Penguins and Whales

Penguins, penguins, penguins… and whales too


Our first landing was canceled due to the high winds and weather. We were all very disappointed but it was easy to see why the decision was made; when the weather here is nasty it is really nasty. Early yesterday morning we reached Cuverville Island. The winds were calm and the landing was on! Our small group is all in Group 3 so we didn’t have long to wait. We had already been issued special life vests for the small boats so when our group was called we headed to Deck 2 to select our rubber boots and board the Polar Cirkle boats. This time it took a little longer as we had to find the size boot that fit but soon we boarded our little boat and were off for the island - only about a 5 minute ride. How exciting, we could see the rookeries all along the shore (and smell them too). Getting into and out of the small boats is very easy and there are plenty of expedition crew to help. I headed to the closest rookery as I was having difficulty walking through the snow… I sent Jim on to some of the ones further on. I settled myself at the 15 ft distance and sat on the snow. As the staff had told us, if you sit still the penguins will come right up to you - they weren’t kidding. None of the penguins actually came close enough to sniff or nibble my feet but they came within about 3 feet. I shot many many pics… it’s hard to stop shooting! They are so cute; this was just what I came for. We had 70 minutes at this landing so with about 15 minutes left Jim came back and we decided to go down on the stone beach and get some pictures there before returning. Between us we shot over 1000 photos - I’m sure glad we are digital these days. It’s awfully easy to just put the camera on continuous and just keep shooting. In the old days you were much more selective in making your shots.

We returned from the landing and emptied our camera cards onto the portable hard drives and put the batteries in the chargers - off to lunch. After lunch we were standing out on the deck on the starboard side without cameras… all of a sudden the Captain stopped the ship and they announced Orcas to Port. Jim ran and got the cameras and we joined the crowds along the portside railings on deck 5. There was a family of 5 orcas trying to get a Crabeater seal that was on a small ice floe. It was amazing to watch them work together to cause a large wave that would sweep the seal off the ice and then they would dive after it. Each time the seal made it back up onto the ice you could hear everyone cheer. Then the whales would circle around for a while and make another run at it. We watched for over an hour until they finally caught their meal. It was an amazing experience. Many of the expedition staff said that they had been coming here for 8 and 9 years and had never seen anything like it. In the ship’s blog they estimated that over 50,000 photos were taken… I think Jim and I shot about a thousand ourselves. Even though I came for the penguins this was an experience I’ll never forget.

Late in the afternoon we reached Port Lockroy - we were the second group called this time as they rotate the order. First we were taken to a small island across from the buildings and had a chance for more penguin pictures… we now have tons of Gentoo penguin shots. Then we moved over to the small island; this is a British territory and they maintain a small staff in the summer. There is a museum and gift shop… the most southern shopping possible. We sent ourselves a postcard and bought a small stuffed penguin and then headed back to the ship.

This really was a perfect day, the weather was good all day. It was very tiring… wearing the heavy clothes, lifejackets and carrying the camera gear while walking on uneven terrain was very tiring… I was almost too tired to enjoy dinner. I’m glad we were an early boat!

More later.