A day on the Drake

There is only one band of latitudes on Earth where you can go around the world and never hit land. South of the southern tip of Tierra del Fuego lies the Drake Passage and all the waters of the Southern Ocean flow through this 600 nautical mile gap from west to east. Today we entered the dreaded Drake from Antarctica and as the day passed, the wind blew stronger and stronger.

By late afternoon we had 10 metre/30+ feet waves and storm-force winds. The sun stayed out though, and at least it did not look quite so angry outside. The Fram is excellent in these sea conditions and our lecture program was very well attended by passengers. Many feel cheated if they do not experience some waves on the Drake. None of us felt cheated today.

Through the day we were accompanied as usual by Cape Petrels and a few Southern Fulmars but the main story again were the dramatic waves.

Oh and before we forget, last night we had a good old fashioned snow storm while sailing near the South Shetland Islands. Keen birders on board were fascinated to see that these conditions attracted an almost fully leucistic (note the dark eyes) Emperor Penguin on deck. How this amazing bird clambered up the side of the ship is an enigma.

Temperature range for the day 1°C - 5°C.

South!

Early this morning around breakfast we cruised through the Lemaire Channel between Booth Island and the mainland of west Antarctica. It was spectacular as usual and, remarkable for this time of year, contained no icebergs of bergy-bits. Some pancake ice was forming after a cold night.

Once through the Lemaire we made our way into the Penola Strait to our first landing of the day at Petermann Island. This point of our trip is notable because it is the farthest south we go- a little more than 65° south. 
The swell was too much to land at our normal site so we decided to use Port Circumcision, which was calm. The small inlet was discovered on Jan. 1, 1909 by the French Antarctic Expedition under Charcot, who named it for the holy day on which it was first sighted. The cove served as a base for the ship Pourquoi-Pas? during the 1909 winter season.


At Petermann, we were able to observe breeding Gentoo and Adélie Penguins, and Blue-eyed Shags, in one sub-colony, all mixed together. Others hiked across the island for a view of iceberg ally, although this year we saw only one of a decent size, and it was in the process of turning over. We noticed a reduction in the number of Adélie Penguins compared to visits in previous years, with them seemingly being replaced by Gentoos.

After returning to the ship we sailed to Port Lockroy for our afternoon landing, via the beautiful Neumayer Channel. Port Lockroy is on Goudier Island and is home to the British Antarctic Heritage Trust's "Base A". Within the base there is a fascinating museum, gift shop and British Post Office. Outside we were treated to more Gentoo Penguins and the antics of several pairs of Snowy Sheatbills. The Union Jack flew proudly above breeding Gentoos with Wiencke Island as a backdrop.


In the evening we had a lot of fun at our Fram Auction and Cruise Show. Several very desirable items were on offer at the auction with the proceeds going to several non-profit organisations dealing with heritage and nature conservation in Antarctica. After the auction, which raised over $2600 US, the crew put on a fantastic and colourful show of singing and dancing and other arts in our Cruise Show. It was a great way to round out our last day in Antarctica. 

We now strike east and north for the Drake Passage and eventually Ushuaia. We wish for calm seas and fair winds. Whether we get our wish is up to Nature, and as we have no hand in it, we can relax and enjoy the ride. Miguelito, the pooparazzi photo is dedicated to you!


Temperature range for the day: -2°C to 3°C.

Never too late

Yesterday was an amazing and interesting day at the same time. "May you live in interesting times" goes the proverb and we sure have done that. In the morning, we made what only can be described as an idyllic landing at Cuverville Island. Cuverville is home to a large colony of Gentoo Penguins. As we landed we were confronted with a think wall of snow from last winter. The penguins had breached the wall in a couple of places, which allowed them to clamber up on to the colony. We made steps up the snow wall for our passengers- no doubt these steps are now being used by the penguins.
The morning landing was sunny, warm, and calm- real shirt-sleeve weather. The penguins were only very early in their breeding cycle because of the snow. No eggs or constructed nests were seen. On the way back to the ship we cruised around the amazing and sometimes colourful icebergs that were in the bay.

The reason we are late posting this blog is our landing at Neko Harbour, which was quite a bit longer than we expected. Neko is on the true mainland of west Antarctica and some feel they have not been to Antarctica unless they have stepped on the continent. Heavy pack ice filled Andvord Bay, at the bottom of which is Neko, so the Fram slowly sailed in to find an anchor from which we would launch the Polar Cirkel boats. It was clear from our first ride into the beach that the trip would be a relatively long one. The Polar Cirkel boats had to pick their way through the pack, which was relatively easy at first but got worse through the middle of the landing.
On the way to the beach we were lucky to see some Crabeater Seals on ice floes. The landing went well with people enjoying the Gentoos, Snowy Sheathbills, and other wildlife, and hiking up the hill behind the beach, only to slide down the same way. Although this was a Gentoo colony, a lone Adélie Penguin came on shore for a preen. The result of the pack ice was that our landing lasted about 7 hours! The last four boats returned to the ship at about 22:30, and followed the Fram into open water so that the remaining passengers and staff could board her. All went well and although, tired and a little cold, everyone felt that they had experienced a true Antarctic adventure.

