In the early hours of the morning, National Geographic Resolution crept into the Antarctic Sound and headed south around the tip of the Antarctic Peninsula. As the guests awoke, we approached the towering basalt cliffs of Brown Bluff, and after a hearty breakfast we set off to explore this rugged, ancient landscape. Onshore we walked along the rocky beach to the penguin colonies, where gentoos and Adélies prepared their nests. On the water our Zodiacs probed the rocky outcrops offshore, while kelp gulls and brown skuas glided overhead and snow petrels soared higher, closer to their nests up on the cliffs.
By lunchtime, we were heading south into the Weddell Sea. Our first destination was two giant tabular icebergs that had broken off the Filchner-Ronne Ice Shelf. Separated by just a small channel, A80A and A76C stand some 30 meters above sea level, and between them add up to 144 square nautical miles of ice.
Barely had we departed the bergs than a pod of orcas passed by, and we watched them as they skirted the edge of A80A, searching for food. Finally, as we arrived at the ice sheet off Snow Hill Island, we glimpsed emperor penguins, raising our hopes for tomorrow’s exploration.
