Neko Harbor and Cuverville Island, 11/30/2024, National Geographic Explorer
Aboard the
National Geographic Explorer
Antarctica
Today we felt as if we were inside of a snow globe. Antarctica delivered us a beautiful whiteout day with snow and tons of ice! We started our day shifting our plans to go to Neko Harbor as an opening arose. We then repositioned to Cuverville Island for hikes at the largest gentoo colony on the peninsula.
Nathan Kelley developed his love for nature as a kid at his family’s cabin in Northern Wisconsin. Family fishing trips, camping, hiking and a trip to his first National Park in the Everglades, all vigorously shaped his passion for the natural world. ...
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A gentle snowfall graced Graham Passage as National Geographic Explorer approached for morning operations where our group split between kayaking and Zodiac cruising. While kayakers paddled for their first touch of the Antarctic continent, Zodiac cruisers zoomed through a picturesque maze of icebergs. As the cruise was wrapping up, a lone humpback whale began to feed, lunging toward the surface repeatedly. During the afternoon, we maneuvered toward Palaver Point, the site of a noisy penguin colony. Our group split into those wanting to hike to the island’s viewpoint and those that opted to stay closer to shore and view penguins. The day was a rousing success, and then we wound down with a cocktail and good company. Cheers!
Today was the last day of our expedition on National Geographic Explorer . We packed in several sightings of the iconic creatures of Antarctica in one landing. It was full of wildlife, with chinstrap and gentoo penguins, giant petrels, fur seals, and Antarctic terns showing their faces. We were able to walk around the penguin colonies at Fort Point in the South Shetland Islands. While some guests enjoyed walking among the penguins and fur seals, others had the opportunity to be on the Zodiacs to experience the wildlife from the water. It was a rainy end to our landing but that did not stop the fearless and, some would say crazy, 29 brave souls who did the polar plunge. Jumping from the Zodiacs into the freezing Antarctic waters is a tradition with National Geographic-Lindblad Expeditions. Dressed in her best penguin costume, Kimberly got everyone excited for the big jump. The world premiere of the guest slide show and the captains farewell ended the evening with smiles all around.
Our day started with great views of Orne Harbor shrouded in mist, with a stillness in the air that filled our lungs with excitement. Many of our guests hiked up the steep hill to the summit of a saddle between Black Nunatak and the glacier. The view was incredible, and a few cracks in the cloud cover revealed sunlit parts of the glaciers and surrounding mountains. We used Zodiacs to explore the bay and got to see chinstrap and gentoo penguins jumping in and out of the water close to their colony. After lunch, we landed at Banco Island where colonies of penguins are scattered across the landscape. We cruised in Zodiacs to explore the large icebergs stranded in the Errera Channel. We were lucky enough to find three different seal species: leopard, Weddell, and crabeater. In the evening, we had an amazing recap session from our team of naturalists. It was the perfect end to a day full of exploration and surprises.