A crazy day!

Last evening we had very rough sea conditions, which lasted through most of the night. In the very early morning we approached the South Shetland Islands, and a little later we turned to starboard and entered Admiralty Bay on our way to the Polish Arctowski Station. This was to be our first landing in Antarctica proper. The first 100 passengers landed and first walked down the beach towards the Adélie Penguin colony.

As we made our way over the cobbles, we noticed a few Gentoo Penguins, and at the end of our walk we saw a lonely pair of Chinstraps. Ironically, Adélie Penguins were in short supply on the beach, which is unusual. The colony at Arctowski has been declining over the past few decades and now sits at only 4000 pairs. Later in the morning a few Adélies made their way down to the beach and put on a small show for some of us. The Arctowski area is a lush, Antarctic oasis as exemplified by the green meadows of moss and Antarctic Hair Grass, and the amazing growth of lichen on the rocks.

The big news of the morning was the winds, which picked up to storm force, and left us no choice but to cancel the landing and return to the ship. Unfortunately, not all passengers made it on-shore but this is Antarctica, and the unexpected becomes the expected.

Over lunch and the early afternoon we made our way to Half Moon Island, a small crescent shaped extinct volcano near Livingston Island. Half Moon is home to a fairly large Chinstrap Penguin colony. During the whole landing, we experienced rain, strong winds and temperatures close to zero. However, this did not deter us and we all enjoyed the fresh air, surreal landscape, and local wildlife, including several species of breeding seabirds and Weddell Seals.

South of 60 south

Say that 10 times in the row!

Today we continued to sail southwest from South Georgia, on our way to Antarctica. Yesterday we crossed the Antarctic Convergence and today we crossed another significant line, the 60th parallel. We are officially in Antarctica!

Thousands of birds were flying around the Fram to testify this. We spotted the already well known Cape Petrels, some adventurous albatrosses, and a species that we hadn't seen before- the Antarctic Petrel.

By 6 pm we arrived at Elephant Island, where we approached as closely as possible to Point Wild in order to see the Pardo monument. This bronze bust of the pilot Luis Pardo Villalon was placed in Point Wild during the XXIVth Chilean Antarctic Scientific Expedition in 1987-88 to celebrate the rescue of the survivors of Shackleton's Endurance expedition in 1916. The image to the right shows the beach area that was used by Shackleton's men for 4 months while they waited to be rescued. We were struck by how small and area it was, and of course by the absolute wildness of the place.

Tomorrow we continue our adventure in the South Shetland Islands.

The temperature range for today was 0°C to -5°C.

Crossing the mythical barrier

After our departure from Drygalski Fjord last night we headed into rather agitated seas, only to wake up to a beautiful calm sunny day with 550 miles to go to Elephant Island.  During such a quiet day it was amazing to think that 94 and 1/2 years ago we would have encountered Shackelton and his men on this route heading the other way.

For some, the early part of the day was filled with relaxation on deck 7, while others headed to another interesting round of lectures focusing on Antarctic issues.

Towards lunch time the mood of the sea changed and the mist started to coat the wind swept waves.  The seas cooled markedly by almost 3 degrees Celsius and together with the fog indicated to everyone on the FRAM that we had arrived at this mythical barrier that separates the Antarctic region from the rest of the world: the Antarctic Convergence.

 Throughout the day the expedition team worked diligently to create a series of tantalizing questions that made up the ultimate FRAM evening quiz.  Over 100 people competed for the title of 'best lecture attendance' and in the process learned and re-learned fascinating tid-bits about the Southern Ocean, Antarctica and the teaming life that can be found there.  Guided by our two honorable judges, the day ended in a relaxed atmosphere in our observation lounge wondering what new exciting things tomorrow will bring.  

Shackleton, whaling, beautiful weather, nasty weather

Temperature range for the day: 5 to 13°C.
These are some keywords for our second day on South Georgia. Yesterday evening we sailed into Cumberland East Bay and anchored for the night very near Grytviken, the capital of South Georgia. The amazing, summer-like weather which we experienced yesterday continued today. Those of us who have been here before are struck by how little snow we have seen at sea level, and how dry it is underfoot. The winter must have been warm and dry.

