Aitcho Islands, South Shetlands Archipelago, Antarctica, 12/1/2016, National Geographic Explorer
Aboard the
National Geographic Explorer
Antarctica
After a rather bouncy crossing of the Drake Passage we were all excited to see the dramatic icecaps and dark rock cliffs of the South Shetland Islands on the horizon. Before long we were in sheltered waters and preparing for our first landing on Barrientos Island. It felt great to put on our parkas, climb into the Zodiacs for the short ride ashore and actually set foot in Antarctica, with hundreds of penguins there to greet us.
David has worked for Lindblad Expeditions-National Geographic since 1993 on six continents and in over 65 countries. David is interested in many of the natural sciences, particularly ornithology, geology and marine biology; he most enjoys contrasting...
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The day splashed off with whales in the iconic Lemaire Channel. That alone would make a big day in anyone’s book, but we were just getting started. We headed over to the aptly named Paradise Cove to explore in Zodiacs and found diving whales, lounging leopard seals, nesting shags, funky rocks, and porpoising penguins. But we still weren’t done! After lunch, we slid into the famous Neko Harbor where lucky guests got to see baby penguins hatch onshore and then we cruised the dramatic glacier face by Zodiac. We couldn’t have asked for a better final full day in Antarctica.
As we make our way north up the Antarctic peninsula, we have been enamored with the ice and scenery along the way. We spent the day Zodiac cruising in two stunning locations. In the morning, we cruised around Detaille Island, the site of an historic research hut and home to an Adelie penguin colony. In the afternoon, we cruised around Orford Point to admire the geology, ice floes, and even found many seals napping on the ice.
We awoke traveling south in Gerlache Strait on the west side of the Antarctic Peninsula after amazing days in the Weddell Sea with emperor penguins and tabular icebergs. We passed krill fishing vessels and humpback whales targeting the same prey. Young guests from our Global Explorers kids’ education program were treated to a tour of our Zodiac garage by Staff Captain Sam and Bosun Rocky. Some Global Explorers paused to share impressions of our voyage so far: “I expected it to be a lot colder.” Billy, 11 “I love seeing all the animals and how they act in the wild.” Emery, 10 “I saw some killer whales and it was really cool how big they were.” Nate, 9 “The penguins were walking faster than I expected.” Lukas, 6 “I didn’t expect that emperor penguins were my height. They’re kind of giants to me.” Violet, 9 “My favorite part was the polar plunge. I wish I could do it again.” Harvey, 10 This afternoon, after enjoying great views of humpback whales, we did Zodiac cruises in Chiriguano Bay on Brabant Island. Dinner was delayed to observe killer whales near the ship and we transited beautiful Lemaire Channel later in the evening.
