For The Love of Travel

Cape Lookout, Elephant Island, was shrouded in fog early this morning, there were rollicking waves, it was snowing, the wind was howling – typical Antarctic weather for us to experience, after previous glorious days of sunshine. Very choppy seas, so the Captain lifted anchor to sail to another part of the isalnd – Point Wild, where Shackleton’s Endurance expedition had camped (and so we had a better chance of keeping our breakfast down as well)…..see that square rock to the left of the photo? That was the small area on which they camped!

Elephant Island was made famous by Shackleton’s 1914-1917 Endurance Expedition.

After being grounded in ice for 281 days, the Endurance was eventually crushed by the pack ice and sank, with the 28 men onboard using life boats and ice floes to drift north towards land. 3 months later, they saw the inhospitable cliffs and mountains of Elephant Island and landed here. 22 crew camped for 137 days under upturned boats on low lying Point Wild…while Shackleton and 5 others went for help in a small lifeboat to South Georgia, 700 nautical miles away. The camping party survived on seal blubber and penguins until their rescue. AMAZING.

Woke up this morning at Brown Bluff, at the northern tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. It formed during the past 12 million years, erupting sub glacially within an englacial lake. The volcano’s original diameter is thought to have been 12-15 kilometres and probably formed by a single vent. It has steep slopes and brown/black hyaloclastick rock. A zodiac tour first where we saw lots of cute little Adelie penguins on icebergs, as well as a sleepy leopard seal and many crab-eater seals.  

Then walked on shore on slippery pebbles to see the penguin colony in action. Fabulous morning.

Saw about 25 -30 killer whales as we sailed into the Erebus and Terror Gulf before heading into the Antarctic Sound. Staff went out in a zodiac with a harpoon to get some DNA matter from as many whales as possible. Got one apparently!  

Then – an incredible event happened!!! Witnessed penguin carnage with killer whales between Andersson and Dundee Isles, chasing and ‘playing’ with poor little penguins, before killing them. Nature happening before us, not very comfortable viewing though.

We sailed through “Iceberg Alley”, where we saw the HUGE remains of tabular berg B15Y, which calved off the Ross Ice Sheet  in south Antartica and has slowly travelled east up the coast, currently settling in the Atlantic Sound. 

A beautiful sunny morning for our visit to Palmer station, the US research station  in Arthur Harbour, Anvers Island.  Surrounded by lovely icebergs and glaciers.    

There are 2 foci for the research – on what’s happening in Antartica (zoology, microbial ecology and marine biology mainly); the effect of what’s happening in Antartica on global systems.   20 – 40 people work on some 45 projects around the year, mainly in summer. A budget of $450M, out of a National Scientific Foundation budget of $10B. 

There area few artistic types who have managed to get a grant to write a children’s book on Antarctic animals – Terry Nelson is a very talented cartoonist and is illustrating the book. She was on hand with some of her beautiful sketches.  

The largest insect at this southern-most point is the Belgica Antartica, 3mm. It has the constitution of an ox! Survives in freezing temperatures and dehydration extremes – scientists (aka ‘buggers’) are interested in understanding the physiological and molecular mechanisms of how these little midges survive.

Long term research has been carried out on penguin breeding on the nearby Adelie penguin colony on Torgersen Island. There numbers have declined by 75% with the glacial melt (which has consistently been 10 metres a year since 1975). Temperature has increased by 7 degrees since 1975.

They have a ‘glider’ craft that explores the ocean to research ‘sessile’ critters, matter that’s stuck to the ocean floor and doesn’t move.

The Palmer station recipe for ‘Brownies’ is world famous – bringing home a copy….plan to do some baking for the next lunch at chez-moi.

Some Antarctic vocab I can now share, should you ever venture to this neck of the woods…..

• “Nunataks” – rocky crag projecting off ice on glacier
• “Bergy bit” – less than 5 metres above water; more than 1 metre high
• “Brash ice” – less than 2 metres across, piled upon ice wreckage; little ice floaties in the water
• “Fast ice” – ice attached to coast unmoving and more than 2 metres above water; an ice shelf.

Gorgeous crab-eater seals on ice flows and their mate swimming nearby, when we went on zodiacs back to the ship.   

The Palmer keeps tributes and photos of those eminent scientists to have worked onsite – Dr Alice McWhinnie features prominently – physiologist and Antarctic researcher, focussing on the life history of krill. In 1962, she was the first female scientist to participate in Antarctic research and subsequently, one of the first 2 women to ‘winter’ in Antartica.  She undertook 11 research trips between 1962- 1978. Science station chief at McMurdo Sound in 1974. In 1975-76, researchers and students visited Mary Alice at Palmer station to discuss the biology, harvesting, distribution and life cycles of krill. She served tirelessly on every US Committee on the Antartica – what a woman!

From Palmer station to Port Lockroy to drop off mail and pick up a scientist doing research locally.  

Gorgeous afternoon, brilliant skies and wonderful panorama! The 3 staff at Port Lockroy waved us goodbye and the Captain of our ship blew 3 farewell horn blasts, sending the penguins on the island scampering for cover.

Afternoon was capped off by about 25 humpback whales surfacing from eating krill, to hunch their backs/dorsal fin and flick their tails in the air (fluking) before going back down for more feeding….absolutely stunning! Eric’s talk at 16.30 on glaciers of the southern ocean was rescheduled to allow us to go out on the bow and enjoy the whale (of a ) display!    

Beef cheek in a red wine jus for dinner tonight – yummy!!