Portal Point and Orne Islands, 2/22/2023, National Geographic Resolution
Aboard the
National Geographic Resolution
Antarctica
Today we started our adventure by taking a short Zodiac ride to make a true continental landing. Guests had the chance to walk ashore at Portal Point, which led up to some nice views and a few whales nearby. We repositioned to Ronge Island and the Orne Islands for our afternoon ops of Zodiac cruises.
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. ...
It was a day at sea to prepare, to end and to begin again. The crossing has been good, a few bumps, but now it is a calm lake at the entrance to the Beagle Channel. Lots of activities were in progress, including a presentation, submitting entries for the voyage slide show, rental return, and let us not forget packing! We had a special teatime with wine tasting, cheese, fruit, sliced meat, and charcuterie, as well as a mini concert from one of our guests, Elenora Fedonenko. It was very impressive and even drew in about one hundred sei whales! It was quite a sight, with a forest of tall blows looking like campfires across the surface of the water. All in all, just another amazing day on board National Geographic Resolution.
Our final day of operations for the expedition (and the season) took place at New Island, one of the most beautiful islands in the Falkland Islands. Guests were amazed by the sheer cliffs of the outer coast, home to thousands of rockhopper penguins and even more black-browed albatross. While guests were ashore, the undersea team explored the underwater world of the Falkland Islands. We cruised through the amber forest of giant kelp and photographed the large sun stars but also some of the smaller denizens like tessellated patagonotothen fishes and beautiful purple-lined isopods. The highlight of the dive was one of the largest jellies either of us had seen. A gargantuan lion’s mane jelly was wrapped up in the kelp and its bell was almost 4 feet across. Truly a sight to behold and a favorite when shown to the guests at recap.
Our destination this afternoon remains my very favorite place in the Falklands. A warm welcome is always given by the caretakers of this lovely place, Theis and Kiki – Swedish and German respectively. They were at the end of their nine years here and we were among the last ships to visit this season. Of course, we visit the island because of the wildlife, and, after a nice forty-minute walk, we arrived at the Devil’s Nose albatross colony. Here, we found thousands of black-browed albatrosses living cheek by jowl with hundreds, if not thousands of rockhopper penguins. It is not always a happy marriage, but generally they get on, the albatross helping protect the penguin eggs and chicks from predation by the local Johnny rooks aka striated caracaras. A good walk deserves a fine afternoon tea, and we were treated to just that back at the farmhouse. In the garden, a yellow rose flowered beautifully overlooking the place where Lars Eric Lindblad’s ashes were scattered.
