Antarctica’s glacial beauty of towering snow-capped mountains with glistening ice formations ranging from blue to white, makes this expedition to the seventh continent one of life’s great experiences.

Aided by technical support onboard the Hans Hansson, Amos conducts dramatic open water dives along the walls of grounded icebergs. We explore to find the Leopard seals hunting ground in uncharted inlets and bays. Our chances increase dramatically since we are allowed and able to stay for many days at any promising location. Since the small vessel has very minimal impact on the environment, we are free to move everywhere. We also invest a few days in search of Orcas, following them to see if we are lucky to witness this highly-capable species execute their signature hunting maneuvers.

Our Antarctica expedition is specifically timed to coincide with the fledging of penguin chicks when these young birds first venture out from the warm comfort under their parents’ chests. It is a period when the chicks begin to explore the frigid water to learn swimming and feeding skills. Unlike their clumsy waddle on land, penguins are adept swimmers. Once they depart, food deprived adults venture into open water to hunt fish for themselves and their chicks.

The timing is perfect to observe one of Antarctica’s only predators, the leopard seal, feed on penguins. Posing motionless in shallow bay, almost appearing like a harmless rock, the spotted seals wait patiently in shallow water for the opportunity to devour the young penguins. We only recently discovered that the leopard seal does not solely dominate the food chain.

There is a very special group of Atlantic spotted dolphin living on the edge of the Bahama Banks around Bimini Island. These dolphins have developed a unique bond with the humans. A voluntary relationship based on play and curiosity has developed over the years, never reinforced with hand- feeding or training. This has given us the chance to learn from the dolphins in their world and on their terms. Spotted Dolphins are fun loving sea mammals that are intelligent, friendly, and playful. Interacting with these wild dolphin is spiritually communicating with a highly intelligent being using body language. Possible they have been trying to interact with humans for centuries, but it has been only in the past few decades that humans have started to look at them as intelligent complex individuals.

So, what is it like to swim with a wild dolphin? In a word - incredible! For many people it is a very personal event, for some it can be a life-changing experience. There is very little doubt when you look into a dolphins eye there is someone intelligent looking back. In the water you can hear the dolphins communicating with whistles and echolocating with clicks and a humming sound you can feel as a tingling sensation. Graceful, fast and highly maneuverable, they are perfectly adapted to their liquid environment. Snorkeling and free diving during wild dolphin encounters you glide along side by side. Mimicking each others moves. A few of them will instigate tactile interaction with humans. They will rub along side of you or touch you with a fin. Some of these enjoy a gentle rub. Most of the dolphin prefers if you swim with your arms down at your sides and not reaching out for them. So they can swim shoulder to shoulder with you. Their eye to eye contact is hypnotic. These wild spotted dolphins come to play with us of their own free will. It is a natural encounter with wild dolphins that are in complete control of the interaction. They can appear or disappear at anytime. Dolphin encounters can last from a few minutes to several hours each.

A live aboard boat is the best way to get the ultimate in wild dolphin experiences. The live aboard experience is where you sleep, eat and swim from the boat, similar to a cruise ship only much smaller and much more personal. The dolphins live in the ocean, so for the best encounter you should live on the ocean in a comfortable and safe boat. Imagine waking up in the morning and going to bed at night with dolphins swimming around the boat. The Dolphin Dream is the only operator who offers night time dolphin encounters. Snorkeling with dolphins at night while they feed under twelve 500 watt lights on the boat.

In 2019, the brilliant photographer, Amos, lead a scouting trip off the coast of the Eastern-Central Pacific where he had a special opportunity to witness the effects of a natural phenomenon called upwelling — the process of upward movement to the ocean surface of nutrient-rich, deeper, colder waters.

What does this mean? It means that the added nutrients attract bait fish like sardines, lantern and anchovies, which in turn attract predators like super-pods of dolphins, whales, turtles, mobula ray, stingrays, and more. The upwelling event he was fortunate enough to be apart of was first discovered by local fisherman who noticed the abundance of wildlife that congregated offshore when the moon is full.

