Antarctica - Neko Harbour, Errera Channel and Orne Harbour

 A bright beautiful day when we arrived at Neko Harbour, an inlet on the west coast of Graham Land.  I was up on deck before breakfast to find myself surrounded by stunning landscape.  After breakfast, we set out on the zodiac.  The landing area was rocky with a steep climb to the areas with penguins.  The snow was thick and full of guano - I decided not to risk a fall and opted for a zodiac cruise in the bay instead.  

The zodiac cruise turned out to be one of the most enjoyable cruises I've experienced on the trip.  It was a windless day as we cruised in the tranquil waters of the bay, seeing seals, multiple whales and penguins swimming in the water as the driver, one of the wildlife specialists, pointed them out to us.  At one point he turned off the engine so we can soak in the ambiance around us in peace and quiet - a memorable experience on this trip.

One of the most exciting moments on the trip  (a nice surprise I wasn't expecting) was the cruise through the Errera Channel shortly after lunch on our way to Orne Harbour.  The Errera Channel, at the southern end of the Gerlache Strait, is considered one of the most beautiful areas of the Antarctic Peninsula.  It is apparently longer and more complex than its more well-known cousin the Lemaire.  The spectacular crossing almost made up for seeing the Lemaire only in fog.  

We went on another zodiac cruise after lunch at Orne Harbour.  Sea was rougher this time but we got to get a close look at some of the spectacular rock faces in the area.

Before breakfast at Neko Harbour

View from Neko Harbour

You can see the trail up to the top of the ridge on the far right.  Doesn't look that high from afar but it is quite intimidating from below.  

The kayakers were happy to finally make it - no strong winds today

Crabeater seal

Humpback Whale

Gentoo Penguins swimming

Soaking in the tranquil Antarctic landscape

At one point there was an avalanche.  Below is closeup of the crevasses on the glacier.

The Errera Channel, very similar landscape to the Lemaire

Love this stunning rockface!  

A yacht that sailed all the way to Antarctica

Catching the last light

Antarctica - Lemaire Channel, Port Lockroy

 The Lemaire Channel, a strait off Antarctica, 11 km long and only 600 metres wide in its narrowest spot, is a challenge to go through and not every ship can get through it depending on whether the ice has cleared.  So I had picked high summer in the Antarctic with hopes of seeing the Lemaire with its iconic steep cliffs on both sides complete with reflections and all.  Well, we did see it, kind of, but in fog - it was not the postcard perfect Lemaire that had it nicknamed the Kodak Gap.  But we all know how unpredictable the weather can be and the ship on a tight schedule had to go through it when it did.  The irony is after we passed through and headed north, the weather cleared and the afternoon was sunny.  🤷

 

Excitement on deck as we approached the south entrance of the Lemaire

Impressive rock face

We like to console ourselves that it is lovely even in fog, which it is...

It didn't take long to get through the channel and to keep us entertained, the inevitable Polar Dip was scheduled that same morning.  It was cold and windy but many brave souls took the plunge nevertheless.  Cold enough for the photographer from the upper deck - but it takes a different kind of spirit to take the plunge!

Our afternoon destination was Jougla Point at Port Lockroy.  Port Lockroy is the first continuously occupied British base in Antarctica with a year round presence.  It has the only post office in Antarctica so it was a ritual for us to write our postcards and have them mailed at the post office where they will be sent to the Falklands then to the U.K. before they get sent to the address on our postcards - a long journey that we were told could take months, perhaps years?  We shall see...meanwhile making sure we send the postcards to someone likely to outlive us...

Beatufiul landscape at the bay at Jougla Point but not so pretty on landing - lots of penguin gano and slippery rocks plus the strong wind gusts made photography very difficult.  We were ferried over to the Post Office by zodiac.  

Chinstrap Penguins at Jougla Point in Port Lockroy

First sign of human habitation we saw on Antarctica

This is the Post Office at Port Lockroy.  It must take the stamina of a hermit to stay in a place like this for long months in the year.  The staff was invited on board for lunch - a nice break for them from the monotony.

We went on a short cruise around Jougla Point and saw some more chinstraps and blue-eyed Antarctic shag along with a South Polar Skua in the air.

Chinstrap Penguin

  

Blue-eye Antarctic shag

South Polar Skua

We wrapped up the day with a scrumptious barbeque dinner where we stuffed outselves.  I've had these dinners out on deck on three arctic trips but obviously not advisable on this cold and windy Antarctic day.