These were Clarence Island and Elephant Island, around 100 miles (160 km) due north of their position on 25 March.[2] He then decided Deception Island might be a better target destination. This lay far to the west, toward the South Shetland Islands, but Shackleton thought it might be attainable by island-hopping. Its advantage was that it was sometimes visited by whalers and might contain provisions, whereas Clarence Island and Elephant Island were desolate and unvisited.[70] To reach any of these destinations would require a perilous journey in the lifeboats once the floe upon which they were drifting finally broke up.