Brown Bluff

Monday 19 January 2015

In the morning we entered the wonderful Antarctic Sound. This piece of sea is well known for its magnificent tabular icebergs and we were certainly spoiled with incredible views of these ice towers.  The weather was perfect, and the Captain took us for a little ride around one of these. The iceberg itself was taller than our ship, and it took approximately 22 minutes to navigate around it. Important to remember that most of an iceberg's mass lies beneath the waves. We spent the rest of the morning taking in the beautiful scenery as we gently cruised along to our landing site.

Getting a better look of these ice giants

Shortly after lunch we arrived at our destination: Brown Bluff. This was our first continental landing. Approaching the shoreline by Polar Cirkle boats our senses were heightened: the sublime views and unmistakable smell and sounds from the penguin rookeries !

Arriving at Brown Bluff

At this site many Gentoo and Adelie penguins nest. Their young hatched a few weeks ago and it was great to see the little balls of down. The sun was extremely strong, and we could see many of the Adelie chicks laying flat on the ground - as moving too much would mean overheating. Kelp Gulls were also nesting among the penguins, vigorously defending their territory from wandering penguins.

We walked up a short but steep moraine. From here we were treated to breathtaking views of the surrounding glacier system. It was incredible to think that travelling across these glaciers could eventually lead us to the South Pole !

Hiking up the morraine at Brown Bluff

Gentoo feeding its young

Heading: The Antarctic Peninsula

This time The Drake Passage revealed its true self and made reason for its infamous reputation. We experienced strong gale during the night sailing out from Ushuaia, but it seemed to be short-lived and the weather calmed down to high wind during the following day, which was a relief for all of us.

We spent the following day with info-briefings, trying out our blue Expedition Jackets and getting the right sizes for our much comfortable muck boots, which we are going to use in Antarctica.

To our delight we had Albatrosses accompanying the ship towards Elephant Island. We had the Wandering, the Grey-Headed and the Black-browed, as well as Cape Petrels, aka Pintados, swivelling around M/S Fram showing themselves from their best side.

In early afternoon on the 18 January, we sighted the legendary Elephant Island and we were all eager to get out there to explore. We decided on a cruising around the absolutely stunning Point Lookout.

These rugged metamorphic rocks with a topping of iron-oxide and penguin-droppings was home to an abundant wildlife. There were Weddell, Fur, Elephant and Leopard Seals in the water, Cape Petrels in the air, Chinstrap Penguins on the rocks and to our delight we found the absolutely amazing Macaroni Penguins around the corner. All this in one place and it was all beautifully wrapped in by the surroundings of glaciers coming down the mountains. This is a truly special place and it will linger on for quite some time.

A great start to our adventures here in Antarctica.

Petermann Island and Vernadsky research station

Tuesday 13 January 2015

We have had another spectacular day in the Antarctic.

Early in the morning we picked up our fellow campers who had been camping overnight at Petermann Island. A wonderful experience, and certainly not one many people can say they have done! The sound of Gentoo penguins could be heard all night, as icebergs slowly drifted by. Within the colony an elephant seal could be seen.

Later all our guests also had the opportunity to make a landing. Petermann island, found on the west side of the Penola Straight, was discovered in 1873 by a German whaler Eduard Dallmann and was named after a famous German geographer August Petermann. Our landing started at Port Circumcision which was used by the French explorer Jean-Baptiste Charcot who overwintered there at the beginning of the 20^th Century with his ship the Pourquoi Pas.

From our rocky landing site we could observe the Antarctic continent on the other side, with towering mountains reaching between 800-1300 metres high. On one side of the island our guests could observe an “iceberg graveyard”, where many iceberg become stranded due to shallow water. On the other side of the island, we found a rocky beach with steep cliffs: home to large colony of blue eyed shags (many with quite grown chicks, still with their grey plumage), Gentoo penguins and Adelie penguins.

Adelie at Petermann Island

Amazing glacier ice formations

In the afternoon we headed towards our southernmost point of our journey: the Vernadsky research station. Until 1986, the station was controlled by British Antarctic Survey but was sold for the symbolic fee of 1 Pound to the Ukraine. Our guests were given a guided tour around the facilities. As the departure time approached, nobody wanted to leave as this would be the last Antarctic landing of our trip. To thank our Ukrainian friends for their hospitality, we delivered some fresh vegetables, as they only get one supply of food every year!

Vernadsky Station

The famous bar at Vernadsky

Home brewed vodka

Our Captain on a kayak tour

So far from everything, yet we felt very at home at the Ukranian base

We set sail at 6pm and now have 2 days of Drake Passage ahead of us. Let’s hope for some quiet seas to end what has been an exceptional journey.

