The why not day

After picking up the campers at Horseshoe we set out for a little exploration in the northern part of Marguerite Bay. Marguerite Bay is a large bay in which to the south is the Wordie Ice Shelf and to the north is Adelaide Island. Along the bay we saw several tabular icebergs all of which originated from the Wordie Ice Shelf, although some ice from glaciers was also present.

We started the day with a bit of soft snow fall. Our exploration started at Pourquoi Pas Island (or the Why Not Island) we landed at Bongrain Point, a Fram first. It was the first time at that site not only for passengers but also for staff as well. The site contained a small colony of about 700 breeding pairs of Adélie Penguins, and literally hundreds of skuas around the colony. Some skuas were breeding as well and had small nestlings that were cute and cuddly.  The penguin colony contained many well grown chicks and some were ready to go to sea. Also there were many adults at different stages of moulting. The key to distinguish the young from the adult Adélie Penguins is in the throat: young will have white while the adults have black throats. Around the colony several Fur Seals were found, and some were very grumpy.

As it was the "why not day", during the afternoon we continued with explorations of Marguerite Bay and we decided to go to Jenny Island. Jenny was another unknown site for us. There we found several seals including large numbers of Elephant Seals. We attempted unsuccessful landings at several sites but there were too many rocks and heavy swells for the Polar Circle boats to handle. However, we managed to do a landing in a corner of a large cobble beach. Slightly higher above the beach, the island was covered with Fur Seals and the large swells restricted us to a small area, but we succeeded in observing Elephant Seals and some Fur Seals.

Island hopping: Stonington and Horseshoe

Another superlative day!  There was between 10 and 15 knots of wind blowing with scattered sunshine.  Temperatures hovered near the freezing point and just above.

Our first landing was at Stonington Island at 09:00. 

There was lots of time to explore the various buildings in both the old British Base “E” and the former American East Base.  A handful of squawking Adelie penguins seemed to wander aimlessly about the island.

The scenery was stunning (as it always is down here).  A large glacier loomed immediately behind the island.  We were able to witness a couple of minor ice calvings. The sounds of “white thunder” periodically punctuated the sonic landscape at Stonington.

Our second landing of the day was at Horseshoe Island at 16:30.  We had plenty of time to muse through the old buildings at Base Y.  The base is in fantastic condition. There was plenty of canned food (long past the expiry date!) lining the shelves.  There were dishes, tools, radio equipment, snow shoes, books and numerous other items spread throughout the building.  It seemed as if the former occupants had just got up and left the day before.

Several Skuas watched our every step as they fiercely guarded their chicks.  Quite a few of us were dive bombed by attacking Skuas.  We soon learned where we could and could not go!

This was also where 14 lucky people spent the night on shore in tents.  It was perfect weather for the camping enthusiasts.  All of the participants returned to the ship for dinner after the afternoon landing and then went back on shore at 21:30 for their night south of the Circle!

THE MAGIC LINE

The morning was a bit windy with soft rain. About 10 am the soft rain turned into light snow and the wind picked up a little bit  -- However, we did it --- we crossed the line 66° 33’ S and 67° 07’ W. 

Dominic, our on board photographer, took a picture with passengers and staff in the bow of the vessel.  Neptune did his lovely traditional speech and of course many of us got baptized and received the traditional aquavit shot while the soft snow was still dripping softly on our faces.  This was a lovely way to cross the MAGIC LINE, especially as for most of us it was the first time.

In the afternoon we visited the former British station base W that was in operation from 1956 through 1959. There we got a good impression of the life situation in a station during this particular period. The old station is now restored as a museum and belongs to the British Antarctic heritage trust.

We also had the opportunity to see an Adelie colony that is located in the far end of the island. This was our first Adelie colony on this trip. We also observed Crab eater Seals on ice flows and near the landing site we could watch many Weddell Seals.

Some of us have been brave enough to go for a true polar plunge.

