This is a program about seven polar journeys, at both ends of the earth – the highlights, the encounters with wildlife, the incredible landscapes, and the spectacle of giant icebergs carved into elegant designs and floating in cold oceans. And it's about where people live, and explorers were lost, and what is happening to these regions as out planet becomes warmer.
The journeys take place on an expedition cruise ship, the Akademik Ioffe, built as an acoustical research ship by the Russian Academy of Science, and now carrying modest numbers of tourists to some extraordinary destinations. The crew is Russian and the ship is under charter to Australian and Canadian companies specializing in nature tours, with highly qualified guides who are experts in polar science.
John and Janet Foster were on board for five arctic journeys and two voyages to the Antarctic. They carried cameras and recorded adventures and wildlife encounters in remote places that relatively few people have seen.
These encounters include polar bears and sea birds in the Canadian arctic, giant icebergs and glaciers in Greenland, and friendly minke whales, seals, and penguins among the mountains and islands of rock and ice in the Antarctic Peninsula. The ship also crosses the notorious Drake Passage, the feared and stormy sea that combines the waters of three oceans and circles the planet between South America and Antarctica.
These are true expedition cruises, following itineraries that will change daily with the weather, with wildlife sightings, and the chance to explore new channels and make landings by rubber Zodiacs on shore at every opportunity.
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