Portal Point

January 15th,our last day in Antarctica started off early at 0615 with a wake up call over the PA system that there was a group of humpback whales bubble feeding off the bow of the ship so get dressed and grab your camera.  What a sight.  For the next hour we watched at close range as the whales blew bubbles from below to force the krill into a group and then came up and fed on them. It was an amazing behaviour to behold and cameras were clicking as fast as shutter speed would allow. It really would be almost impossible not to take home some good photographic memories from this trip.  After gathering lasting memories of this event we moved on and left them to their breakfast as we carried on to Portal Point.  Today the weather was cooperating with us and at Portal Point we were able to make a Continental landing. Though we had landed on a few islands that are part of Antarctica it was emotional to actually step foot on our seventh continent!  We hiked up the snowy hill and had a wonderful view of the surrounding beauty.  This was followed by a zodiac tour amongst the icebergs and along the coastline making for a perfect morning. Arriving back on ship it was announced that any brave, or foolish souls, depending on how you look at it who wanted to do the Polar Plunge the time was now.  Eric was game so I graciously volunteered to be his photographer.  He says when he hit the water which was minus .5 degrees he thought for a fleeting second that he might be able to swim in it but then he felt his chest start to tighten and was out quickly as was everyone else where they were given a shot of vodka and a warm towel.  During lunch we head to Brabant Island for a wonderful afternoon covered in the next post due to the number of pictures I want to include on this epic day.

Bubbles bein created by the whales below to force the fish to the surface 

Humpbacks mouth

Unbelievable views

The holes on the whales back are their nostrils, commonly referred to as their blow holes

Each whale has a distinctive tail print just like a finger print

The humpback has the longest fluke of all whales

This whale really smacked the water a few times with his tale

Cruising along

Icebergs in the morning fog

A lone whale amongst the icebergs

The sun started to peak through enough that we could make a landing

This photo speaks for itself. Truly a special hike

I wish I could even begin to put into words the incredible beauty of all we have seen these last few days

The reflections  add even more

As the icebergs roll they take on whole new dimensions

The icebergs make our ship look like a bath toy

In Eric goes. Notice they do have a defibrillator in the second zodiac and the ships doctor is sitting beside it.  Luckily it was not put to use.

Running for warmth (and vodka)

Foggy Antarctica & Trinity Island

January 14th did not go according to plan as one thing no one has any control over is the weather.  We awoke to a very foggy morning so the plan to stop at Astrolabe Cove was abandoned and we set off to Lindblad Cove with hopes that the fog would lift.  It was not to be and thought we could see many icebergs through the fog it was deemed much too dangerous to put zodiacs into the water as the proximity to icebergs could not be properly judged.  The naturalists filled the time on board with several interesting presentations while some of them stayed on the bridge keeping their trained eyes on the lookout for wildlife which paid off when they spotted three Type A Orcas in Orleans Strait.  These killer whales differ from ours in that they are larger and are meat eaters consuming seals and smaller whales such as minke whales.  Two of them had truncated dorsal fins which was apparently probably due to getting caught in fishing lines when they migrate to South America in the winter.  Many on board had never seen an Orca so were extra excited.  Dinner was served early in hopes that the fog might lift and we would be able to do an evening activity and much to everyone’s surprise it did and we stopped and got off at Trinity Island which is a Gentoo Penguin colony which was the only one of this type that we saw which was fantastic.  The gentoos are larger than the adeles but breed a little bit later so their chicks were a little smaller and look a lot different from the others we have seen.  The island was literally covered in poop and you could not avoid walking in it so a good wash of the boots in the ocean was in order before returning to the ship.  Apparently by the end of February the poop is several inches thick. There is also an abandoned Argentinian research hut on the island which now serves as a refuge hut should anyone be in distress and has food supplies, cots and a radio to call for help.  So the day did not go as planned but turned out to be another fantastic one down here in Antarctica.

