Today was an important day for many of us. Not only was it one of the first days of a brand-new and exciting year, but it was also the first full day of a wild, adventure-filled expedition on board National Geographic Endurance. The day was filled with a variety of activities and presentations to prepare guests to meet the White Continent just one day from now. Guests enjoyed lessons on identifying animal species and photographing the incredible wildlife we are about to see. We discussed the importance of these animals to not just the Southern Ocean ecosystems but worldwide. Guests couldn’t be more excited to see their first iceberg and penguin – only a few hours away!
1/6/2025
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Gerlache Strait, Chiriguano Bay, and Lemaire Channel
We awoke traveling south in Gerlache Strait on the west side of the Antarctic Peninsula after amazing days in the Weddell Sea with emperor penguins and tabular icebergs. We passed krill fishing vessels and humpback whales targeting the same prey. Young guests from our Global Explorers kids’ education program were treated to a tour of our Zodiac garage by Staff Captain Sam and Bosun Rocky. Some Global Explorers paused to share impressions of our voyage so far: “I expected it to be a lot colder.” Billy, 11 “I love seeing all the animals and how they act in the wild.” Emery, 10 “I saw some killer whales and it was really cool how big they were.” Nate, 9 “The penguins were walking faster than I expected.” Lukas, 6 “I didn’t expect that emperor penguins were my height. They’re kind of giants to me.” Violet, 9 “My favorite part was the polar plunge. I wish I could do it again.” Harvey, 10 This afternoon, after enjoying great views of humpback whales, we did Zodiac cruises in Chiriguano Bay on Brabant Island. Dinner was delayed to observe killer whales near the ship and we transited beautiful Lemaire Channel later in the evening.
