We are in the middle of our 10 night Antarctic cruise and coming up there's so much more to see and do. Today we will meet the Adelie penguin, one of the two true Antarctic penguins. These small penguins are as cute as they are feisty. And to meet them I'll have to push myself and scale granite walls to reach them!
"Good morning, It’s 7:30 am, the temperature is 4°C (39.2°F) and we have no wind at all. Conditions are excellent for today’s excursions in the Antarctic," says the dulcet tones of Jonathan Zaccaria, the Atlas Ocean Voyage expedition leader. What initially started as an interruption to slumber has become an eagerly awaited morning tradition. Some of us have even taken to recording his good morning messages.
I pull back the double layer of curtains and regard ice floes with white, jagged edges and snow covered mountains in the background. The colour palate in Antarctica is all whites, blues and blacks. The fog has lifted and the seas are dead calm, with only the gentle ripple pulsing away gently in front of me.
I need more sleep, because the combination of the activities, jetlag and the excitement of the excursions keep me up late and today’s excursion is a real treat. Today we are meeting a true penguin of the Antarctic. The Adélie penguin is small with a black coat, white belly and a white ring around its eyes giving it an adorable cartoonish quality.
The Adélie penguin is also feisty and protective and although most penguin species don't tend to interact there has been some footage captured of Adélie penguins protecting Empire penguin chicks from skua birds. There are currently around 10 million Adélie penguins and they are widespread across the Antarctic. Adélie penguins are a true Antarctic penguin that only breed and feed in Antarctic convergence. The Antarctic convergence is a marine belt surrounding Antarctica that fluctuates in latitude throughout the seasons. It is the meeting point of the cold, southward-flowing Antarctic waters and the comparatively warmer waters of the sub-Antarctic region.
The landing at Yalour Island can be a little tricky so many of us avail ourselves of the walking poles. They are rocks lots of ice and of course penguin guano everywhere that stains the snow pink.
We spend an hour exploring the island and watch these creatures flap their wings and waddle away. Small feathers dot the ice as the penguins complete their moulting stage and get ready to take to the water. Like most species of penguin they mate for life. Penguins also form penguin highways through the snow on which they will all follow the same trail to get from their nests to the sea. These grooves in the snow are busy with penguins following the well trodden path.
We also watch a leopard seal playing with another zodiac boat. The male leopard seal appears to be quite enamoured with this boat, putting his fin up on the side before showing off his erection! That definitely was not on the day's itinerary...
These inquisitive seals have been spotted interacting with zodiac boats. During one of the many nature talks by the guides they tell us that leopard seals have jaw that can open 130-150°. They have two colours - a dark back and a white belly which is called counter shading to blend in to avoid predators. Their hunting habit is similar to crocodiles where they wait just under the water’s surface. They shake penguins with a centrifugal force and this skins the penguin after which they will then extract the breast of the penguin to eat. Leopard seals have been known to kill humans on rare occasions.
With such an incredible morning, we head back to the ship to Porto restaurant for lunch. As always lunch is served buffet style as and today's features roast turkey carved by the chefs, as well as garlic prawns and a range of dishes like lamb and battered fish. I enjoy the prawns, vegetables and salad and fresh mango for dessert.
There’s time for a bit of a rest in my state room before we head out to this afternoon’s excursion, a zodiac landing on Pléneau Island. Each zodiac excursion has very different landings and degrees of difficulty and this is the most challenging for me. You have to scale some steep granite rocks before walking on a few inches of slushy snow to reach the penguins.
The Atlas expedition guides chisel out some steps, but you do need to be careful, the boots are very secure on the granite, but it takes awhile to get used to the fact that you have a good grip on granite. A few people from the boat missed this landing because of the challenge getting up as you can see how challenging it is from the boat. Once you climb the ice stairs, you can either take an easier path towards the penguins or the trickier one. By this stage I opt for the easier one as it is lightly raining.
At one point, a penguin as if sensing that I have exhausted all of my resources and cannot go further waddles over near me and stands perfectly in front of the boat for a picture. Heading back to the landing is an even bigger challenge so I take it very slowly.
I board the zodiac and wait for other people to come down and watch as three penguin chicks slowly, gingerly make their way down towards the water. Then trying to ascertain if it is safe to go in for a swim, and eventually all jumping into the water and swim away. There is no doubt in my mind that this was worth the degree of difficulty when you get to see scenes like this.
This evening at 6 pm, we pass through the Lemaire Channel. This is one of the most spectacular passages of the whole trip with the ship being bound on both sides with spectacular Antarctic mountain ranges between Kyiv Peninsula in the mainland's Graham Land and Booth Island.
At just 11 km (6.8 mi) long and just 600 metres (2,000 ft) wide at its narrowest point we can be a challenge to navigate through for the crew but the payoff is fast for the passengers as it is also named the Kodak gap for its absolutely stunning views. The relative stillness of the waters in Lemaire Channel means that the mountains are reflected in the water.
So tell me Dear Reader, do you consider yourself good at climbing rocks and snow? Have you ever heard of the Lemaire Channel?
Insider Expeditions
https://insiderexpeditions.com/
Qantas
https://www.qantas.com/au/
Atlas Ocean Voyages
https://atlasoceanvoyages.com/antarctica
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