Port Lockroy and Lemaire Channel

This Monday morning started as usual the last days: air temperature about  zero, cloudy to overcast and nearly no wind. But after some time the weather changed into a typical Antarctic one: completely overcast with deep clouds hiding the surrounding mountains and it started a slight snowfall which lasted during the whole day. We started our landing at Port Lockroy at about 8. 30.

Port Lockroy is a former British research station which was turned into an Antarctic  Historical Monument. First it was established as Base B during the British operation Taberin  at the end of World War II in 1944. It was changed into a research station in 1952 and was abandoned in 1962. In 1996 it was restored and is now the most visited historical site in the Antarctic. It lies on the tiny Goudier Island and the surrounding of the buildings is occupied by Gentoo Penguins and turned into a small rookery.

Port Lockroy Museum (Bransfield House)

Only a small group of persons is allowed to be on the Island and just 35 persons can be at one time in the museum. There we could admire the old research instruments and got an inside in the living conditions in this old research station. But the most interesting room in the museum was the museum shop and most of us used the short time for “power shopping” or writing post cards. The waiting time could be used for taking photos of the Gentoo penguins and their chicks.

Shopping at the museum shop in Port Lockroy

Port Lockroy writing postcards

After lunch we sailed through the scenic Lemaire channel. It  was an extraordinary experience to sail through it under this typical Antarctic condition and not in  the often seen pictures in brilliant sunshine.

At the southern end we had a short but very impressive boat cruising for everybody. We curved around lots of stranded big icebergs in white and blue colours. We fought through crashed Glacier ice and relics of the winter sea ice. All this took place in the fairy and mysterious  scenery produced by the overcast sky and the continuous snowfall. But the most impressive experience were the sighting of two  leopard seals lying separated on  small ice flows. Sometimes the opened their mouth and showed us their powerful  jaws.

At 21.30 the campers set out to Petermann Island to have an overnight in tents.

Cruising in the ice (Southern Entrance of Lemaire Channel)

Leopard Seal (Southern Entrance of Lemaire Channel)

Humpback Galore

Sunday 11 January 2015 

The Argentine base of Almirante Brown is located on the Antarctic Peninsula mainland near Skontrop Cove in Paradise Harbour. It´s named for William Brown, an Irish immigrant who became a national hero in Argentina and is known as the father of the Argentine Navy. 



Station Brown


In 1984, the station´s doctor went slightly mad and burned the base down, but no one was injured and the American research vessel Polar Duke saved everybody.

Beautiful sights surrounding the base

Snowy sheathbills

We landed among the Gentoo penguins and made our way up the steep slope and we were rewarded with a stunning view over Paradise Bay. We had Imperial Cormorants flying below us, beautiful ice burgs in the distance, and a picture perfect view over the glaciers. We slid down the slop on our behinds, all to the cheering of the spectators. On the way back to M/S Fram we went by the blue eyed shags and had a look at the chicks.

On the way towards Wilhelmina Bay we saw two Humpback whales, that we approached, but they showed no interest so we kept on sailing. That showed to be a very good decision, because little later we found another Humpback whale and this one was feeding. This amazing animal showed to be very comfortable with us and kept on feeding around the ship. We all stood on the outer decks and witnessed this fantastic show, watching the whale bubble-feeding. Bubble feeding is when the whale is swimming in an upward spiral, corralling and concentrating krill swarms inside a curtain of bubbles before gulfing them in an explosive open-mouthed rise, breaking free from the surface. Everyone on the ship was running back and forth around the decks, trying to get the best view and picture of this colossal. Everytime it fluked (showing its tailfin) a big aaahhhhhh went through the audience, followed by maybe hundreds of click, click, click.

An absolutely amazing and rare meeting, which will linger on for a long time.

Bubble net feeding in action

Danco and Cuverville

10 January 2015

Both Danco and Cuverville are fairly small islands surrounded by tall mountains and roaring glaciers. In the waters around the islands it is like an art exhibition of ice sculptures. Fantastic sculptures of ice in thousand shades of blue.

Both places lucky kayakers could enjoy circumnavigation of the islands. Kayaking in this area is as good as it gets. In the kayak we really get close to nature and move in total silence between the icebergs. It is a magical experience that leaves a big smile on your face and long lasting memories in your heart.

It was also a perfect day for cruising in polarcircel boats and enjoying the good life of summer in Antarctica. The weather we are experiencing this trip is just amazing. The sun is shining almost 24 hours a day and there is no wind in the air. Rare luxury in these waters.

