Polar adventure
S
IR DOUGLAS MAWSON was
one of the 20th-century’s most
renowned polar explorers.
Visiting the immaculately preserved
huts that served as headquarters for
the 1911–14 Australasian Antarctic
Expedition to explore one of the most
wild and remote locations anywhere on
Earth has got to be on the bucket list of
anyone who yearns for their own epic
adventure. So it’s great to be able to
travel there with one of the most
experienced expedition cruise
companies, Heritage Expeditions,
which returns to Antarctica again
during the 2019–20 season. Mawson’s
Hut is at Cape Denison on Common-
wealth Bay, which has historically been
one of the few ice-free and readily
accessible areas along the East
Antarctic coastline. Its accessibility
was the main reason Mawson chose it
as the location for his hut and the base
BOOKINGS: Call 1800 143 585 or visit heritage-expeditions.comfor his South Pole explorations.
In 2010, however, a 78km-slice of the
Mertz Glacier broke o , blocking the
annual movement of sea ice and
isolating the region. Now access to the
bay is freeing up again. With an
ice-free summer predicted there are
opportunities to return once more and
explore this legendary location that’s
been o -limits for almost a decade.
Heritage Expeditions has timed its
2019–20 summer voyage to maximise
the opportunity to land at Common-
wealth Bay and explore Sir Douglas
Mawson’s hut and its environs.
This includes the Memorial Cross to
expeditioners Ninnis and Mertz, who
perished during the infamous three-
man ‘Far Eastern Party’ sledging trip
(which Mawson himself barely
survived). Nesting near the hut are
substantial numbers of Adélie
penguins and Wilson’s storm petrels.Step back in time and visit Mawson’s Hut,
a frozen capsule of how daily life was for a polar
adventurer during the Heroic Age of Antarctic Exploration.
Mawson’s Hut in
Commonwealth Bay.J
OIN HERITAGE EXPEDITIONS
on the complete expedition
vessel the Akademik Shokalskiy.
This class of vessel is world-
renowned for polar expeditioning
because of its strength, manoeu-
vrability and small passenger
numbers. Built in 1984 for polar
and oceanographic research, it is
fully ice-strengthened.
Follow in the footsteps of
legendary Australian explorer
Sir Douglas Mawson.
Join an authentic expedition
cruise of discovery along isolated
East Antarctica’s Commonwealth
Bay.
Explore subantarctic Islands
including wildlife haven
Macquarie Island.
Navigate spectacular ice
formations on this unforgettable
adventure traversing Mertz
Glacier to Cape Denison.
Whale-watch from the ship and
Zodiac-cruise to penguin
colonies and gigantic ice shelves
as we retrace history.
Visit Mawson’s Hut on
Christmas Day.AG SOCIETY HOSTED EXPERIENCES
Come on an adventure with us while raising funds for the AG Society at the same time.AG
subscribers
save 5%In the wake of Mawson