The Gullet and Detaille Island
A steel-gray dawn softened to delicate shades of purple, blue and bronze as the sun broke through the overhanging clouds of Crystal Sound. Those early-risers among us were treated to a panoramic display of light and landscape almost too fantastic for words. Luckily, cameras were at hand to record the drama of the visual spectacle, continuing a pastime much practiced over the past few days. We were on our way to The Gullet, a channel between the Antarctic mainland and Adelaide Island. Surrounded by soaring peaks and sweeping glaciers, The Gullet provided a beautiful backdrop for our morning’s activities, which included kayaking on the calm, ice-floe dotted seas and Zodiac explorations of the area, focusing on the landscape and wildlife of this pristine little corner of the world. Those of us on the Zodiacs had close drive-by encounters with three different seal species, crab-eaters, Weddells, and the imposing and quite fearsome-looking leopard seal.
As often happens, lunch was delayed by a wildlife sighting, this time a group of killer whales. We followed them as they hunted alongside the ship, spy-hopping as they looked at the top of the tabular floes of sea-ice for one of their favorite meals, the Weddell seal. Although killer whales will eat other types of seals on occasion, it was interesting to see the whales turn their nose up at the crab-eater and leopard seals that they saw atop the ice, to continue their search for the Weddells.
We finally left the killer whales and the Gullet, because we were on our way to Detaille Island and Base W. Base W on Detaille Island is a virtual time-capsule of Antarctic scientific exploration from the 1950’s. Hastily abandoned in an emergency evacuation in 1958, the old camp looks much the same as it did when it was occupied for three years during the end of that decade. Personal items and effects were left, along with everything else it took to manage an Antarctic installation at the time.
On the National Geographic Explorer’s last trip, we dropped off a large supply of food and construction materials at Base W for the United Kingdom Antarctic Heritage Trust. This time we were carrying two of the Trust’s conservators, who are going to spend six weeks at the old base, cataloging its contents and attempting to make it as weather-proof as possible, given its age and the harsh polar conditions encountered on the remote island.
Thanks to the folks from U.K. Antarctic Heritage Trust, we were able to have a tour of the old buildings on the island. The many artifacts of daily life left behind by Base W’s scientists and researchers in their hasty exit, provided a haunting glimpse into the life of a remote Antarctic base over fifty years ago.
While some of us were exploring Base W on Detaille Island, others on board were treated to a special afternoon tea, featuring “lomitos,” a grilled Argentinean-style steak sandwich. Our luck with the changeable Antarctic weather continued, as we ended a glorious sunny day appreciating our opportunities and experiences from the aft deck of National Geographic Explorer.