To top of a perfect day 18 campers spent the night outside in the short Antarctic night. They tell tales of hunting Leaopard seal along the shoreline and calving glaciers. When you are camping in Antarctica sleeping is not the first priority.

Deception island

Deception Island is an island like no other. It is ring shaped, with a very narrow opening allowing boats to access its centre. In fact it is a volcano (the ring being the crater), and one of the only two volcanoes in Antarctica where eruptions have been observed, the last one lasting between 1967-1970. Our guests were certainly not deceived, as we had an action packed day full of different activities.

In the morning we landed at Telefon Bay. After a short hike up an ash slope, we found another smaller crater which was possible to go hiking around. One by one our tender boats arrived and our guests were treated to incredible views over the entire Deception Island. Although the temperature was a balmy few degrees Celsius, the wind picked up and we were happy to return to a warm ship for lunch. In the meantime we had another group kayaking – they were able to reach Pendulum Cove, known for its hotsprings.

View from the top of Deception Island. At distance is the narrow entrance (Neptune's Bellows)

In the afternoon we crossed over to the other side of the island, to Whaler’s Bay (named after the whaling operations which took place here in 1906), where we were greeted by steaming black ash sand. Putting your hand into the sand and you could really feel the heat! We visited some of the fascinating historical monuments along the beach, including a Norwegian whaling station and British science base - both destroyed during the last eruption.

Arriving at Whaler's Bay

Some of us decided to join the hike to Bailey Head – a steep hike up the ash slopes and onto snow fields. Once we had ascended the slopes, we had outstanding views beyond the island, and were able to reach a large chinstrap penguin colony. Back down again, and just in time for some Antarctic bathing. You see, some of the waters around the Bay are relatively warm, but judging by the faces of our keen swimmers, it still looked pretty cold! Finally, we had another group who went on a very interesting “geology cruise” with our very own geologist to the southern part of the caldera of the Deception Island. The group saw some interesting features of the glacier of Mount Pond and looked at the hydrothermal activity in Pendulum cove.

Hike to Bailey Head

Chinstrap colony at Bailey Head

What comes up must come down

Antarctic bathing

Overall, another very busy day in a very incredible place!

Yankee Harbour & Half Moon Island

Another perfect day in the “White Paradise”! Again we had good weather: cloudy but sunshine in between, temperature above zero and a gentle breeze. The sunshine and the clouds with their shadows were painting a picture in blue, white and dark in the landscape of mountains, glaciers and the sea.

Glacier at Yankee Harbour

We started our operations at Yankee harbor at nine in the morning. Yankee Harbour is situated at the southern coast of Greenwich Island, an island of the South Shetland Islands west of the Antarctic Peninsula. Yankee Harbour is a natural harbor in a well sheltered bay build up by a long spit of gravel. The bay was discovered by the American Nathaniel Palmer in 1820  and was used by American sealers afterward during the early nineteenth century. A trypot as a relic of this period is to see near the landing site. Trypots were used in the early days to boil oil out of the skins of whales, seals and even penguins. We visited a Gentoo penguin colony of about 4000 breeding pairs scattered around the beach area. Some went to the end of the spit to look for young male elephant seals, hauling out there. But most of our passengers took the opportunity to see and to photograph them during the boat ride back to the ship. At ten a group of kayakers  arrived at the landing site to start their kayak tour around the bay passing by the glacier front on the other side of the bay. The landing ended at 13.30.

Gentoo Penguin feeding (Yankee Harbour)

Young Elephant seal at Yankee Harbour

During Dinner we sailed over to the nearby Half Moon Island. The small Island got its name after its shape as it forms an open circle. The diameter is only 2 km long. The Island lies in a bay in the northern part of Livingston Island. Since 1953 there is an Argentine research station on the island. The island is famous for its small (around 3000 breeding pairs) but very nice chinstrap colony, distributed over rocky hills on the western side of the Island. We started our landing at 15.30. Most of us preferred to visit the chinstrap colony. There were still breeding pairs with eggs. But most of the pairs had chicks ranging in age from tiny only a few days to bigger chicks about 3 weeks old. Some went down to the gravel beach to see Weddell Seals. A group of passengers started a 2 hours boat cruising around the Island passing by the impressive glacier front of Livingston Island. Later also a group of kayakers made a similar tour around the island. Our landing ended at 19.30.

Chinstrap penguin with chicks (Half Moon Island)

Weddell seal at Half Moon Island