Subantarctic Discovery
Starts and Ends in
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pp twin share
Departing
01 Jan 0001
Duration
0 days
Activity Level
Daily shore excursions, guided hikes & outings
Moderate
Season
2026
Polar Expeditions
Fiordland
New Zealand | Credit: Shutterstock
Two Yellow Eyed Penguins
Rock tor above Rugged Islands
Rakiura Stewart Island, New Zealand | Credit: Shutterstock
Skua on Campbell Island
Campbell Island | Credit: Clem Ditton
Snares Penguin on The Snares
The Snares | Credit: Shutterstock
Southern royal albatross
Campbell Island | Credit: Shutterstock
Australia & New Zealand Subantarctic Islands
Subantarctic Discovery
Highlights
Dr Roger Kirkwood
Expedition Leader
Roger has been exploring polar regions for over 40 years. In 1984, he first travelled to Antarctica as a krill research assistant on an Australian Antarctic Division, marine science expedition. He caught the Antarctic bug and returned nine more times to study zooplankton, seals, penguins and albatross. Mostly he was based in remote field camps – such as in the northern Vestfold Hills, on a glaciated Heard Island, on rock stacks in Drake’s Passage, and he spent a year beside an emperor penguin colony 60 km from Mawson Station – he did his PhD on emperor penguin foraging ecology.
As a marine biologist, Roger has published over 100 research and public articles, and four books - two text books and two children’s books. Away from his polar research, he has held a range of research positions - a fisheries biologist for Tasmanian Sea Fisheries and CSIRO Fisheries, a wildlife manager for Tasmanian Parks and Wildlife, a senior researcher for Phillip Island Nature Parks (investigating seals and seabirds in Bass Strait), and a project team leader at Wageningen Marine Research (in the Netherlands - studying human impacts on marine mammals in the Wadden and North Seas). Currently he lives in Victoria, Australia (with wife Marjolein and kids Jay and Emily), where he works as a contract biologist.
Since 1999, Roger has been a Naturalist and Expedition Leader for Aurora Expeditions - usually in the Antarctic, but also in Scotland and the Arctic. Combined with his academic training and field experience, he holds a Coxswain’s boat-driving ticket and SCUBA experience. He loves his work and is always keen to share his extensive wildlife knowledge with our curious passengers.
Linda Steutel
Naturalist
Linda is an is an experienced Doctor, specialising in Emergency, Aviation and Wilderness Medicine, who has discovered the secret to being balanced and happy. For her, it’s alternating her medical career with expedition guiding! Linda’s lifelong passion for the outdoors, nature and meeting people from different cultures has seen her travel and work in different countries around the world. Eventually her adventurous spirit led her to the polar regions, working as a physician on expedition cruise ships. After working in remote and wild destinations, Linda was inspired to pursue a career in guiding, to satisfy her passion for nature while inspiring people to become ambassadors for these regions. After completing a three-year International Wilderness Guide course, she has guided in European Alps, Pyrenees, Canadian Rocky Mountains, the polar regions and counting!
Alasdair McGregor
Naturalist & Historian
Alasdair is a Sydney-based painter, writer and historian, who has enjoyed a love of Antarctica and the Southern Ocean spanning more than 30 years.
Alasdair’s contact with the region began on the 1983 Heard Island Expedition – his first big adventure – in which he played a supporting role in the second only ascent of 3000-metre Big Ben, the active volcano that dominates the island. Two voyages with the Australian Antarctic Division's Humanities Program followed in the next couple of years.
In the late 1990s, Alasdair was the artist and photographer for two Mawson’s Huts Foundation summer conservation expeditions to Cape Denison, then in 1999 Alasdair staged Mawson’s Antarctica: A view from the huts, a major exhibition of his Antarctic paintings and photographs. In 2000, Alasdair curated the Australian High Commission to Canada's photographic exhibition, '… that sweep of savage splendour': A Century of Australians in Antarctica.
Alasdair has published three books with Antarctic themes: Mawson’s Huts: An Antarctic Expedition Journal (1999); Antarctica: that sweep of savage splendour (collected writings – editor 2011); and a biography of the renowned polar photographer Frank Hurley: A photographer’s life (2004). His other books include Grand Obsessions: The life and work of Walter Burley Griffin and Marion Mahony Griffin, winner of the 2011 National Biography Award.
Away from Antarctica, Alasdair writes regularly for Australian Geographic and his research and creative interests range over architecture and design, natural history, and the history of exploration.
Alasdair has worked as a lecturer on tourist voyages to Antarctica since 2005, and has been a keen member of Aurora Expeditions’ Antarctic expedition team since 2012.
Dr Ben Maddison
Naturalist & Historian
Avid historian and climber, Ben’s love of history began during his high school years. His passion for history led to an MA in Social and Industrial history and a PHD in Australian history. For many years, Ben was an academic specializing in polar, colonial and working class history in the History Department at the University of Wollongong, New South Wales.
An active researcher, Ben is published extensively in Australian and international historical journals. His book Class and Colonialism in Antarctic Exploration, 1750– 1920 (Pickering & Chatto, 2014) is a study of Antarctic exploration ‘from below’, focusing on the sailors, sealers, whalers, cooks, mechanics, engineers, stokers and radio operators, who were all necessary in bringing the upperclass 'hero explorers' to the continent and supporting their expeditions. He is currently writing A History of the Southern Ocean (forthcoming, Routledge 2018), gazing out on his subject matter from Bruny Island, Tasmania, where he lives.
When not writing, Ben engages in his other lifelong passions for exploring wild places. Ben has pioneered climbs in Tasmania, Victoria, NSW, Greenland and North Wales and he is currently developing new rock climbing routes in the Bruny Island area.
Meet our Expert Team
Each voyage is accompanied by our highly acclaimed expedition team who we believe are the best in the business. Many are recognized leaders in their fields, keen to share their daily insights on shore and onboard. While your actual team may vary between voyages, every member of our Expedition Team is among the world's best remote area specialists.
Included Activities
Bird Watching
Lectures on wildlife, our environment, history and destinations
Marine Mammal Spotting
Photography
Scenic Cruising
Trips Ashore
Walking
Wildlife Watching
Zodiac Cruising
Our Ship
The Douglas Mawson
Capacity
154 Passengers Maximum (130 on Expedition)
Year built
2025
Cabins
86
Length
104.4 m
Decks
8
Speed
10-12 Knots