Day 14 – Deception island – where polar history, geology and wildlife meet
Thursday, 15 January 2026 – written by Ellie
It was an early start this morning, with surveys beginning at 7am to make the most of our journey across the Bransfield Strait towards Deception Island. The marine mammal survey group were lucky enough to spot several fin whales far off in the distance. Their blows were visible against the horizon, and we watched hopefully, wishing they might come closer for a better look. Sadly, they stayed just out of reach. Even so, seeing them at all felt incredibly special and was a reminder of how lucky we are to be in such a remarkable place.
Today marked the final landing of the trip, which was on Deception Island, bringing a mix of excitement and sadness. Knowing it would be the last time we would step on land on this journey made it all the more special.
Deception Island is in the South Shetland Islands close to the Antarctic Peninsula. It has a unique landscape in a distinctive horse-shoe shape, with a narrow entrance known as Neptunes Bellow that opens to the sea. Deception Island is so named because its appearance is misleading – from a distance it looks like a normal island, but it is actually the flooded caldera of an active volcano. The cruise inside of this iconic location was just breathtaking. Within lies Whalers Bay which was once a shore-based whaling station in the 1900s. The remains of this station are still around in the present day and serve as a reminder of the history of this place.
On Deception Island, we got the opportunity to explore the beach and historic remains. We climbed up to a viewpoint known as Neptune’s Window, a gap named by Lt. Penfold in 1948. This was where Nathaniel Palmer first saw the Antarctic continent in 1820 and provides a spectacular view of Antarctica and where we had travelled.
Some of us went beach combing along the water’s edge of Whaler’s Bay and came across many marine creatures including the keystone species of Antarctica – krill. Sadly the krill had not survived the warm(er) undercurrents of the geothermally heated water in the bay. Too warm for a krill is anything above 5 degrees C!
We were also given the opportunity for a second polar plunge. Even though we had all done this earlier in the trip (see Day 8 blog post), a few of us decided to brave it again and return once more into the icy waters of Antarctica. Being able to experience plunging into the waters of the caldera of Deception Island was a once in a lifetime opportunity that was difficult to miss, and to make it even more unforgettable a penguin even decided to join a few of us in the water, to remind us that this is its natural habitat.
There is absolutely no way to prepare for how cold the water is, and having to run in rather than jump off a zodiac made it even more difficult. The shock hits instantly, stealing your breath away but the adrenaline and excitement made it completely worth it. It was the perfect way to finish off our final landing, followed by a well-deserved trip to the jacuzzi and sauna to warm up and relax.
We finished off the day with some more surveys as we started heading off into the Drake Passage, shifting our focus back to the important data we are collecting. As the sun set the horizon lit up with dozens of whale blows glistening in the evening sun. Countless humpback and fin whales seemed to say goodbye to us on of our final day in Antarctica.
To celebrate such an amazing day, we all headed up to watch the crew band play some music, and two members of our group, Mimi and Bea, performed as well. As we leave Antarctica behind it is hard to believe the experience we have had so far and how much we have got to see and do.
