Paradise Bay & Neko Harbour
Early this morning it was windy as we headed in towards Paradise Bay, however, as we rounded the corner the place lived up to it’s name – the wind dropped right off and we entered a bay surrounded by towering, snow-capped mountains – it was a real Paradise. In such a spectacular setting we had a chance to try kayaking. Using the unique kayak platform, we boarded our stable craft and set off to explore the bay by ourselves. We paddled amongst porpoising penguins, glowing icebergs and crabeater seals hauled out on iceflows. The water was clear enough for us to see the icebergs as they disappeared down into the depths. When not kayaking we took the opportunity to climb to the hill-top above the Argentinean station, Almirante Brown, and look out over the bay. A few of us spotted a lone humpback whale as it meandered between the icebergs.
Our next stop was Neko Harbour, so named after a whaling ship. Here we had the chance for another climb, but this one looked out over the top of a glacier, which was fairly active and we could see large chunks falling from it. Back at the beach we could see the gentoo penguins as they swam close to the shore and cleaned themselves after their guano-filled time ashore.
After dinner we were treated to another orca sighting – again, these were ‘Type B’ Antarctic orca, that is, grey and white (instead of black and white) and with large eye patches. There were estimated to be between 25-30 animals, including a neonate calf. As the wind picked up we lost them in the breaking waves, but we got a farewell wave from a humpback whale as it passed in front of the ship and raised it’s flukes for a deep dive.
Early this morning it was windy as we headed in towards Paradise Bay, however, as we rounded the corner the place lived up to it’s name – the wind dropped right off and we entered a bay surrounded by towering, snow-capped mountains – it was a real Paradise. In such a spectacular setting we had a chance to try kayaking. Using the unique kayak platform, we boarded our stable craft and set off to explore the bay by ourselves. We paddled amongst porpoising penguins, glowing icebergs and crabeater seals hauled out on iceflows. The water was clear enough for us to see the icebergs as they disappeared down into the depths. When not kayaking we took the opportunity to climb to the hill-top above the Argentinean station, Almirante Brown, and look out over the bay. A few of us spotted a lone humpback whale as it meandered between the icebergs.
Our next stop was Neko Harbour, so named after a whaling ship. Here we had the chance for another climb, but this one looked out over the top of a glacier, which was fairly active and we could see large chunks falling from it. Back at the beach we could see the gentoo penguins as they swam close to the shore and cleaned themselves after their guano-filled time ashore.
After dinner we were treated to another orca sighting – again, these were ‘Type B’ Antarctic orca, that is, grey and white (instead of black and white) and with large eye patches. There were estimated to be between 25-30 animals, including a neonate calf. As the wind picked up we lost them in the breaking waves, but we got a farewell wave from a humpback whale as it passed in front of the ship and raised it’s flukes for a deep dive.
