This morning at the crack of dawn the National Geographic Explorer left it’s snug position parked in the fast ice off Port Lockroy on Wiencke Island. Heading south for the Lemaire Channel most of us awoke to the sounds of ice against the hull as we penetrated the residuals of particularly heavy sea ice from last winter’s record coverage. An incredible scene surrounded us as the glacial amphitheatre that makes the Antarctic Peninsula so extraordinary was made even more spectacular with all the ice in the water, the crabeater seals on ice, and the whales all around us. Orca whales were spotted briefly amongst the ice and humpbacks gave us quite the show. At one point the humpbacks were so close you could see the tubercles (small bumps) on their rostrums and hear them breathing. Shortly after leaving the baleen feeders to consume the krill that sustains all life below the convergence, we encountered the toothed variety that everyone hopes to see. Orcas of the Gerlache variety were spotted in various directions around the ship and under the bow at one point. A minke whale in the mix we thought perhaps we were going to see some carnage but learned that this variety of orca prefer to play with minkes vs consume them as they have a preference for penguins in these parts. After an incredible morning of cruising we made a continental landing at Neko Harbor after lunch. Neko Harbor, named after a floating whale factory ship (Neko), operated in the South Shetland Islands and Peninsula in 1911 and 1923 and often visited this area. The cascading glacier into Andvord Bay provided an incredible backdrop for the gentoo colonies and folks on Zodiac cruises and on land got to experience some calving from the glacier descending from the Laussedat Heights. In and among the mix of gentoos, one lone chinstrap and one Adelie allowed us to view all three species of brushtails at this landing. Back on the ship we enjoyed a few presentations before recap and after dinner we were blessed by beautiful light, calm waters, and the company of humpbacks.
11/14/2024
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National Geographic Explorer
Elephant Island
This morning National Geographic Explorer arrived at Antarctica after a calm crossing of the Scotia Sea from South Georgia. At 6am, our expedition leader announced that we had arrived at the iconic location of Shackleton’s epic Elephant Island. The majority of adventurous souls on board headed for the bow or bridge to see Point Wild. For Shackleton’s men this was the first time in sixteen months they had been on land. After the Endurance sank, they spent 5.5 months camping on the ice and seven days in their rowboats to Cape Valentine. Realizing that beach was no safe-haven, Frank Wild took one of the lifeboats to seek a safer camp and found Point Wild, which was a miserable place. From the bow we could see the monument of Captain Pardo, commander of the Yelcho, which rescued the 22 men after Shackleton found help on South Georgia. A blustery day (gusts of 40 knots) around the island did not allow for a Zodiac cruise but we continued around the coast of Elephant Island and checked out Cape Valentine and Cape Lookout before heading across the Bransfield Strait to the Antarctic Peninsula.