Heading out through the fog knowing there is land and lots of icebergs out there

The fog would lift just enough at times to give us short glimpses and then drop right down again

The fog added a bit of an eerie silence to the landscape 

Every iceberg is a unique size and shape

These orcas are bigger than the ones we see at home. Sad to see their damaged dorsal fins which do not regrow.

This was the female in the group 

We watched them for awhile and then left them to their feeding as not to stress them   One of the naturalists on board is a killer whale specialist so had lots of information to pass on

The giant cracks in the ice show how dangerous it can be to get to close as it can give way at any time

Trinity Island with the fog lifting and the continent in the background 

The greeting party

A parent with their two chicks

Looking at me as if to say “what are you”

This elephant seal on the island almost appears to be grinning 

Remains of a boat along with some whale bones on shore

Very protective of their young 

This penguin had an egg and a chick though apparently if the egg had not hatched by now it probably would not 

Even penguins like to have fun in the water 

Mostly they porpoise in the water but they can enjoy a leisurely swim

This guy looks like he is bulking up in case there is a shortage of food

This lone chinstrap penguin was on the gentoo colony. Who knows,  maybe he stopped in for a visit to promote diversity 

This chick child definitely benefit from a bath but it sure is cute

This parent seems to be saying to the other parent “where on earth have you been”

Corry Island & Devils Island

January 13th started out foggy but by breakfast the fog had lifted and we were in for another adventurous day.  We started our day in the zodiacs navigating through a bay of ice ,many of them dotted with penguins.  Then we heard the distinctive wooshe of whales and with some expert maneuvering by our guide we were treated to a up close and personal show by two magnificent humpback whales. With the icebergs as a backdrop it took whale watching to a new high.  On one small iceberg was a lone emperor penguin which is a rare sight here so another surprise.  As we left Corry Island we sailed past Verigo Cliffs which are covered with numerous waterfalls which are also not a common sight in this part of the world.

Our next stop was Devils Island where apart from another large penguin colony a massive glacier made its way down to the ocean.  The bay was filled with icebergs large and small and here we went kayaking. The kayaks were double inflatables and not the best to paddle but the highlight was coming upon a leopard seal sunning itself on a small iceberg with some penguins standing behind it.  Obviously they had not seen what we did this morning. Joking aside apparently these seals are slow on land so the penguins can easily escape from them. We did keep the recommended distance as one would not want to antagonize this creature.  Leaving Devils Island in the early evening the scenery was spectacular and the lighting was incredible so both Eric and I were happily snapping pictures in all directions though it is impossible to capture the shear beauty of this amazing place on film as it truly is a trip of a lifetime.

Fuzzy picture but just wanted to demonstrate that we are the ship represented by the black dot at the top of the picture and all the other ships are grouped together near the bottom. National Geographic makes a real effort to avoid being around other ships to make for a better experience 

Day chart

Our greeting penguin 

Nice view of the ship with the penguins in the foreground 

A whale show with a spectacular background 

One could cruise around all day in this

This is how we get on and off the ship

The lone King penguin on the ice

The king penguin was in the process of melting and in this picture he looks almost embarrassed about the condition of his coat

A seal floating around on a piece of ice just off of the side of the ship

Large glacier coming down to the shore 

The contrasts of landscapes and ice are truly spectacular 

Vertigo Cliffs with an abundance of waterfalls

Wonderful sunny day with beautiful reflections 

Out paddling in Antarctica 

A leopard seal basking in the sun while unconcerned penguins cool off behind him

Our paddling grounds

Giant cracks in the icebergs eventually give way

With calm seas the reflections made a beautiful sight even more so

How blessed are we

With only 20% of the iceberg above water one can see how enormous these are

Same iceberg from a different view

Evening sky. Really cold outside but well worth it 

Sometimes hard to pay attention to the talks with this kind of scenery out the windows often with whales throw in for interest

Beautiful glacier

A wall of icebergs