THE Christmas crowds may be driving you to distraction as you battle to finish off the festive shopping.

But if you're daunted by the idea of finishing off present shopping with the family in tow, help is at hand.

Young and old alike can find out more about the life of a swashbuckling explorer more than 200 years ago at Cardiff this weekend.

An exact replica of Captain Cook's ship, The Endeavour, is moored down at Cardiff Bay and is open to the general public.

The ship was the subject of a reality programme on BBC Two recently as a crew retraced the epic journey Captain Cook embarked on from Britain when he discovered Australia.

This voyage of exploration and scientific investigation to the east coast of Australia took more than three years to complete and was followed by a number of famous voyages to places such as Tahiti and Botany Bay.

The replica ship is now moored at Mount Graving Docks which is alongside the Techniquest Science centre. Until Wednesday, January 1, 2003 (excluding Christmas Day), visitors will be able to experience what it was life to live on board. They will be also be able to stand at the helm of the ship and marvel at the towering masts.

From January 6 to March 16, the craft will undergo a major re-fit. During this three-week period a marquee will be erected on the dockside to hold special exhibitions of the work being done to the ship.

Members of the ship's crew will be on hand to speak to visitors and demonstrate all the ship's re-fit activities such as splicing, rope twisting, re-jigging, sail repair and traditional carpentry. For safety reasons the public will not be on board during this time.

The ship will be open from 9am with last admission at 4pm until January 1. Ticket prices are £7 for adults, £5 for senior citizens/disabled, £4 for children and £18 for families.

The tented exhibition will be open every day from January 6 to March 17 from 10am and last admission at 3pm. Tickets will be half price for this period only.