Yankee Harbor, 12/17/2024, National Geographic Explorer
Aboard the
National Geographic Explorer
Antarctica
Despite the wind and the swells, our first landing in Yankee Harbor was absolutely fantastic. We saw the gentoo penguin colony, whalers’ and sealers’ artifacts, and at least 15 elephant seals fighting and having their well-deserved naps.
We spent the afternoon cruising on board National Geographic Explorer, admiring Edinburgh Hill and learning from our naturalists about the wonders of the Antarctic Continent.
Maria Intxaustegi is an internationally awarded maritime archaeologist, naval historian, commercial diver, professional offshore sailor, and expedition guide from the Basque Country.
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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.
