At last, we reached the Antarctic Peninsula, a strip of the continent which extends from the mainland to the Northeast.
It was this part of the Antarctic where we would sail and explore. From Ushuaia we sailed directly to the Antarctic Peninsula, via the Drake Passage. Fortunately for us, it was pleasantly smooth sailing. There are times when it is known as the Drake Shake, due to the very rough seas that can be experienced there.
We arrived on the Peninsula in the early morning and both Trevor and I went out to do some exploration. He went on a zodiac which made it possible to land and get closer to the animals, penguins and seals. He was fortunate to see hundreds of penguins and a lot of seals.
I went on a Special Operations Boat with several other guests who, like myself, were unable or preferred not, to go on land which was all ice. As shown in the previous post, when going on an expedition we had to wear clothing to keep us warm and safe in -60C weather. It was really cold; nothing like that to which we were accustomed.
The zodiac was able to get very close to the land making it possible for those on board to step off the vessel and walk up on to the shore. The need for the wearing of the boots and long pants essential as one steps into shallow water. The zodiac could go very close to but, not on to the land, as it could be damaged. In contrast, the Special Operations Boats, could travel over a much greater distances than the zodiacs but, they could not get too close to the land or the hull would be damaged.
Our 2 excursions in the same bay were so different. On the land, Trevor saw hundreds of Gentoo Penguins and a number of seals, including Leopard and Crabeater Seals. I saw a few penguins at a distance and just one Crabeater Seal, basking on a small iceberg. Crabeater Seals do not eat crabs but krill and the Norwegian name for krill sounds very like crab. To protect both the animals and ourselves we were not permitted to be closer than 15ft (5m) of any of the animals. Those who were going on a land excursion had to have their boots scrubbed and cleaned before leaving and on returning to the ship.
Trevor’s group had gone out an hour earlier than mine had so they returned in a comfortable situation. While we were still out on the water, the wind strengthened significantly and we experienced rain, hail and sleet for last 15mins of the trip. It was really unpleasant and I seriously considered not going out again. I am really pleased to say that I changed my mind the following day when it was perfect.
As mentioned earlier, each day we received a copy of the paper called the Viking Daily. This was similar to the one received on other ships but the difference was that, these had stories of Antarctic explorers, animals and geography. The completion of each of these daily posts will include some of the information on the explorers and animals.
The Viking Daily for this day wrote of the Terra Nova Expedition and highlighted English explorer, Capt Robert Falcon Scott. This expedition took place from 1920-1913. It was not Scott’s first to Antarctica but this time he planned to reach the South Pole, hoping to be the first to get there. For his 1901-1904 trip, he used the Discovery, but for this expedition he had to settle for the Terra Nova. On the first expedition he took dogs to pull the sleds but for this one he used motor sledges and ponies. The ponies proved to be useless as their legs kept sinking in the soft snow. They set up camps along the way and did their research. Scott chose 4 men, his Polar Party, to accompany him on the last leg of the journey. He had heard that the Norwegian, Roald Armundsen, was also determined to be the first to reach the South Pole, and to Scott’s shock, Armundsen had the Norwegian flag flying high when he arrived. Scott and his men did reach the South Pole on 17 January 1912. Sadly, none of them made it back to the Terra Nova due to the harsh snowstorms of the Antarctic.
This copy of the Daily Viking we also learnt about the Leopard Seal, one of the fiercest of Antarctica’s predators. It is the 3rd largest after the Elephant Seals and Walruses in the order of the world’s pinnipeds. The males are up to 9ft or 2.8m long but the females are larger, growing to 12ft or 3.5m. They are covered in black-spotted gray fur with a layer of blubber beneath this for warmth. They have slim bodies making them superb swimmers and ruthless hunters of penguins, squid and other seals. They can reach speeds of up to 23km/hr helping to propel them on to the ice. They are solitary animals and there is still a lot to be learnt about them.
