A gorgeous Antarctic morning greeted us as National Geographic Resolution slowly entered Andvord Bay, a stunning fjord off the Gerlache Strait. Neko Harbour is a point of land sticking out into the bay next to a heavily crevassed glacier. After breakfast, we boarded Zodiacs under sunny skies to enjoy majestic views of the peaks surrounding this beautiful bay.
Half of our guests enjoyed a hike to the gentoo colony, getting a bit of exercise. The other half explored the bay on a Zodiac tour, with light breezes rippling the sea surface covered by brash ice and bergy bits. Then both groups of guests switched activities. The Zodiac tours had a nice showing of humpback whales including a cow-calf pair. Those guests ashore also enjoyed a large humpback whale feeding only a few yards off the landing at Neko Harbour, while gentoo penguins swam ashore to make the march up the hillside to relieve their mate after spending a day at sea foraging for krill.
Back aboard the ship for lunch, guests munched on their tasty meals with the breathtaking views of the snow-covered peaks of the Antarctic peninsula outside the windows of the ship as we steamed toward our next location for afternoon expedition operations.
Only a short steam from Andvord Bay, Paradise Bay is one of the many fjords formed by massive glaciers millions of years ago. The sunny skies required a good coating of sunscreen. The Zodiacs spread out across the bay looking for whales and taking pictures of nature’s sculptures. The Ice.
Back aboard National Geographic Resolution, we prepared for dinner with cocktails and interesting recaps from the field staff. After dinner, Captain Martin came on the PA systems, “We have a pod of killer whales on the bow.” This was a wonderful dessert to end an amazing day exploring the Antarctic Peninsula.