After we left Detaille we had time for whale watching. Some Humpback Whales  could be seen next to the vessel. 

The MV Fram fashion show performed by the officers, crew and staff has been the last highlight of the day. 

 

Danco Island and Neko Harbour

Our landing started at Danco Island a trifle earlier this morning at 08:00.  It was warm at 2˚C and we were once again treated with a near windless day.  The skies were overcast but with warm temps and flat calm seas it felt like a summer day.  Uh, well, actually it is the middle of summer.  No wonder it feels like summer.

Danco is a lovely small island situated right smack in the middle of the picturesque Errera Channel and is the home of approximately 2000 pairs of Gentoo Penguins.

One of the great things about Danco is that there is a nice hike up a long slope which terminates on a flat, broad snow and icefield.  It seemed like just everyone made the arduous trek up to the plateau like summit.  From the top of Danco one gets a marvellous 360˚ view. 

Everyone got a full hour and a half on shore which gave them plenty of time to visit the colony and to trek to the top.

In the afternoon at 15:00 we landed Neko Harbour.  The grey skies had begun to break up and rays of sun shine poked through here and there.  Everyone was excited to get in shore because Neko is a continent landing.  It was our first opportunity to set foot on the  continent of Antarctica!  Yahoo!!

We landed on a nice sandy beach where dozens of Gentoo Penguins were preening and just generally hanging about.    It was about a 3 or 4 minute walk from the landing site to the main colony.  And then up hill again!  This time the Expedition Team lead us on a long trek up to another snow-covered icefield only this one had two small crevasses.  One 20cm crevasse paralleled the path for a few metres and then about 30 metres up the hill, the path traversed another crevasse of about the same size. 

In any case, neither of these small cracks posed a problem as the Expedition Team posted staff members at strategic spots and placed plenty of flags to indicate the exact position of the crevasses.

The view from the top was magnificent!  On our right side and behind us were spectacular glaciers and mountain peaks and to the front and left were great views of 
Neko Harbour clear across the glaciers on the other side.  There were great booming and thundering sounds coming from the glaciers on a regular basis.  A few of us were lucky to seem the glacier calving as well as a couple of small avalanches.

Towards the end of the landing two Weddell Seals hauled out close to the landing site.  In fact one of the seals settled down a scant 20 metres away and was totally unconcerned with the Polar Cirkel boats zipping in and out of the bay. 

By 19:00 the last boat left the shore.  Everyone had enjoyed a full three hours on shore today and everyone returned to the ship with a smile on their face.

Now it is 21:00 and we are heading further south.  The wind has picked up remarkably.  From a day when the wind barely nudged past 5 knots to a full 25 to 30 knots.

Ah well.  The forecast for tomorrow looks good.  But as always in Antarctica, believe it when you see it!

PASTA OR NOT PASTA

In the morning we all attended our mandatory IAATO briefing, were they told us what we can and what we cannot do in Antarctica. The morning was foggy and gray; however the seas were very calm, as soon as we crossed the Nelson strait the fog partially cleared up.  Nelson Island is almost fully covered by snow and ice. We saw many penguins jumping out of the water as we moved toward our afternoon landing site. What a beautiful and overwhelming first sight.

Half-moon was the first place that we visited on this trip.

The island contains about 3,500 breeding pairs of Chinstraps, and a few Gentoos that can be seen on the beach. Occasionally we find a lonely Macaroni Penguin, which we called the PASTA and we always play the game PASTA IS - PASTA IS NOT, but the great majority of visits PASTA IS, and this time PASTA IS and not only that, there have been two of them.

At our arrival to Half-moon, some of us went for a hike to the far end of the island passing near the unmanned Argentine station of Camara. 

The second group stayed around the penguin colonies, which contained nestlings of about a month of age.  Surprises never end and most of us had the chance to observe yet another species of penguin, a Rockhopper, which is a rare event here in Antarctica.

On our way to Antarctica.

