Today began with National Geographic Explorer ghosting gently towards a small bay surrounded by steep, imposing dark brown cliffs. The bay was choked with iced blocks and flows that had grounded in the shallows in front of a large rookery of Adélie penguins.
A Zodiac was sent to investigate the possibility of a landing, only to find that any attempted landing would cause too much disturbance to the rookery, especially as the birds were sitting on eggs or young chicks.
So, Zodiac tours became the order of the morning, taking the guests on trips amongst the icebergs. There were many Adélie penguins swimming and leaping on and off the ice. Tiny Wilson’s petrels could be seen flitting here and there. Their large cousins, the giant petrels were resting on the flows, as the calm conditions were not so suitable for flying. Only one seal was in evidence all morning—a Weddel seal, lying motionless on a large sea-ice flow, which was further out in the bay.
Once the Zodiacs were recovered, Explorer weighed anchor and we set off north for Antarctic Sound, and the western side of the peninsula. In the sound itself a large number of huge, tabular icebergs have grounded making a spectacular sight. One of them measured nine miles long by one mile wide. It really can only be described as “awesome.”
These tabular icebergs were part of one huge rift of ice that broke away from the Ross Ice Shelf and has floated 18,000 miles, all the way around the Antarctic continent to break up and run aground in the northern part of the Peninsula.
Later in the afternoon we were treated to a talk by John Evans, the Global Perspectives guest speaker, about being part of the team that made the first ascents of Mounts Erebus and Tyree, the highest and second highest mountains on the continent. This was a very informative presentation, well received by all.
