Close encounters with whales are rare but on Day 6 of our Antarctic expedition cruise we are treated to an encounter with this amazing creature. Come along as we explore Jougla Point and Flandres Bay via zodiac boat and see humpback whales up close!
The daily conditions come through loud and clear: the outside temperature is 4°C/39.2°F, we have poor visibility with 20 knots winds and flat seas with choppy water and white caps. And they warn us that it is colder and wetter than other days.
Each day's excursion on the Insider Expedition Atlas cruise is carefully hand-picked due to the weather conditions. As we have entered a fairly windy area, the ship has docked in a bay that is protected from the harsh winds. As we had downstairs towards the mudroom, there’s a feeling of dejavu, as we don our jackets and life vests, muscle memory taking over movements that were entirely new to us at the beginning of the trip. Today I add some extra warmth "insurance" and slip some handwarmers into my clothing and rig up all of my layers tight in preparation for the windiest zodiac cruising we’ve had of the trip.
Expedition leader Jonathan Zaccaria is our zodiac guide and he takes us around Jougla Point first to see the gentoo penguin chicks who are almost ready to take to the water but their time is still to come. They stand on the edge of the rocky outcrops many still with brown tufts of fur on their backs. The brown fur is not waterproof, but once this fur is shed they will be ready to take to the sea. The black feathers on the back of a penguin are in fact just the tip of the feather that is coloured black with most of the feather being white. Penguins also have oil glands which they used to groom themselves. These are vital in maintaining the feathers and without these oil glands, the feathers will rot and fall off.
We pass an island where Whalers used to stop. There are relics of this trade with remains of the whalebones with enormous mandible or jaw bones. Two whalebones form a natural sculpture that marks the point where they landed.
After this, we cruise round to some buildings. The post office surrounded by penguins is owned by the British. Any country can stake a claim in Antarctica and so far 7 have including Australia, Argentina, Chile, France, New Zealand, Norway and the United Kingdom. In order to do this they must prove that they have an active working interest in Antarctica for example, a research station or a post office.
Afterwards, we make our way back to the ship, sodden, wet and cold. I change gloves and dry the wet ones using a hairdryer as they are soaking wet. It's time for the talks. Because Atlas Ocean Voyages already have a number of daily talks with the expedition guides there's a lot happening when overlaying these with the stewardship and entrepreneurial talks by Insider Expeditions which are more about transformational change with the guest speakers. The ship seems split in two: one half that want to hear more about the animals and the environment and the other half wanting the entrepreneurial talks so the program tries to cover everyone's needs. All lectures are optional and they’re all at different times so you can conceivably watch all of them.
Mid morning there's a lecture about seals with guide Elsa. She explains the different types of seals found in Antarctica and their different characteristics. She starts with explaining the difference between how "true seals" differ from fur seals the latter with dense fur for insulation. Fur seals are also more sociable and use their front limbs as opposed to true seals that use their back limbs. Fur seals also have ear flaps while true seals do not. There are 8 varieties of fur seals as opposed to 17 of true seals.
Lunch is soon after at the main restaurant Porto and we are all delighted to see some noodles – the second Asian dish of the whole cruise. I ask for extra chilli in a bowl on the side there is also Vienna schnitzel and some delicious pork ribs with salad and focaccia. The menu changes every day and it's really nice to get something spicy at the buffet.
After lunch is a stewardship talk with filmmaker Damon Gameau and expedition leader Jonathan Zaccaria. Jonathan explains that whilst snow is usually associated with cold weather, Antarctica is considered a desert due to lack of precipitation. More recent changed weather conditions means that there is more rainfall rather than snow and there is no ice for them to breed. Instead they make nests on the beach where they will be quickly washed away. A few years ago Jonathan had witnessed entire colonies completely free of penguin chicks. He quotes declining numbers from half 1 million pairs of king penguins to 60,000 pairs. With the changes in the environment they have also seen how some species have crossed the Antarctic band.
The afternoon‘s excursion is in Flanders Bay, which is a large bay between Cape Renard and Cape Willems on the west coast of the glaciated Graham land in Antarctica. The sea is choppy, and as we depart in our zodiac boat for cruising we see some stunning icebergs with unique cutouts. These natural patterns look beautifully precise as if done with a sharp carving knife.
We are not waiting long before our first wildlife encounter and it’s a spectacular one. A humpback whale breaches in the distance, the foamy white blow giving us its location. Once a while it breaches the water leaving behind a circular footprint. This circle is several metres wide and the water within it noticeably smooth and glassy.
We stop the boat and the whale swims towards us, breaching at intervals before it’s just metres away from the boat. This is the closest I’ve ever seen a whale and once it gets very close, it simply swims under the boat and disappears. They tell us that whales instinctively know not to breach under a boat.
The Humpback whale's latin name Megaptera Novaeangliae means "big wing of New England" as that was where European whalers first saw them. They measure 13-17 metres or 42-56 feet long and use their pectoral fins as a weapon. And why do whales breach? The general consensus is that it’s some form of communication but nobody knows for sure. It could be for mating, fun or dominance or for all of these.
A humpback whale’s tail is unique and if you take a photo of the tail, you can upload it to the happy whale website, where they will identify the whale and its sightings - if the whale is unnamed and you donate to a marine charity, you can actually name the whale. During this excursion, we spot another two whales in the distance, but none so close as our original humpback whale.
Going around the bay we also spot a leopard seal lounging on an ice floe completely unbothered by our presence. It opens one eye and watches us for a few seconds before closing it, yawning and resuming its sunbathing.
It’s a little choppy out today, so I’m happy to get back to the ship and get ready for dinner. Tonight the menu is a la carte and I'm going for their plant based options as I'm curious to see what they are like. I end up with two eggplant dishes: a slender log of miso glazed charred eggplant with carrot puree, spinach puree and pine nuts that is really tasty.
The Imam Bayildi is half an eggplant topped with capsicums, onion, raisins, tomatoes and Arabic spices in a spinach based sauce with toasted pine nuts. It's delicious and meltingly soft and I really enjoy this plant based main.
And for dessert there's a selection of desserts, ice cream and cheese plates. I go for the mango mousse with passion fruit jelly squares and a dusting of silver leaf, a crisp leaf, meringue and chocolate curls.
From the back of the ship we can watch an enormous iceberg, breaking, the sound like thunder it’s a sound that you recognise while cruising the Antarctic. Perhaps when I get home I’ll think of it, not as thunder, but as an iceberg breaking.
So tell me Dear Reader, have you had any close encounters with whales or seals?
NQN travelled to Antarctica as a guest of Qantas and Insider Expeditions but all opinions remain her own.
Insider Expeditions
https://insiderexpeditions.com/
Qantas
https://www.qantas.com/au/
Atlas Ocean Voyages
https://atlasoceanvoyages.com/antarctica
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