Antarctica - Intercurrence Island, Palaver Point, Drake Passage

Our last day in Antarctica started out with a cruise around Intercurrence Island, one of the largest islands in the Christiania Islands off the northwestern coast of the Antarctica Peninsula.  Apparently the Expedition Team had never been able to visit the island because of weather conditions so this was a first for the ship.  It turned out to be an interesting cruise with lots of neat landforms and icebergs around the island.  The most spectacular was the dome-shaped iceberg we first encountered with penguins sitting on top.  

The zodiac took us through a narrow opening between steep rock faces and there was a more sheltered part of the island.  There were Weddell seals and some penguins.  There were giant icebergs around the island.

After lunch we made a landing at Palaver Point which has many Chinstrap penguins. Palaver Point was so named because of the ceaseless chatter from the penguin rookeries on the site.  It was fascinating watching the penguins who seem to be in conference all the time.  The Chinstrap penguin is so named because of the thin strip of black feathers under its chin from ear to ear.  They nest on rockier and steeper slopes than other penguins and are known to be the most aggressive of the penguins.  They typically lay two eggs in November and both male and female take turns incubating the eggs.  The visit to Palaver Point turned out to be a productive end to the last day with photo ops of the penguins in action.

Dome-shaped iceberg 

This opening took us to a more sheltered part of the island

Weddell seal

Curious where this tunnel leads to

Giant icebergs around the island

Such clowns!

This chick with light grey down is probably less than a couple of weeks old as a second darker grey down appears at two to three weeks.



View of the bay from Palaver Point

The first vegetation I'd seen in four days - Antarctica Pearlwort(?)

That's where all the palaver came from

Penguins in conference

So how is the water condition??

This iceberg reminded me of pigs

Last look at Antarctica before we head into the Drake Passage that evening

 The return crossing of the Drake Passage was uneventful.  We were told that a storm was approaching but we would have made it to Ushuaia before it hit in the following days.  Lucky escape!  There were lots of birds around the ship as we crossed, including the black-browed albatross, blue petrel, Southern giant petrels and blue-eyed shags - all lifers for me!

Black-browed albatross



Southern Giant Petrel

Blue petrel

Blue-eye shag

We disembarked in Ushuaia after two days on the Drake and was sent off by a beautiful rainbow at the airport.  What a great end to an amazing adventure!

This wraps up my posts on Antarctica.  Thank you for joining me on this trip of a lifetime.

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