In the morning we weighed anchor and moved into Grytviken harbour for our landing at the abandoned Norwegian whaling station. This station was the first of its kind in Antarctica and started operations in 1905. Remarkably, whaling continued in this location until 1965 and processed over 54,000 whales. Also at Grytviken is a fabulous museum, British Post Office, gift shop, and lots of wildlife. The museum has a very nice collection that takes you back to the time of heroic exploration and active whaling in this region. Next to the museum is a life-sized replica of the James Caird, the boat that took Shackleton and five of his men from Elephant Island to South Georgia on arguably the most adventurous voyage ever to have happened.

On the shoreline from Shackleton's grave to King Edward Point we found many male Fur Seals and Elephant Seal harems. We saw a few King Penguins and then noticed a special one. This bird had large white patches of feathers where there should have been dark feathers, and blotchy pink and black feet. Biologists call this particular coloration leucism. Totally leucistic animals are called albinos.

We left Grytviken before lunch to reposition for our next activity at Cooper Bay. However, South Georgia lived up to its reputation of having the worst weather on the planet (just kidding!), and as we sailed east, the wind picked up to gale force and it started to snow. This made our planned Polar Cirkel Boat cruise impossible. Instead we sailed further down the north coast and entered the dramatic Drygalski Fjord, named after Erich Dagobert von Drygalski, who led the first German South Polar Expedition between 1901 and 1903. Now we are sailing towards the Antarctic proper.

A day to remember

Early this morning we approached the north coast of South Georgia, abruptly turned right, and entered Fortuna Bay. This was to be the site of our first landing on this spectacular island of South Georgia. It was also to be the jumping off point of our Shackleton Walk.

We landed on the east side of the bay, near a large King Penguin rookery. There on the beach to greet us were Antarctic Fur Seals, Elephant Seals, and of course King Penguins. A lonely Light-mantled Sooty Albatross, nesting in the Tussoc Grass above the landing site circled over us. After a 30 minutes walk over gravels produced by the nearby glacier, we arrived at the King Penguin colony. The chicks from last spring were gathered in several large creches waiting for their parents to return. These balls of fat covered in a thick coating of brown down (which many people think it is hair) have been fasting for a few months, living on their fat reserves. They clearly think that we are funny looking penguins with a blue coat, because if you sit still, they will approach you as if they were expecting to be fed.

In the middle of the morning a group of some 60 fortunate ones were ferried across to the west side of the bay for the start of the Shackleton Walk. This walk-hike traces partially the steps of Shackleton, Crean and Worsely as they made their way from their landing site on the south coast to Strømness whaling station on the north coast. This 6km hike took the passengers 300m above sea level over rocky terrain and some snow and ice and provided fantastic views of the surrounding area.

As the hikers were crossing between Fortuna Bay and Strømness, the Fram repositioned to Strømness Bay for our second landing of the day. There we found breeding Antarctic Fur Seals and Elephant Seals, a few King Penguins and some Gentoo Penguins. The strange smell of garlic from the male Fur Seals filled the air. We were lucky to have close views of one of the only two species of water birds that lives in South Georgia - the South Georgia Pintail. These tame ducks seem strangely out of place, just like the introduced reindeer (although the former does belong there!)

day-1 to South Georgia

We spent our second day at sea from the Falklands to South Georgia enjoying the better weather outside, and sea-watching. A moderate breeze kept the sea running a little, but it was a treat to be out on decks in dry conditions. Our day was regularly punctuated with interesting lectures on many topics associated with South Georgia and beyond. At one point in the early afternoon we passed by the Shag Rocks, which is part of the territory of South Georgia. A few Blue-eyed Shags that breed on the rocks came out to greet us. The rocks are fragments of the ancient land-bridge between Tierra del Fuego and the Antarctic Peninsula.


An important part of the day was to hear the IAATO (International Association of Antarctic Tour Operators) briefings which taught us the rules and regulations and how to behave when we visit Antarctica, including South Georgia. These briefings are mandatory, which means a person cannot land in Antarctica without hearing them.
www.iaato.org

But back to our seawatching, which was spectacular! Although no whales were seen, we saw several groups of sea lions or fur seals "porpoising" past the ship. From the very start of the day we had Wandering Albatross around the vessel as well as Light-mantled Sooty Albatross, Black-browed and Grey-headed Albatross, Giant Petrels, 1000s of prions- probably Antarctic Prions- Black-bellied Storm-Petrels, and the list goes on. A real highlight was seeing our first true denizen of the Antarctic in the form of the Snow Petrel. The all-white petrels breed on cliffs and nunataks in South Georgia and Antarctica, but venture far out to sea to feed.

Tomorrow we arrive at South Georgia and eagerly wait for our landings there!

At the top end of the Scotia Sea

We are skimming the top edge of the Scotia Sea on our way from the Falkland Islands to South Georgia. The day was grey and rainy, which made seabird and whale watching a little difficult from the decks. The brave ones made it out, though, and were rewarded (see below). As we move east-southeast we are getting closer to the Antarctic convergence and hour by hour the air is getting chillier. Tomorrow we might see our first ice at sea, as we pass by Shag Rocks and pass over the Antarctic convergence, where warmer waters to the north meet the icy waters of the Last Continent.

