This morning, we were awoken by the sounds of ice effortlessly being pushed aside as we made our way south through the Ross Sea towards Coulman Island. Guests who managed to stay in bed were given a second wakeup call when those on the bridge spotted the first emperor penguin of the day. As it turned out, this was the first of many. We spent the afternoon in Zodiacs and enjoyed observing seals and emperors on the sea ice. We returned to the ship and deep in the pack ice, we spotted our first killer whales of the trip. Our viewing was rudely interrupted by an incredibly rare Ross seal and then two pods of Arnoux’s beaked whales.