Grand Antarctic Finale
23rd March, South Shetland Islands.
Today marked the final day of our adventure before heading back home via the Drake Passage. We began the day by sailing into the caldera of Deception Island, an active volcano. The entrance is a narrow gap surrounded by steep cliffs, also known as Neptune’s Bellows. We landed on Whalers Bay, which included relics of the Hektor whaling station, a small cemetery and some abandoned British Antarctic Survey buildings. A large group of us hiked up the crater and others watched some adorable Antarctic fur seals hanging out on shore. We even spotted a female elephant seal who was HUGE and lazing about on the beach. She had a red flipper tag which Lars recognised as one he had placed on this female at South Georgia in 2008 – nice to know that she’s still doing well!
Our next item on the agenda was something a lot of the passengers had been waiting for (or dreading) … the POLAR PLUNGE. For those who aren’t familiar with this foolish tradition, it involves stripping down from our thermals, fleece and parkas, to our swimming suits and running into the freezing water that was 0.950C!! (we measured it!) Those who accepted the challenge experienced the numbing sensation as our legs and feet lost all feeling. We dashed in and out, and then went back in a SECOND time to make sure that Sonja was able to document the event with photographic evidence.
Our final landing was at Half Moon Island where we were blessed with a walk around a Chinstrap penguin colony. The crew mentioned that we might be able to spot a Macaroni penguin amongst the colony and although it was a bit like a Where’s Waldo (or Where’s Wally as the Brits call it….) book, we did find the moulting Macaroni penguin with its yellow feather do. It looked a tad uncomfortable and out of place amongst all the chinstraps.
Personally, I found our numerous fin whale sightings to be the highlight of the day. I think Lainie summarized our experience shouting, “it’s like a fountain out there!!” Fin (or finback) whales, the second largest whale in the world, have very tall blows that can be spotted from kilometres away. Even the passengers were heard shouting “blow”, “blow”, “blow”. The greatest excitement of the day, for the whale lovers at least, occurred when one of the fin whales FLUKED at our bow. This was an unusual sight as fin whales don’t normally show their tails.
The night ended with an Antarctic Tropical Disco Party full of Hawaiian shirts and shorts and even free rum punch. We prepared our sea legs by timing our dance moves with the rolling vessel. Fingers crossed that Neptune is kind to us over the next two days 😉
Clair
