Kiwi music legend Don McGlashan set to sail into the ‘heart of Antarctica’ with Heritage Expeditions

Heritage Expeditions is excited to announce special guest Kiwi music legend Don McGlashan will be joining their bucket list voyage In the Wake of Scott & Shackleton sailing into the ‘heart of Antarctica’ on their January 2026 departure.

The multi-award-winning musician and Arts Foundation Laureate behind hits ‘Dominion Road’, ‘Anchor Me’, and ‘Bathe in the River’ is joining the voyage as part of Heritage Expeditions ongoing support of the Arts Foundation, with Heritage Expeditions donating a stateroom on the same voyage to the Arts Foundation 2024 Digital Auction.

Commercial Director and Expedition Leader Aaron Russ said the New Zealand-based, family owned and operated expedition cruise company was honoured to be welcoming Don on board its luxurious, 140-guest flagship Heritage Adventurer for the adventure of a lifetime.

“Don is such an incredible talent and iconic New Zealand musician, to have him join us in this incredible part of the world is such a privilege,” said Aaron.

“Also, I can think of no better place for a Don McGlashan singalong of Kiwi anthem ‘Anchor Me’ than while exploring the world’s last true wilderness and heart of Antarctica the Ross Sea.”

Don said he was looking forward to returning to Antarctica, embracing his spirit of adventure and working on some new music and sharing some old favourites.

“In 2012 I received a fellowship to go to Scott Base. The base, the people there and all the history of human interaction with that austere and beautiful part of the world made a huge impression on me, and sparked off quite a few songs, at least one of which I’ve managed to finish and release – ‘Shackleton’ off my latest album Bright November Morning,”  he said.

“Antarctica is utterly unique; a place so forbidding that humans have to work closely together to survive at all, and so fragile that nations have to work closely together to protect it. Of course, I also want to go because I love adventures, and I reckon I’d also love the chance to sit in my stateroom on board Heritage Adventurer and write songs for a while – when I’m not at the gunwale with my binoculars.”

In the Wake of Scott & Shackleton – with Don McGlashan
28 Days | 10 January – 6 February 2026
Queenstown, return

Join Kiwi music legend Don McGlashan as we voyage into the heart of Antarctica, via the Subantarctic Islands, on an epic bucket list voyage steeped in history. Expeditions to Antarctica from New Zealand take you further south into the frozen continent than any sea route. Join our team of expert biologists, geologists and historians on a true bucket list expedition as we Zodiac cruise colossal ice shelves and icebergs, visit research stations, observe whales and seals, walk on the ice with Emperor Penguins and step inside the preserved historic huts of Shackleton and Scott.