Cuverville Island & Port Lockroy
This morning contained overcast skies and light snow as we made our way towards Cuverville Island where the captain parked the ship against a massive iceberg for a while. There was a light breeze blowing and the protection of the bay made for good kayak conditions. Once the boats were down our sturdy fleet of Zodiacs ferried us to shore to see the gentoo penguins beginning to nest or to the kayak platform. The ice sculptures were impressive as the kayaks plied their way along the safe waters in the company of gentoo penguins. A special treat available was hot chocolate offered from our Hotel manager Willie and Bartender Marek. For those ashore the gentoo colony was just getting established and becoming fragrant as the rocks and old whale bones were used for nesting material.
Late in the morning the National Geographic Endeavour then moved farther south towards a famous spot in Antarctic Peninsula history known as Port Lockroy which is near Wiencke Island. This was a British base built in the 1950’s for atmospheric research and then abandoned. Later it was refurbished to its original form and is now used by the British Antarctic Trust for fund raising and as the only post office in the peninsula. Upon our arrival the winds were steady at 15-20 knots. The weather then became progressively worse and blew up to 50 knots or 57 mph at various times during the afternoon. These conditions made for a memorable ride in the Zodiacs to and from the small landing. Our expedition leader Tim wanted the small staff of Port Lockroy to come out and have a drink before dinner, the wind then increased to the point that returning them would be difficult so the three visitors stayed the night and enjoyed a trip south on the ship for a day before being safely returned to their summer home. Another adventurous day in Antarctica.
This morning contained overcast skies and light snow as we made our way towards Cuverville Island where the captain parked the ship against a massive iceberg for a while. There was a light breeze blowing and the protection of the bay made for good kayak conditions. Once the boats were down our sturdy fleet of Zodiacs ferried us to shore to see the gentoo penguins beginning to nest or to the kayak platform. The ice sculptures were impressive as the kayaks plied their way along the safe waters in the company of gentoo penguins. A special treat available was hot chocolate offered from our Hotel manager Willie and Bartender Marek. For those ashore the gentoo colony was just getting established and becoming fragrant as the rocks and old whale bones were used for nesting material.
Late in the morning the National Geographic Endeavour then moved farther south towards a famous spot in Antarctic Peninsula history known as Port Lockroy which is near Wiencke Island. This was a British base built in the 1950’s for atmospheric research and then abandoned. Later it was refurbished to its original form and is now used by the British Antarctic Trust for fund raising and as the only post office in the peninsula. Upon our arrival the winds were steady at 15-20 knots. The weather then became progressively worse and blew up to 50 knots or 57 mph at various times during the afternoon. These conditions made for a memorable ride in the Zodiacs to and from the small landing. Our expedition leader Tim wanted the small staff of Port Lockroy to come out and have a drink before dinner, the wind then increased to the point that returning them would be difficult so the three visitors stayed the night and enjoyed a trip south on the ship for a day before being safely returned to their summer home. Another adventurous day in Antarctica.