Following their advice on timing, the team went at the time they recommended and the trip was so amazing and productive that he’s decided to run an expedition in February 2021. The expedition will be six days long, and the event takes place 40 miles offshore. While you’re at sea, you will live aboard the dive vessel the Aquila, which is well-equipped for comfort, diving and cruising in open ocean.

The activity will be a mix of free diving and at times, the use of Pony tanks – we use pony tanks in order to be more flexible ready for action versus the standard large scuba tank, and extend our bottom time underwater

In addition to this expedition, if you have time, we recommend spending an extra four days to see the rain forest. Amos has been all over the world, and he can say that this is one of the most extraordinarily beautiful places he’s seen in all his travels.

Join Big Animals Expedition leader, Amanda Cotton, snorkeling, swimming, free diving and photographing sperm whales! In past experiences, they have observed Dominica’s West Coast hosting approximately five sperm whale families, each with five to nine cetaceans. Females and their calves comprise the majority of these groups, although we occasionally encounter males, who are 45 to 55 feet long; thirty percent larger than the females. Families frequently socialize by playing in the water. Other times, they may remain stationary in a vertical position.

Sometimes the pod swims slowly allowing us to fin with them, while other times their speed picks up. We always follow them at a safe distance until they abruptly stop, waiting for us to catch up.

What’s Included:

5 days of searching for and swimming with sperm whales

Whale swimming permit

All taxes

Lunch

Expedition leader

What’s Excluded:

International and domestic flights

Alcohol,  soft drinks (soda), and meals except for lunch

Hotel accommodations - we recommend the Fort Young Hotel

Rental gear

Additional activities

Unused part of the itinerary

Personal charges such as laundry, fishing, or telecommunication charges

Gratuities

The elegant & spacious 16-passenger M/V Tiburon Explorer provides 9 air-conditioned staterooms located on the main and lower decks. On board this magnificent new vessel, your diving experience will generally include Galapagos sharks, silky sharks and lots of schooling hammerheads being cleaned by king angelfish. Seeing marine turtles, schools of tuna, eagle rays, and sea lions is very common and seeing a whale shark is very possible in October. All the islands you travel to are amazing sites for underwater photography. Join us!

We have chartered a perfect, small vessel for an intimate and personal Svalbard experience. We take only 15 people and have 3 large zodiacs which leaves much space for each passenger and their photography gear. We have done this expedition many times and you will find that only after 2 days we have all become like a big family and enjoy each others company during the meals or presentations and enthusiasm when we spot a polar bear.

The boarding of the zodiacs takes only a few minutes so that we don’t miss out on a good polar bear sighting when we need to get closer to shore. Bigger ships don’t have this flexibility. They also don’t have the freedom to change their route or itinerary as we do. We go where the wildlife is and once found we stay as long as we want.

We have chosen this time of the year because there is a great chance for an abundance of pack and fjord ice which means many seals and hopefully polar bears. Our main goal during this expedition is to find polar bears. We will also see walrus, Svalbard reindeer, different seal species and with luck whales and Arctic Fox. Not to forget the giant cliffs with thousands of breeding Arctic birds.

After spending one night in Longyearbyen’s famous and cosy Basecamp Spitsbergen, you can choose to join us either on a dog mushing or snowmobile tour across the pristine white winter landscape. With some luck, we might see Svalbard reindeer or Arctic fox which at this time is still carrying its white winter coat.

The next morning we offer the same options for just half a day. If you prefer you can also take a leisurely walk in the small town of Longyearbyen and try out the coffee shops and restaurants or check out the local shops.

Around 16:00 we will board the M/s Freya and start our 8 day Arctic adventure cruise. You will find this small ship very comfortable and the crew very friendly. The captain and crew are highly experienced and have travelled these arctic waters for many years.

Because we specialize in exclusive small group travel (14 passengers maximum on the M/S Freya), we have the freedom and extra flexibility on our Svalbard expedition that may not be enjoyed with larger groups. We can linger as long as we like at wildlife sightings. We have time to capture the perfect light while enjoying or photographing the majestic landscapes. We will look for calving glaciers and stunning icy landscapes during our expedition.