This season, Australis’ Charles Darwin-themed cruises will coincide with Darwin’s landing in Wulaia Bay on the HMS Beagle more than 180 years ago. The journey will follow Darwin’s path through Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego with a special focus on the voyage of the HMS Beagle.

Renowned experts will be onboard – including Darwin expert John Woram – to highlight the scientist’s landing points and discoveries… and offer a few tidbits about his youth. Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego were Darwin’s launching point for his theories before he reached the Galápagos.

Choose from a January 21, three-night departure from Ushuaia to Punta Arenas and a January 24, four-night departure from Punta Arenas to Ushuaia. Both experiences include daily Zodiac excursions from the Stella Australis, Australis’ 210-passenger ship which boasts a sky lounge and a gym with floor-to-ceiling windows.

“Darwin is of course famous for his work in the Galápagos Islands, though his discoveries and adventures in Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego are often overlooked. This is where Darwin saw primitive people for the first time. This is where he developed his theories, particularly when he saw the armadillo and the rhea,” said Woram.

Woram’s presentations frequently compare Darwin’s HMS Beagle voyage to the modern voyages on the Australis ships. And even though passengers won’t be spending two years in the area like Darwin did, they will visit some of the same places he set foot, taking in the landscape and wildlife like the first voyagers: looming glaciers and fjords, breaching humpback whales, sunbathing elephant seals and, of course, legendary Cape Horn.

Two centuries after his birth, Charles Darwin continues to surprise the world with his theories on natural selection, his detailed observations and interpretations. Darwin left the world his amazing legacy after sailing through Patagonia and Tierra del Fuego, and now you can trace his steps.