Day 10 – Antarctica on Fire
Sunday 11 January 2026 – written by Scarlett
This morning, we woke up surrounded by an eclectic collection of icebergs, mountains, and fog. Whilst the sky was grey, vibes were high as we went out on our first zodiac cruise of the day around the Yalour Islands at 8:30AM. We zoomed about between iceberg and outcrops, peppered with various species of moss, lichens, and loads of penguins. Mainly Adélie penguins, but there were a few Gentoo penguins zipping around the zodiacs in the water, with their characteristic porpoising-swimming style. The Adélie colonies here had chicks which were much more developed than that we have seen so far, some even had the white feathers of fledglings on their bellies beginning to come through!
After looking at the penguins, we were then graced by the spectacular array of icebergs, all telling different stories. Some of us took some ice fragments out of the water, which contained air bubbles comprised of potentially millenia-old air. When you held the smaller pieces, it was as if holding sparkling water! Once back onboard, the whole group posed with Sonja’s life-sized minke whale for a picture, with some humpback whales putting on a display of fluking and logging behind us.
During lunch, we moved slightly further north to the location of our second zodiac cruise (which included a mini landing) at Wordie House on Winter Island, located a stone’s throw away from the active Ukrainian Vernadsky Research Station which used to be the British Faraday Base (the upgraded version of Wordie House). Upon getting close to the various islands, we were hit by the strong smell of the different penguin colonies. This time, there was a mix of Gentoo, Chinstrap and Adélie penguins, amongst the various buildings which comprise the Vernadsky Station. Again, many of the chicks were quite large and mature compared to other colonies we had seen further south. We also saw many skuas and kelp gulls, along with our first snowy sheathbills (the only land bird in Antarctica!).
We explored Wordie House, finding our first in-building toilet of the bases we have visited amongst yet more Marmite, powdered milk, and other miscellaneous objects which were central to life in Antarctica during the mid-20th century.
We went back on survey during the evening, admiring the mind-blowing scenery of the Lemaire Channel and wildlife that resided there, whilst grappling with other keen passengers to get to the front of the observation platform on Deck 7. The channel is surrounded by massive mountains, with glacial edges towering over the water. The water itself was full of icebergs, bergy bits and brash ice – making it harder for navigation and observation. However, both proved successful with safe passage through, and cracking views of multiple humpback whales, seals and many different seabird species.
As we were sailing past the spectacular Una Peaks, we saw our first sunset of the trip! [We’re now north of the polar circle so there are twilight hours, when we were in Marguerite Bay the sun stayed above the horizon – midnight sun.] The sky was glowing in intense shades of reds, pinks and oranges, making it look like the channel was on fire. It was utterly breathtaking!
