Onward and Southward we go. As we mentioned, the itinerary of this voyage is very flexible and due to the high winds in South Georgia and our changes there, our expedition leader Jake decides that we have time to make a detour on our way to Antarctica and we change course for the South Orkney Islands. South Orkney is another group of peri-Antarctic Islands with beautiful scenery and abundant wildlife. These islands are much less frequently visited than either South Georgia or Antarctica and our guides are very excited since most of them have never been to the South Orkney Islands.

On the way there we see many penguins, seals and whales in the water and we start to see some of the large icebergs that will now be common throughout the rest of the journey. One large iceberg has numerous penguins on it and the captain opens up the bow of the ship so we can gather there for a close up view. You can never get tired of watching penguins!

Watching penguins on our way to South Orkney Islands

Our one and only stop in South Orkney is Shingle Cove on Coronation Island. The cove is surrounded by mountains full of glaciers and has an Adélie Penguin colony on a ridge above the shore. The weather is favorable so we get to go out sea kayaking before going ashore. There are many icebergs in the cove and we get to kayak amongst them and see them up close.

We go ashore and visit the Adélie penguins. There are many chicks and several moms still sitting on eggs. They are a blast to watch and aren’t bothered by our presence at all. We’ve learned from our ornithologist guide, Fabrice, that penguins used to fly but lost that ability because they became such good swimmers. That makes sense except that they are so ungraceful on land. Apparently they don’t need to be graceful on land since they have no predators on land. Its been fascinating to learn about the evolution and adaptations of all the polar animals. Nature is a wonderful thing.

We leave South Orkney on New Years eve and the crew had planned a night full of celebration. We begin with a Scottish themed dinner and were fortunate enough to be sitting with two Scottish couples at our dinner table. We learned all about Haggis and Cranachan and drank large quantities of wine. After dinner was a night of music and dancing in the lounge with even more wine and several bottles of champagne. It was a late night but fortunately we had a day at sea the next day to recover.

On January 2nd, we finally reach Antarctica! Our first stop is Devil Island on the eastern side of the Antarctic Peninsula. This is another surprise stop and another one that is seldom visited and again our guides are very excited that they get to visit a new destination. We have Antarctic weather; cold, windy and snowing. No matter, we jump in the zodiacs for a cruise and landing. The zodiac is very quite rough (the guides call it “sporty”) and and we get soaked from the salt water spray. Lots of icebergs around and we visit another Adélie penguin colony.

Belly Flop!

From here we sail down the western side of the Antarctic Peninsula where we will finally set foot on the continent proper. We are at Orne Harbor. Weather is good so we suit up for some sea kayaking. As we ride the zodiac out to our kayaking location we enter a cove and are surrounded by numerous Humpback whales. We quickly stop the zodiac and jump in our kayaks hoping to get a very close encounter with these giants. Unfortunately, by the time we all get launched, the Humpbacks have moved on.

We did have a couple other “close encounters” while kayaking. First a glacier at the top of one of the mountains calved and created a large avalanche down the mountain and into the cove we were kayaking in. Just 10 minutes prior, we were kayaking directly below that point. It might have been a wild ride had that happened 10 minutes sooner. Also while kayaking amongst the icebergs, one of them started to roll over and then broke apart. Its very hard to describe but it was almost like it was exploding. We were very close to this iceberg and it was both thrilling and a little terrifying to watch this happen. One minute there was a large iceberg and then there was only lots of chunks of ice floating around. Amazing!

After all the kayaking excitement it was time to go ashore. This landing included a steep hike up a snowy hillside to a Chinstrap Penguin colony. We still can’t comprehend how or why an animal with 1 inch legs can or would climb up these cliffs. They are adorable and the views from the top are stunning.

Next we head to Port Lockroy where have another chance to kayak. We paddle amongst huge icebergs. Its like being in a floating art gallery. Again we see a nearby iceberg roll over and break apart with the force of an explosion. It really hits home why our kayaking guides tell us to keep a distance of at least twice the height of the berg away.

Port Lockroy is different from our other land excursions as there is a museum, gift shop and the most southern post office in the world. We did purchase a couple souvenirs and sent a few post cards. It’s not the fastest way to send something as the mail will eventually be put on a boat and shipped to Stanley in the Falkland Islands where it will be put on a plane to the United Kingdom. From there its routed thru the UK postal system until it eventually arrives at its destination. Port Lockroy has lots of Gentoo penguins doing penguin things. They are all around the museum and post office and we must yield to them as they move around on their “penguin highways”. We watch the male Gentoos looking for rocks to add to their mates nest. Its funny since they really only steal rocks from each other and very few new rocks actually get added!

Near Miss!

This night is one of the highlights of the trip and something we have been anxiously awaiting. We along with 58 other passengers get to camp out overnight on the continent. We disembark the ship around 10 pm (in full daylight) and take a zodiac to a landing spot nearby in what the guides call the iceberg graveyard. There are massive icebergs everywhere which have been carried into this cove and gotten grounded. We have a large area in which to choose our camping spot. We choose a spot next to the water where several penguins are playing around.

Our camping gear consists of a sleeping bag and liner, a camping mat and a bivy sack which is basically a water proof bag that your sleeping bag goes in. No tent, its basically cowboy camping on the snow. We are surprisingly warm with our Burgeon Outdoor base and mid-layers (shoutout to our friend Rudy Glocker, the founder of Burgeon Outdoor. Check them out for high quality, locally made outdoor apparel). Just above our campsite is a Gentoo penguin colony and they clearly didn’t get the memo about the midnight quiet time. We could hear the penguins chattering all night. Since we were close to the Antarctic Circle and near the solstice, we have light all night so you could wake up and watch the penguins walking nearby. We could also hear glaciers calving near and far all night long. It was a surreal experience which I would highly recommend if you ever get the chance.

One might wonder about using the restrooms while camping in Antarctica. I’d say its a bit “rustic”. The guides build a wall out of snow about 4 ft high and behind it is a small plastic drum they call the “Yum Yum”. If you need to use the facilities, you go behind the wall and do your business. While on the Yum Yum, you can see over the wall and see all the other campers (and they can see you) and also watch the penguins and seals nearby. Its a unique experience but a little unnerving for the modest.

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Reaching the 7th Continent

Taking the Plunge!

South Georgia