Despite the rain throughout the day we observed several seabird species and several pods of dolphins. A seabird highlight of the day was great views of Light-mantlled Sooty Albatrosses as they cruised by the ship. These are amazing albatrosses, coloured as they are with various shades of grey to almost black on the head, and topped off with a wonderful white eye-ring. This species breeds in South Georgia and we can imagine these individuals coming out to welcome us to their home!

Overnight we had a new visitor to the ship- a stowaway in a sense. A diving-petrel landed on the deck sometime last night and we found him or her this morning. The bird was in good condition although a little damp, so standard procedure dictates that we put the bird in a box and keep it cool and dry for perhaps one hour before release. This worked very well and our young ornithologist on board, Tristan Wiese successfully released the bird off the stern of deck 7. It was great to see it fly strongly from the ship.

The Fashion Show is a tradition onboard, and we had ours tonight. It is a chance for all the crew members, including the Captain, and expedition staff to become extroverts and model the beautiful clothing we have in our gift shop.

A very Stanley day

...well for many of us at least. Those who went on excursions to the Long Island Farm or Volunteer Point left this marvellous town of Stanley, capital of the Falkland Islands, but nevertheless had a great time elsewhere. Those of us who stayed, enjoyed the town's nature and history.


As mentioned, some of our passengers visited a 22,000 acre sheep farm at Long Island, East Falkland. The farm is run by the 6th generation of the Watson family in a traditional way: they use sheep dogs, they have cows which they milk to produce their own butter and cream, and they cut and burn the traditional peat in their fireplaces and stoves. We marvelled at a sheep shearing demonstration, and a horse gearing display, before ending up in front of a nice cup of tea or coffee and home made cookies in the farmhouse.

Others preferred to admire the flora and fauna of Stanley by taking the Nature Walk. Numerous birds species such as the Magellanic and the Blackish Oystercatchers, the Falkland Flightless Steamer Duck, Upland Goose, Ruddy-headed Goose, Magellanic Penguin, and Two-banded Plover were seen and photographed. The Magellanic Penguins arrived in October and are already incubating their eggs in their burrows near the shoreline.

The adventurers amongst us decided to visit Volunteer Point, which involved a 2.5 hour ride in a Land Rover over the "camp". The camp is the local Falkland Island term for the countryside, and comes from the Spanish word campo, meaning the same thing. The ride is rewarded by fantastic encounters with King Penguins and their chicks as well as Gentoo Penguins. We restrict our distance to wildlife to a minimum of 15 feet or 5 m. However, penguins don't know what 5 m means, and sometimes will approach closer, in which case we stay put and let them come.

Finally, many of the historical points of interest in Stanley were visited during the Historic Walk. This included Government House, the Anglican Cathedral, the Cemetery, the Museum and the War Memorials.

These past two days in the Falkland Islands have given us a mere taste of what this incredible place has to offer. We are sure many want to return and experience more. Late this afternoon, with great anticipation, we set sail for our next destination, South Georgia Island, which is 1300 km to the east-southeast from here.

A very good start in the Falklands!

After 4 days at sea, we were happy to arrive at West Point Island in West Falklands. We got there at 6am and by 7am we had already started with our very first and much anticipated landing. West Point home to the Napier family who have run a sheep farming operation on the island for many years. They are environmentalists as well and have done a fantastic job in reintroducing the Tussoc Grass in the areas that are not grazed and that have bird colonies. A tradition for many years at the Napier's home is to invite all of us in for tea and cakes.

It takes a pleasant 30 minutes to walk the mixed colony of Rockhopper Penguins and Black-browed Albatrosses. It is interesting to note that the two species are completely intermixed in the colony and only occasionally interact. These interactions are usually rather aggressive with lots of pecking and squawking. We had most of the morning to admire the two species at close quarters.

Over lunch we repositioned the Fram to our second landing for the day at New Island. New Island is a nature reserve managed by the New Island Conservation Trust. The trust is working to rehabilitate the island back to a more natural state.

http://www.falklandswildlife.com/PAGES/Index2.html

The colony we visited had breeding Black-browed Albatrosses, Rockhopper Penguins- similar to West Point- but also had King Cormorants.

Some pairs had already laid their eggs but others were still courting. Behind the colony was a small pond, and on our way back to the ship we were greeted by a family of Upland Geese- the gander, the goose, and their eight goslings. We were fascinated by the marvellous views of seabirds we had today. For many it was the first experience of the spectacle of a seabird colony.

After we returned to the Fram, she set off for Port Stanley, the capital of the Falkland Islands. All on the Fram went to bed with a smile on their face today!