Neko & Orne Harbour, 2/2/2017, National Geographic Explorer
Aboard the
National Geographic Explorer
Antarctica
Today proved to be another spectacular day in Antarctica. Guests arose to another stunning morning as National Geographic Explorer approached Neko Harbour accompanied by fur seals, skuas and humpback whales. The first of the day’s two continental landings involved a rewarding hike up through a gentoo penguin colony to a breathtaking overlook point. This was followed by the spectacular Orne Harbour which offered guests another chance to stretch their legs as well as take Zodiac tours alongside humpbacks. The day culminated with a breezy passage through the Lemaire Channel.
Jamie is from England. He grew up in Oxford, about as far from the sea as you can get in the UK, yet somehow decided he would work in marine biology and conservation. Ever since he reached his teens, he has dedicated time to this passion, working and...
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There’s nothing quite like a wake to the “Drake Lake.” Bright skies, calm seas, and refreshing winds welcomed us to our journey’s jolly jaunt into the fabled gateway to the Antarctic. As National Geographic Resolution’s surroundings streamed past in crisp, high-seas definition, we used our sea day to prepare for tomorrow’s first landings beyond the Antarctic Convergence: Zodiac briefings, decontamination parties, and presentations galore filled our memory banks as we enjoyed this gift of a crossing from the sea gods. Plentiful seabirds joined the procession. Great albatrosses followed closely astern as Antarctic prions and Cape petrels zoomed about in our slipstream, all phylogenetic and ecological neighbors to yesterday’s Magellanic penguins spotted in the Beagle Channel, just before two sei whales pushed back bedtime by a whale of a margin. “Blows, big blows up ahead!” came the call from the Bridge, when, in the midafternoon, we came upon a group of lazy fin whales, casually cruising by as the second largest organisms to have ever lived on Earth. With our souls full from this small appetizer of the richness of the world to the south, Captain Martin welcomed us all to the adventures ahead. Tomorrow, the South Shetlands—onward!
“I am the albatross that waits for you at the end of the world. I am the forgotten souls of dead mariners who passed Cape Horn from all the oceans of the earth. But they did not die in the furious waves. Today they sail on my wings toward eternity, in the last crack of Antarctic winds.“ -Sara Vial Cape Horn is the southernmost headland of Tierra del Fuego and marks the northern boundary of the Drake Passage. As we approached the infamous Cape Horn in the morning, the sun started to shine, and the fog lifted. We were gifted good views of the lighthouse and the albatross sculpture monument, which pays homage to the sailors who perished as they attempted to round Cape Horn. The monument is accompanied by the above poem by Sara Vial.
Feared by sailors for centuries, the Drake Passage between Cape Horn and the Antarctic Peninsula is well known for the ‘Drake Shake.’ Today, however, it was the ‘Drake Lake’ that we awoke to, and the day was spent pleasantly cruising over placid waters. A calm day at sea gives the crew and staff on National Geographic Endurance a fantastic opportunity to entertain. National Geographic expert Ricky Qi started the program just after breakfast with his talk about the journeys of Antarctic heroes followed by Kelly Ferron, who spoke about female explorers of the White Continent. Later in the afternoon, naturalist Harold Stowell spoke about bedrock geology. But it was teatime that became the talk of the day. Usually hosted on deck 8 in the Observation Lounge, today the bowels of the ship were opened to the guests for a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes. Sandwiches and cakes were served in the laundry room while the crew led tours of the Azipod control rooms and the Zodiac hanger deck. The evening brought us the traditional crew party, and the night was spent enjoying the music of the ship’s band, the Shackletunes.