Wow. How exciting. Who would’ve imagined as a young child that one day you would be on such an adventurous journey? Certainly not me. As a child, Antarctica might as well have been the moon in my mind. It seemed just as distant. Just as remote. It was the cold white area on the bottom of a spinning globe. It was the stuff of documentaries and high school geography. 

But now, here we are steaming south across the most notorious body of water on earth, Drake Passage, on board one of the most modern and comfortable expedition cruise ships on earth, or rather sea, the MS Fram.

It has been a grey cloudy day.  The seas range between 4 and 5 metres.  It makes everyone look like they have a rather bad drinking habit as they stagger around the ship, trying to walk a straight line and pretend they didn’t just bump into the wall.  Well, if you do have a drinking problem, a day on the Drake is a good way to disguise the fact.  You look just like everyone else.

We had many lectures scheduled throughout the day to prepare everyone for the Antarctic Adventure.  We also had vacuum stations set up in the afternoon where everyone thoroughly cleaned their outdoor gear to avoid introducing alien species into Antarctica.

In the afternoon we set up boot shops on decks 2 and 3 where it seemed like just about everyone tried on a pair of our Muck Boots ® which are available to rent for the entire voyage.

In the early evening we scheduled a photo work shop with the ship’s photographer and later on the excellent BBC documentary Frozen Planet was shown in both English and German in our two lecture halls.

It is now 21:00 and a heavy fog has enveloped Fram.  The seas and wind have dropped noticeably. Tonight we will be rocked to sleep by the Drake, dreaming of what lies in store for us in Antarctica.  Penguins. Seals. Whales. Ice.

A BRAND BLUE DAY

We reached Ushuaia under lead grey skies, and after various excursions around Ushuaia we finally arrived at MV Fram. 

We lined up to check in, get our ship cards, visit the doctor, and then we were finally inducted into the Hurtigruten Expedition Family when we received our brand new blue jacket!! 

Proudly wearing our brand new blue jackets we headed outside for the mandatory safety drill and as the drill completed we cast the lines and headed down the Beagle Channel. 

A line of blue jackets was seen heading towards the restaurant for a fine meal after a longs day travel, where we were met with the sun breaking through the clouds and with Ushuaia disappearing over the horizon.

During the Captains welcome our minds drifted to the next days of the Drake Passage, how much different to the Beagle Channel could it be? Read tomorrows blog if you would like to find out. It might be a brand new blue day.

Drake Passage

During night, the wind and the waves had calmed down quite a bit and we enjoyed the smooth sailing on the Drake Passage again.

The day was busy with bridge visits and lectures, and in the afternoon, freshly baked hot waffles were served and we had a charity auction in which we auctioned two items, the ships flag and the ships master chart of this voyage. The money raised is donated to several nature conservation organizations that work in the South Polar realm.

At the Captain´s Cocktail, Captain Arild Hårvik thanked his crew and all the passengers for the great spirit on board and wished everybody a safe voyage back home. On our way up the Beagle Channel, a large group of Dusky dolphins joined the Fram for several hours, leaping out of the water and playing in the bow wave.

Another Bouncy Day on the Drake

A full load of passengers on board Fram is about 230 people. Right now we have 145 guests and Fram is quiet.  Peaceful.     When you add a rough ride on the Drake, there are even fewer people up and about.  If you have your sea legs it is a very relaxing time. 

It can be mesmerizing to watch the breaking seas and giant Wandering Albatross soaring about.  On the other hand, if you forgot to take your motion sickness meds and you’re prone to sea sickness, then weather like we are having today is not such a tranquil experience.  “Hoo-ray and up she rises, hoo-ray and up she rises...”  can have different connotations.

The truth is that Fram is a very stable ship and while we had seas of four to five metres all day long, it is not a big deal on Fram.  Still, the gym sat empty, the Jacuzzis were drained, waffles were postponed until tomorrow, the seated dinner became a buffet, bridge visits were postponed from morning until afternoon, the elevators decommissioned and access to the outdoors was limited to deck seven.

