Chasing Light to the End of the World
I've spent eight years chasing the North — Norway, Kyrgyzstan, every cold corner my van can reach. Then I turned the compass south and fulfilled my Antarctic dream. I've now partnered with ABC Trips to help you experience the same 13-day Seabourn expedition: daily Zodiac landings, penguin colonies, thousand-year-old ice, and a ship that pours champagne while glaciers drift past the window.
A Photographer's Pilgrimage to the End of the World
I've spent the last eight years chasing the North. My van has rolled across the Scottish Highlands in every kind of weather, a Ford Focus once made the full pilgrimage from my front door to the very top of Norway and back, and my cameras have lived in the cold long enough that I now think about the Arctic the way most people think about their favourite coffee shop — comfortable, familiar, and absolutely essential. For years, though, I've watched footage of Antarctica and felt the same pull in reverse: a landscape built from the same elemental materials as everything I love, just flipped to the bottom of the world.
When ABC Trips put the Seabourn Venture in front of me for 13 days of proper expedition cruising, I said yes before I'd finished reading the itinerary. Here's what I realised reading it properly the second time: this is not the watch-from-the-rail version of Antarctica. Every single day you're off the ship — Zodiac landings onto remote beaches, guided walks across icy terrain, scenic cruises through ice fields that don't really exist in any other brochure, and optional kayak sessions for the days the water goes mirror-flat. The expedition team is the serious kind: polar guides, marine biologists, ornithologists — the sort of people who make a photographer behave because they know exactly what's about to happen next, and when.
What genuinely sells it for someone like me, who spends most nights sleeping where the van stops, is the contrast. After six or seven hours of bracing polar air, you come back aboard an all-suite ship where the champagne is open, the caviar is unironic, and the in-suite bar has been stocked to your preferences before you boarded. There's a spa, a proper gym, and a hot tub on deck that feels mildly obscene when glaciers are drifting past the window — and, in the moment, entirely correct. Wardrobes are warm, meals are excellent, and you can actually clean and dry your gear between landings without fighting for space.
I've partnered with ABC Trips for this one because they know polar expedition the way I know my shutter speeds. They'll help you choose the right suite category, tell you honestly what the Drake Passage is like (spoiler: it's a mood), and walk you through the single most photographable commercial trip on the planet today. If Antarctica has been sitting on your list — or just lodged somewhere at the back of your head every time you see a particularly good iceberg photograph — come south with me. I'll bring the cameras. You bring the curiosity. Seabourn brings the champagne.
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Itinerary
Arrive in Buenos Aires
Fly into Ezeiza International Airport and check into your hotel in Argentina’s vibrant capital. The rest of the day is yours to explore at your own pace—perhaps wandering historic neighborhoods, enjoying a late dinner, or simply resting up before the adventure ahead.
Fly to Ushuaia
A private coach transfers guests from the hotel to Buenos Aires’ Jorge Newbery Airfield for a chartered jet flight to Ushuaia, the southernmost city in the world. Upon arrival, another private transfer brings you directly to your expedition ship.
Once on board, settle into your suite, unpack, attend mandatory safety briefings and expedition orientations, and enjoy your first meals—paired, of course, with Seabourn’s signature complimentary beverages.
At Sea
For the first of two days crossing the Southern Ocean, settle into life aboard your Seabourn expedition ship. Attend expert-led lectures, meet your expedition team, visit the spa and fitness center, relax in the hot tubs, or curl up with a book in Seabourn Square as the open ocean stretches endlessly around you.
This is also a great time to get acquainted with your fellow travelers—and perhaps get an early start on that caviar on demand with a glass of champagne.
Cross the Drake Passage
At some point during the voyage—this is Antarctica, after all—you’ll cross the legendary Drake Passage. Conditions here are famously unpredictable: you may experience the calm waters of the “Drake Lake,” or the more spirited motion of the “Drake Shake.”
If you’re prone to seasickness, today is a good day to stay ahead of it with medication (readily available on board). Meanwhile, lectures, wildlife sightings, and anticipation continue to build as the ship presses south.
Arrive in Antarctica
As icebergs begin to appear on the horizon, you’ll know you’ve arrived somewhere truly extraordinary. Towering sculpted ice, snow-covered peaks, and your first glimpses of Antarctic wildlife set the stage for what’s to come.Look out for penguins porpoising through the water, seabirds wheeling overhead, and breaching humpback whales—sometimes even orcas—announcing your arrival on the Great White Continent.
If conditions allow, today could bring one of Antarctica’s most unforgettable moments: an ice landing. Your ice-class vessel may carefully press into a natural ice platform, allowing guests to step directly from the ship onto the snow-covered surface. It’s a rare opportunity for incredible photos—including the playful tradition of passengers “pulling” the ship through the ice with a heavy rope secured to the bow.
Begin Exploring the Continent
Expedition activities may include Zodiac cruises, nature walks, and shore landings. Experiences are dependent on weather, ice conditions, and wildlife distribution.
This is no ordinary destination—and there is no fixed itinerary. Each day in Antarctica unfolds based on real-time conditions, with your Expedition Leader crafting a bespoke plan guided by weather, ice, tides, and opportunity.
Around this time in the voyage, exploration may include places such as Deception Island, where ships sail directly into the flooded caldera of an active volcano, or landings at penguin-rich sites in the South Shetland Islands. You may find yourself walking black volcanic beaches, cruising among icebergs by Zodiac, or standing quietly as penguins waddle past, completely unbothered by your presence.
