Curtiss Bay and Mikkelsen Harbor, 12/3/2024, National Geographic Explorer
Aboard the
National Geographic Explorer
Antarctica
National Geographic Explorer started the first full day of its expedition with a magical cruise through Curtiss Bay. Our intrepid explorers were surrounded by a landscape of towering glaciers and icebergs as they took to the sea on their first excursion. After spending the morning with epic scenery and ice, the ship made its way to Mikkelsen Harbor, where the guests took their first steps on the Antarctic Peninsula.
David was born and raised in the concrete jungle of New York City, where the only three animals he ever knew were squirrels, pigeons, and rats. His curiosity of the wider natural world was piqued by the occasional trip to the beach, visits to the Bro...
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We woke to the sound of growlers bumping into the hull of National Geographic Explorer as we sailed into Andvord Bay en route to Neko Harbour. Neko Harbour is comprised of the only section of ice-free rocks in a bay surrounded by tidewater glaciers and the place a colony of gentoo penguins chose to make their summer home. Our guests had the opportunity to enjoy the spectacular views over the glacier from the lower ground or to hike up to a viewpoint overlooking it. The hike wasn’t easy, but everybody agreed it was worth it. Halfway through the morning, katabatic winds came for a visit, and for a little while we got to experience how powerful nature can be this far south. We repositioned to Cuverville Island for our afternoon landing and, fortunately, the wind didn’t follow us. The island offered us more gentoo penguins, luxurious vegetation (for Antarctica), and a bay filled with grounded icebergs. A lot of the penguin chicks are getting close to fledging time, and we were amazed by numerous scenes where the chicks were running after their parents to beg for food.
On the morning of the 18th of February, National Geographic Explorer made its first stop of the day on Petermann Island, and our guests had the option to go ashore for the first time in Antarctica. Petermann Island had quite a few grown chicks, both Adelie chicks and gentoo. For those who did not want to go ashore, they could of course join for a Zodiac cruise. It was a beautiful first stop in Antarctica. In the afternoon, we enjoyed listening to National Geographic Photographer Jason Edwards and our guest speaker from Dartmouth. During dinner we had quite a few humpbacks feeding with us. They were showing incredible displays of lunge feeding and other playful behavior.
Today was an exceptional day. After a nourishing breakfast, guests were excitedly invited to join the naturalists on the bow for the very first sighting of killer whales on this Antarctic voyage. Gathered in warm parkas, guests were enjoying views of these rare animals when suddenly the mood turned from a gentle awe to breathtaking apprehension as the killer whales, also known as orcas, began to hunt a wayward and unlucky elephant seal. The action culminated in an exciting but brutal act of predation as the orcas successfully took their prey. After contemplating the rare and wild sighting, guests returned to the warmth of National Geographic Explorer as we continued to our destination for the day, Wilhelmina Bay. Arriving after lunch, guests geared up in warm waterproof layers to set out in the bay to marvel at ice and seals. Kayaking was offered for those interested in a bit more activity. The luck from this morning continued as humpback whales arrived to swim among the kayakers.