Nevertheless, as always on sea days,  the lecture series continued at full throttle with talks scheduled on: Shackleton, The Geology of Antarctica, Albatross and Petrels, and The History of Whaling.

At 17:00 everyone was invited to join the Expedition Team in the Observation Lounge for a recap of the voyage.  The whole team lined up across the dance floor and responded to questions ranging from global warming, to landing procedures, to the stability of Fram in high seas! 

As we cruise steadily northwards the winds and the seas have noticeable decreased.  Now the seas are a comfortable three to four metres.  The forecast for tomorrow?  More of the same!

Whalers Bay and Telephone Bay

After a partly shaky night we entered into the caldera of the volcanic Deception Island early in the morning. A spectacularly narrow passage that is further complicated by an underwater rock called Raven Rock right in the middle of the entrance.

The destination for our morning landing was Whalers Bay, where we visited the remains of the old whaling station Hector and the British Base B that was set up by the Falkland Island Dependencies Service. The weather was not exactly perfect – drizzling rain and a bit of wind – but it was still impressive to take a stroll between the abandoned station buildings and the dismantled blubber cookers. Hard to imagine that at this lonesome beach, thousands of whales were processed. Reports of whalers tell that at some time, several hundred flensed carcasses were floating in the caldera. The smell must have been tremendous!

As the weather situation outside the sheltered caldera of Deception Island further deteriorated, we decided to re-schedule our afternoon landing. Instead of continuing towards Walker Bay at King George Island, we stayed a little longer at Deception Island and accomplished a landing at Telephone Bay at the far end of the caldera. We undertook a scenic walk around some crater lakes filled with turquoise water and up a hill, from where we had a view of the entire inner part of Deception Island.

In the late afternoon, provisioned with sea-sickness pills, we sailed out of Deception Island and headed into the Drake Passage.

Port Lockroy and Neko Harbour

Rain was falling as we boarded the Polar Cirkle boats to go to Port Lockroy this morning at 09:30.  But what’s a little rain to adventurous Antarctic explorers such as ourselves?  This drizzle would not dampen our spirits, it would not stop us from seeing the most visited site in all of Antarctica and it would most definitely not prevent us from shopping at the most well supplied gift shop in all of Antarctica.

 Port Lockroy is the site of a former British Base and has been restored as a small  but excellent museum. The income from the well-supplied gift shop goes to the British Antarctic Heritage Trust and amongst other things helps to maintain the museum.

The Expedition Team helped us up a wet slippery slope where we were greeted by a large number of penguins.  Gentoo Penguins nest all around the museum, gift shop and living quarters of the few people that inhabit Port Lockroy in the summer.   Needless to say, they are very used to people wandering around.  Gentoos seemed to be everywhere.  They nest within a metre of the entrance to the museum and penguins constantly wander about.  According to IAATO regulations we must not approach penguins closer than 5 metres.  However the Lockroy penguins brazenly broke this rule at every opportunity.  How wonderful!

After lunch, we once again landed on the actual continent of Antarctica at Neko Harbour.  Neko is the site of another Gentoo colony and there were many penguins preening themselves on the beach.  A short walk took us up from the beach and to the base of the colony.  We had the option of hiking up a snow and ice field to a lofty lookout point where we had excellent views of Neko Harbour and the the glacier front.

One of the fun things when hiking in Antarctica is that sometimes there is an option to slide down the hill that you hiked up.  It seemed that most people chose the sliding option!  The Expedition Team selected an appropriate area for sliding and soon people were zipping down the hill.  Ski-bunda!

By 19:30 the last Polar Cirkel boat had left shore and we were once again heading further north.  As we were exiting Andvord Bay we sighted three Humpback Whales and were able to observe them near the ship for over forty minutes!

At 22:00 we joined our Philipino crew in the Observation lounge where they entertained us with singing and dancing.  It was a delightful way to end our day.