Daily Exploration
With no set schedule and endless possibilities, today may bring landings on the Antarctic Peninsula itself. Conditions permitting, guests often visit places such as Neko Harbour, where you can step foot on continental Antarctica, or Cuverville Island, home to one of the largest gentoo penguin colonies in the region.
Activities may include guided shore walks, Zodiac cruising through ice-filled bays, or simply taking in the overwhelming silence and scale of the landscape. Optional experiences such as sea kayaking or submarine dives may also be available at additional cost, offering a completely different perspective of this frozen world.
Daily Exploration
Every day brings a new combination of scenery and wildlife. You might spend the morning Zodiac cruising in places like Paradise Bay or Wilhelmina Bay, areas renowned for dramatic glaciers and frequent whale sightings. Humpback whales are commonly seen feeding in these nutrient-rich waters, sometimes surfacing just meters from your Zodiac.
Shore landings may take you to historic or research sites such as Port Lockroy, home to the southernmost post office in the world, or scenic islands where penguins nest among ice and rock. And yes—if you happen to spot a chunk of ancient, crystal-clear glacier ice on a Zodiac cruise, grab it and take it back to the ship's craft bartenders for a perfectly chilled, "1,000-year-old" cocktail.
Daily Exploration
As your Antarctic exploration continues, today may focus on wildlife-rich islands and coastal areas such as Danco Island, Half Moon Island, or Yankee Harbour, depending on conditions. Expect close encounters with gentoo or chinstrap penguins, seals lounging on ice floes, and seabirds soaring overhead.
For the brave, this may also be the day for the legendary polar plunge—a quick (and unforgettable) dip into Antarctic waters, followed by rapid warming and plenty of applause from fellow guests.
Scenic Cruising: Lemaire Channel
Today may bring a transit through one of Antarctica’s most photographed locations: the Lemaire Channel. This narrow, dramatic passage is flanked by steep mountains and drifting ice, creating a cinematic experience best enjoyed from the ship’s open decks.
Whales are frequently sighted here, and guests often spend hours outside, cameras in hand, soaking in the surreal beauty of ice, light, and water in near-perfect silence.
At Sea
As the ship turns northward, reflect on the extraordinary experiences of the past days while enjoying the comfort and elegance of Seabourn once more. Share stories with new friends, relax in the hot tubs with a glass of champagne, revisit expedition lectures with fresh perspective, or simply whale-watch from the decks as Antarctica slowly fades into the distance.
At Sea
Use this final full day at sea to trade contact information, begin packing, attend live entertainment, and scroll through the photos that now tell a story few people on Earth get to live. The Southern Ocean continues to provide wildlife sightings, while the ship’s amenities offer the perfect space to unwind.
Arrive in Ushuaia, Transfer to Buenos Aires
Arrive back in Ushuaia, the “End of the World,” where your Antarctic expedition officially concludes. Depending on docking time, you may have the opportunity to explore this charming Patagonian town or enjoy a scenic drive into the surrounding mountains before transferring to the airport for your return flight to Buenos Aires.
What's Included
- Hotel stay in Buenos Aires
- Charter flights between Buenos Aires + Ushuaia
- Souvenir parka, water bottle, beanie + backpack
- Zodiac shore landings
- Basic Wi-Fi
- Off-ship daily activities
- All on-board dining (even in-suite)
- Spirits + Wines (open bar)
- In-suite bar stocked with your preferences
- Port Fees
- Daily scenic Zodiac cruising
- Enrichment talks and activities
- Muck boots, walking sticks, binoculars
- Tips/Gratuities
- Complimentary entertainment experiences
- International flights to and from Buenos Aires
- Kayak/submarine excursions
- Spa services
- Shopping
- Travel insurance
- Food and entertainment while in Buenos Aires or other port cities
The Road Didn't Find Me Until I Was 22. I've Been Chasing Its Light Ever Since.
I'm Sarah Afiqah Rodgers — a Scottish/Singaporean photographer who spends most of her time living out of a van, somewhere between the Scottish Highlands and whichever horizon has pulled me in that month. My life didn't start on the road. For the first 15 years of it, I was a figure skater, and the inside of an ice rink was about as much of the wider world as I thought I'd need. It wasn't until I was 19 and started travelling that I realised nature and open space weren't a luxury for me — they were a necessity. And it wasn't until I was 22 that I finally picked up a camera properly and began learning how to turn that need into a career.
The turning point was a solo drive to the very top of Norway, from my front door in Scotland down through Dover, across to Calais, and then all the way back up again in an old Ford Focus. That trip cracked something open. Every bit of drive, passion, and purpose I now have for this work traces back to the weeks I spent behind that wheel, chasing the light further and further north. Eight years later, the Arctic is still where I return to again and again — every year, without fail — with the rest of the year split between van life across Scotland and the UK, the deep mountains of Kyrgyzstan, the sand dunes of Jordan, and whatever else the road offers up.
I've built TheWorldWithSarah around the kind of photography and storytelling that comes from being physically present in a place long enough for it to let its guard down. That philosophy is what drew me to ABC Trips. The expedition-style travel they specialise in — small ships, proper guides, serious time in serious landscapes — is the closest thing the industry has to what I actually do for a living. I've partnered with them to bring you a handful of trips I'd happily spend my own off-season on, starting with the one I've been circling for years: Antarctica, the only place on earth that might give my Arctic obsession a run for its money.
