Elephant Island to the Weddell Sea

 

Day 4:

 

We awoke by looking through our cabin window to awe-inspiring scenery: snow capped mountains rising straight out of the sea! We were anchored just off Elephant Island. However, it soon became apparent that the sea state was too rough to attempt a zodiac landing. This was very disappointing.

 

While eating breakfast we could see thousands of distant Chinstrap Penguins sat on the rocks. There is a huge colony here, but they were too distant to get a good view. I set up my scope, but the wind was just too strong & closer viewing wasn’t possible.

 

We upped anchor and began a slow cruise around the island. Soon we spotted Fin Whales feeding & there were at least fifty of them! Birds were everywhere trying to cash in on the banquet as well. It was quite a sight & it lasted for over an hour. There were thousands of Chinstrap Penguins in the water, with hundreds of Black-browed Albatross. A few Gentoo Penguins were also spotted among the throng. This is exactly the kind of thing one comes on a voyage like this for! It really was an amazing experience.

 

Cold eventually drove us to our cabin to warm up a bit, but the show continued from there & we saw a lot of Southern Fulmars & both Black-bellied & Wilson’s Storm Petrels pattering over the sea.

 

Eventually the ship turned south & we sea-watched intermittently throughout the day. A couple of Cape Petrels kept us company   as well as the odd Black-browed & grey-headed Albatross. But the afternoon belonged to the Southern Fulmars which increased in numbers as we slowly ploughed ever southwards.

 

We ended the day by viewing distant icebergs, our first of the trip.

 

Day 5:

 

Up just as dawn was breaking on 18^th March. And what a view it was! We were anchored in calm waters surrounded by a series of dormant/extinct volcanoes. In fact, we were anchored in a caldera, just off the aptly named Devil’s Island. Blue skies & a calm sea saw us in the zodiacs, speeding off to the nearby shore. The whole area was dotted with miniature icebergs & there was a fair bit of crushed ice onshore as well, pushed there by the prevailing winds. The whole area was starkly beautiful, but barren.

 

As we walked along the shore through the crushed ice there were a couple of Atlantic Fur Seals having a bit of downtime. Once passed them we came across five Adelie Penguins, who all walked past us in a line! As we climbed higher we saw that we were walking across an Adelie Penguin breeding colony, but this late in the season the birds had long gone. We did see the carefully collected pebbles which make up their nests though.

 

We climbed higher with only Sub-Antarctic Skuas for company, then I spotted a couple of South Polar Skuas in the distance. A welcome find.

 

As we walked a little further, a beautiful bay came into view & we could see for quite a distance. We made our way back to the shore but the wind picked up & the weather changed dramatically. In a few minutes we had gone from ideal weather to a raging gale with high seas making it impossible for us to reach the ship in our zodiacs. So we bobbed around in the sea, getting colder & colder, finally making a dash for the ship. The waves continually came over the side soaking us all & making for a very unpleasant journey. We arrived on board soaking wet & freezing cold. Antarctica had just taught us a valuable lesson!

 

In the afternoon we moved a few nautical miles to the south in grey, somber conditions. It didn’t look nice out there! We anchored just off James Ross Island but there were no birds or sea mammals to be seen. Early evening the weather changed & Delana & I enjoyed a magical sunset on our balcony.

 

Day 6:

 

Bright sunlight awakened us on 19^th March. The scenery was stunning but as we readied ourselves for the zodiac ride the clouds came over. We enjoyed a nice zodiac cruise off Brown Bluff, which is on the Antarctic mainland. The highlight were the numerous icebergs although a couple of Wilson’s Storm- Petrels flitted about over the ocean surface.

 

Then we landed on shore & were greeted by a large colony of around 1,000 Gentoo Penguins. This is late in the season so many birds had left for the open ocean, but still some birds were present, many in moult so they cannot go into the ocean. It was a real treat to walk among them & view them up close.

 

Snowy Sheathbills were also an ever present & a few Sub-Antarctic Skuas were loitering with intent.

 

A couple of Weddell Seals were snoozing along the beach, they are huge mottled grey beasts, which didn’t move as we passed by. Antarctic Fur Seals were also around in good numbers.

 

It was a terrific morning, with all the elements of scenery combined with abundant wildlife coming into play.

 

Back on board our lunch was interrupted by a group of five Type B Orcas close to the ship. I managed to get a few photos but they were incredibly mobile. Also, a Fin Whale suddenly emerged in the middle of them! One of those unforgettable sightings!

 

We slowly motored out of the Weddell Sea throughout the afternoon encountering 13 more Fin Whales & a Humpbacked Whale. However, all were a little distant for photography. In the late afternoon a few Southern Fulmars put in an appearance & we noted 29 Wilson’s Storm-Petrels. The highlight though was seeing around 350 Gentoo Penguins sat on a huge iceberg in the evening light.