28th – 30th January 2026 – Southampton A big cruise to start the 2026 cruising season for Ocean Wildlife Encounters, the South America and Antarctica round trip, titled “A Grand Voyage”, filled the OWE team with great expectations for a fantastic wildlife filled route! However, it didn’t quite start as planned!! But spoiler alert – it did get much better!! The first of five OWE teams of two to relay throughout the cruise, Christine Murdie and Clare Gower, boarded Borealis with the passengers...

4th March 2026. Punta Arenas Harbour Punta Arenas was the second changeover port for the OWE teams on Fred Olsen’s epic Exploration of South America and Antarctica cruise. Anno and Mikey departed Borealis early in the morning with James and Jean arriving onto the ship at lunchtime. Once we had settled in and sorted out various onboard logistics, we ventured out around the Punta Arenas harbour for a quick look. We started seeing some classic southern Chilean species including Crested Ducks,...

Most of the images used in this blog were taken during the cruise. Click on the images to view them at full size. Whilst some of the OWE had been able to participate in the Antarctic and South America voyage, those who had other commitments were able to join the MS Bolette in Liverpool for the first of several UK based cruises. Paul, Julia, Christine and Lorraine met up on 31st March for T2606: Islands and Coastline of Scotland at Easter. The OWE Team for T2606 (from left to right: Paul,...