An Antarctic Journey: Falkland Islands, South Georgia and Antarctic Peninsula in pictures

As the title suggests, this is a pictorial record of an Antarctic journey on the MS Hanseatic. This is not a guide book, but an album of 175 photographs, which should be of interest to anyone thinking about, or who has undertaken, an Antarctic Cruise. Or armchair travellers wishing to enjoy the scenic beauty of this little visited area, without having to wear thermal underwear!

Starting in Ushuaia, the ship calls at New and Carcass Islands in West Falkland, as well as Stanley the picturesque capital.

South Georgia's picturesque Bay of Isles provides a number of landings, shared with King Penguins, Fur Seals and Wandering Albatross. The ship calls at the former whaling stations of Stromness and Grytviken, where passengers pay homage at Shackleton’s grave and the pretty Norwegian Church, before sailing further south to enjoy glaciers above Gold Harbour and Drygalski Fjord.

After a brief call at the Argentine Navy’s Orcadas base on Laurie Island, en route to the Antarctic Peninsula, the ship cruises the Weddell Sea, viewing penguin colonies on volcanic islands, predatory seals resting on floating ice and spectacular icebergs. Further landings at Half Moon Bay are followed by footfall on the Antarctic mainland at Neko Harbour and Paradise Bay, where calving glaciers compete with close whale sightings.

The trip concludes at Port Lockroy, the old British base on Goudier Island, home to a museum and the world’s southernmost Post Office.

Photographer Neil McAllister’s images have appeared in more than 100 books since ‘Requiem for a Red Box, was published in 1988. He regularly writes and photographs travel features for a number of magazines. His most recent ebook ‘Beginner’s India’ an A-Z guide to visiting India, was published in 2014.