Our 2nd expedition was to Charlotte Bay on Munsier Point where we were treated to even more penguins, seals and some whales, plus beautiful icebergs and glaciers.
After a night of heavy weather, we awoke to find that there had been a heavy snowfall overnight, with the decks covered in snow.
Once again Trevor joined a group on a zodiac and walked on the ice with penguins and seals. On stepping off of a zodiac, one steps into shallow water. Members of the Expedition Team have always gone ahead of the guests to ensure that it is safe to land at that point. They also take any equipment which may be needed, including walking sticks for ensuring traction on the ice. Taking photos is always difficult as it was required that people must not get any closer to an animal than 5m or 15ft, so as not to frighten them nor allow them to become accustomed to humans.
While on the island, Trevor as did each member of the group, walked across the snow and then held up a flag which had a picture of the Antarctic Continent, also known as the 7th Continent, and the words “Antarctica – Been There” written across it.
I went on a Special Ops Boat, regularly referred to as an SOB which I found it a bit difficult to get used to. Even though we didn’t get to go on shore we did see wonderful sights which included a few whales. The best way to describe what we saw and enjoyed is to show you some photos.
Each Viking Daily also included activities for the following day. Today, we all had to take clothing and boots we would be wearing externally for a Biosecurity check, with each deck being given a specific time to go down to A deck to do this. Once again it was the scientists hard at work doing the checking and cleaning. Then there was a compulsory lecture for every guest for briefing on the requirements for going ashore to ensure the maintaining of the undamaged land. In the early evening there was a welcome by the Captain and then after supper, Dr Chris Croxson gave an inspiring lecture on “An Introduction to the Antarctic and its importance to humanity. Very interesting way to end a wonderful day.
Tonight’s copy of the Viking Daily’s lead story was about the ancient rocks of Antarctica. Amazingly, some of these rocks are about 4 billion years old. Considering that the earth is believed to be 4.54 billion years old, they can tell geologists a lot about what the earth was like at the beginning. The Napier Mountains on the East Antarctic Ice Shield are where the oldest rocks are to be found. They are mainly igneous and were formed by high temperatures metamorphic events. As scientists have been able to gain access to this remote area, they have discovered that it was not always an icy landscape. They have dinosaur, ancient amphibian and other creature’s fossils from pre-history. Yes, Antarctica used to be forests and grasslands when it was still part of the super continent, Gondwana. This 7th Continent broke away about 85 million years ago. One of the most important fossil sites was on the Antarctic Peninsula, Seymour Island. Some of the oldest rocks found are not from earth but from outer space. Antarctica is one of the best places to find meteorites for 2 reasons – the freezing temperatures prevented corrosion and, obviously, because they were black and so easy to see on the icy ground.
The animals described in this edition were Gentoo Penguins and Fur Seals. It was the mating ritual of the penguins which was described. The male would hunt thoroughly for a perfect, smooth pebble which he offered to his chosen female. If she liked it, she would add it to others she had and the 2 would form a relationship. Once an egg was laid, the 2 took turns to care for it for the 40 days of incubation.
The fur seals are covered in a thick coat of fur and are one of eight species of seals found on earth. They can fold their rear flippers underneath them and ‘walk’ on their front flippers at speeds of up to 12 mph (20kph). It is the only seal on the Antarctic continent with external ears. Males grow up to 6.5ft (2m) in length and weigh up to 440lbs (200kgs) and they have rich brown fur. The females’ fur is a light gray and they are about ⅔ of the size of the male. They can dive to 800ft (243m) for up to 10 mins at
time to feed on krill, squid and fish.
