Port Lockroy and Dallmann Bay
With the Christmas carols still fresh in the minds of our expedition members, National Geographic Explorer and its compliment of hardy travelers welcomed Christmas Day with much anticipation for our last chance to explore the Antarctic Peninsula and the islands of the Palmer Archipelago. With a light snow falling and a moderate breeze our visit to both Wiencke and Goudier Islands will be a fitting conclusion to our time here on the Peninsula.
We would make a landing at Jougal Point on Wiencke Island to get our last experiences amongst a Gentoo Penguin (Pygoscelis papua) colony as well as close looks at nesting Antarctic Shags (Phalacrocorax bransfieldensis). Several of the Gentoos had chicks recently hatched just a few days prior and most of the shags were tending to their chicks. The colony of roughly 2,000 pairs of Gentoos scattered on the many exposed rocky outcropping dotting the island and rimming the shore made for a most impressive site. Their distinctive courtship and nesting behaviors are always a treat to observe. Some birds calling loudly to one another others attempting to make off with small stones from their neighbors’ nests and of course the feeding of their chicks gave us quite a show to behold. Both the shags and Gentoo adults tend to the nesting responsibilities, which provides an added drama that unfolds when it’s time for one adult to negotiate its way onto the nest. This being our last encounter with these symbols of life in Antarctica made it difficult to say farewell to these charismatic black and white birds but we had more in store on neighboring Goudier Island.
Base A, as it’s called on Goudier Island is the restored site of a 1944 British scientific station code named Operation Tabarin, which was meant to monitor any German naval activity in the Southern Ocean. The site is now maintained by the United Kingdom Antarctic Heritage Trust and serves as one the most visited sights in Antarctica. The main structure, Bransfield House acts as a museum and gift shop, as well as the only post office. But don’t expect your mail to get to its destination anytime soon. We’ve been most fortunate this expedition to have on board as staff, Rick Atkinson, whose extensive time in the Antarctic as a member of The British Antarctic Survey and as an expedition staff member has provided our guests with an extremely enriching perspective on the historical component of various aspects of the human presence on the continent.
After our visit to Port Lockroy we set sail through the Gerlache Strait en route to Dallmann Bay in hopes of spotting marine mammals in this well-known feeding grounds of Humpback Whales (Megaptera novaeangliae). Fortunately for us the whales didn’t disappoint. From the bow of the ship a pair of Humpbacks were spotted, a likely cow and calf pair feeding on the immense wealth of krill. This pair had allowed us to view them for quite some time before returning to their task at hand. Off in the distance a few more whales were spotted from the bridge. We made way in their direction and as we neared them we slowed to a just a few knots. A particularly unique and incredible series of events unfolded right before our eyes. The whales had been making shallow dives to feed on a likely mass of krill that showed up on the ship’s instruments just below the surface. Soon we were watching the whales approach the ship just off the bow and closing. Before we knew it the pair of 45 foot behemoths was just feet from the bow. Their massive snowy white pectoral fins visible from all decks as the casually surfaced blowing spray from their blow holes over the rail of the bow. For several minutes they lingered in idle curiosity allowing us the view of a lifetime at these truly emblematic creatures of the sea. The sense of wonder and thrill over experiencing such a sight could be heard coming from all decks of National Geographic Explorer.
To conclude the expedition’s voyage through Antarctic waters we have been graced with ever increasingly pleasant weather throughout the day and culminating in a most dramatic and awe inspiring evening in Dallmann Bay. The icy curtain that rings this rugged peninsula and the accompanying massive chunks of ice sloughed off into the frigid waters of the bay were bathed in brilliant Antarctic sun and framed by high clouds. It would be hard to paint a more picturesque landscape, and a better way to say farewell to this world would be hard to imagine.
