‘No money, no experience’: How famous Aussie built a cruise empire

It was started by a renowned explorer who had “no money, no business plan and no industry experience.”

But now, homegrown Aussie cruise company, Aurora Expeditions is marking 35 years of taking intrepid travellers to far-flung places like Antarctica, and beyond.

Explorer Greg Mortimer, the first Australian to summit both Everest and K2, came up with the idea of taking Aussies on voyages to the frozen continent in the 90s.

“The seed was planted when Greg was recruited by pioneering expedition operator Mike McDowell to serve as expedition leader on one of the first tourist voyages to Antarctica aboard a Russian icebreaker,” chief marketing officer Katie Malone told nine.com.au.

“But on New Year’s Eve, standing beneath the peaks of Livingston Island with a shipload of passengers celebrating under the midnight sun, something clicked.”

At the time, nobody in Australia was running such trips for Aussie travellers. And when he got home to Sydney, he told wife Margaret he wanted to do it.

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Despite having no experience running a travel firm Greg managed to get it off the ground, with the help of another company, World Expeditions.

While the first passengers on that 1992 journey were friends and family, the company has gone on to be recognised as a leader in small-ship expedition cruises.

It now has three pioneering expedition ships: Greg Mortimer, Sylvia Earle and Douglas Mawson.

Antarctica voyages sail from Hobart, Tasmania, Dunedin in New Zealand, and Ushuaia, Argentina.

The company was the first to let guests camp on the ice, kayak in the frozen oceans, and even scuba dive the depths of the unexplored worlds.

And now, it doesn’t just sail to the frozen continent.

There are expeditions to Antarctica and the Arctic and also adventures to the Kimberley and Papua New Guinea.

Greg, 73, and Margaret, live in the NSW Blue Mountains, but the company has offices all over the world.

And while the price of going on its trips make it a bucket-list experience, the company said the types of passengers joining have evolved beyond only the most adventurous.

“We’re welcoming more solo travellers, younger travellers and multi-generational families than ever before,” Katie said.

And most of them are keen to brave what has become an Antarctic rite of passage.

“In this past Antarctic season alone, our expeditions completed 2,835 polar plunges; that ritual of launching yourself into near-freezing Antarctic water,” Katie said.

Aurora Expeditions History

• 1984 Explorer and climber Greg Mortimer becomes the first Australian to summit Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen.
• 1990 Mortimer becomes the first Australian to climb both Mount Everest and K2.
• 1990 Mortimer leads his first expedition voyage to Antarctica aboard Professor Molchanov.
• 1991 Greg and Margaret Mortimer establish Aurora Expeditions.
• 1992 Aurora Expeditions runs its first Antarctic expedition on Professor Molchanov
• 1994 Aurora Expeditions becomes the first operator to introduce ice camping and sea kayaking on the Antarctic Peninsula.
• 1997 Aurora Expeditions operates its first Arctic expedition.
• 1998 Aurora Expeditions expands its expedition program to the Kimberley and becomes the first operator to offer scuba diving expeditions in Antarctica.
• 2001 Aurora Expeditions operates the first passenger expedition to retrace Shackleton’s famous journey across South Georgia.
• 2002 Aurora Expeditions welcomes Polar Pioneer to its fleet.
• 2016 Aurora Expeditions introduces polar snorkelling in the Arctic.
• 2019 Aurora Expeditions launches Greg Mortimer, the first of three purpose-built expedition ships and the world’s first passenger vessel to feature a pioneering bow which keeps ships moving fash but smoothly.
• 2020 Aurora Expeditions is named the World’s Leading Polar Expedition Operator at the World Travel Awards.
• 2025 Aurora Expeditions launches Douglas Mawson, completing its fleet of three purpose-built expedition ships.
• 2025 Aurora Expeditions completes its 100th passenger transit of the Northwest Passage in the Arctic Ocean.
• 2026 Aurora Expeditions celebrates 35 years of pioneering expedition travel.