Category: Antarctica

Our travel adviser’s astonishing journey to the Antarctic finally comes to an end with these last two entries in which they describe their experiences, including a fruitful trip down the Beagle Channel. Read all about what they got up to, before contacting WILDFOOT’s specialists in polar travel about how you can create similar memories of your own.

Day 13

After quite a bumpy ride overnight it was good to wake up to calm seas once again. Despite the rough seas we had made good progress and we were on schedule to enter the Beagle Channel by lunch time. This morning’s schedule followed a similar pattern to yesterday, lectures interspersed with deck time. As we entered the Beagle Channel a pod of fin whales was spotted, it turned out to be one of our best whale sightings of the trip with them staying within just a few metres of our vessel for 10-15 minutes. By mid-afternoon the sun was shining bright, a sight we had become only too familiar with and nearly everyone was out on deck, when the PA crackled into life and the words “bow-riding dolphins” were uttered. A group of ten or so Peale’s Dolphins were bow-riding and stayed with us for about 20 minutes allowing us all to get some great photos. I was particularly happy with this sighting as it was a new species for me and gave me hope that we might yet see the striking Commerson dolphin which are renowned for following vessels up the Beagle Channel and if not, just another reason to come back one day.

As is protocol on such voyages the last night was dedicated to presentations, the showing of the slide show that John (the official photographer) had compiled, the Captain’s Dinner and of course the obligatory few drinks to celebrate our successful voyage.

Day 14

As we opened our eyes to the sound of Michela for the final time we pulled into the port, our fantastic voyage finally over. Disembarkation was a seamless operation, they quickly ferried us by bus us to our chosen destinations, whether it be to a hotel in town or to the airport for a connecting flight, before we knew it the crew and expedition team were frantically preparing to welcome the next group on board.

Every voyage to Antarctica is different but I don’t believe this wonderful continent can ever disappoint. Undoubtedly we were very lucky with the weather and wildlife sightings but by far the biggest contributing factor to the success of this voyage was the crew and expedition team. It is for this reason that WILDFOOT place great importance on choosing the right vessel and itinerary for all our clients, depending on their individual needs and preferences. This was my first trip to the magical white continent however I hope one day to go again, it is simply the most amazing place on the planet, if it is not on your bucket list already, it should be.

Our senior travel advisor is reflecting on the imminent end of their remarkable Antarctic trip, but the fun wasn’t over just yet. In their latest journal entries on their Antarctica holidays, WILDFOOT’s intrepid traveller looks back on their final landing site and some highly inspiring lectures.

Day 11

I woke to the startling fact that this was going to be a last full day of activities as tonight we would head north to start our return journey over Drake Passage. This morning’s landing was at Yankee Harbour, on the south-western side of Greenwich Island which is known for its nesting gentoo penguins. It is thought that over 4,000 pairs now call its well developed, raised–beach terraces home and as was becoming habit with this trip, we struck lucky again with many chicks already on display. Previously we had only seen very young chicks (a couple of days old) however here they seemed much further advanced with our ornithologist estimating that some might be almost a month old, which was quite surprising considering how early in the season it was. There were also some juvenile elephant seals to be seen wallowing near the water’s edge.

During lunch we sailed a short distance to Half Moon Island, which was sadly to be our last landing site. As the name suggests it is a crescent shaped island and offers wonderful views of the picturesque mountains and glaciers of nearby Livingstone Island. It is a favoured site amongst the expedition vessels as it has a large chinstrap rookery and the serrated and crevassed cliffs are also home to Antarctic terns, kelp gulls, snowy sheathbills and Wilson’s storm petrels, all of which we managed to get good looks of. As the afternoon lingered to a close and we were ushered back to the zodiacs for the last time, there was a definite sadness amongst us all. It was hard to comprehend that this wonderful adventure was rapidly drawing to a close and that we would shortly be waving this magical white continent goodbye.

Day 12

By the time we woke we were well into the Drake and there was a light swell and a little wind. Much of today was spent flittering between the various lectures that were being offered and spending time out on deck looking for seabirds and cetaceans. I strongly recommend going to as many lectures as possible, the expedition teams are always a fountain of knowledge on these sorts of voyages and some of them will even do talks about their personal experiences which are just awe inspiring. For example, our assistant expedition leader, Marta, joined a sailing expedition across Drake Passage to Antarctica in 2013 whilst Jonathan overwintered in Antarctica at two different research stations. In terms of birdlife, we had an escort of Wilson’s storm petrels, black-browed albatrosses and sooty shearwaters for much of the day, on occasion they were joined by an imperial shag or a wandering albatross.

As the day progressed the waves increased and consequently the numbers at meal times decreased, but this is all a part of the experience. I genuinely believe that without a bit of ‘rock and roll’ on Drake Passage you haven’t earnt the splendour that is Antarctica, it goes hand in hand!

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If there is one type of holiday where you can very much expect the unexpected, it is polar cruises to Antarctica like those provided by WILDFOOT. Again, our travel advisor had much to say about her incredible experiences on the latest day of her trip, including a visit to a site that is inaccessible for much of the year.

Day 10

Overnight we had sailed to Cierva Cove and the plan was to do a zodiac cruise this morning. The cove is known for its rugged mountain line and abundance of icebergs and with the still, mirror like water the scene was only enhanced by the incredible reflections. We spent almost three hours cruising amongst the brash ice and icebergs, absorbing the splendour of this place. We also struck lucky with leopard seals and had two close encounters, one with a curious individual that came and played around our zodiac and another with a big fat one asleep on a small ice floe that barely opened its eyes to acknowledge our presence.

Shortly after returning from our morning excursion a call was made that some minke whales had been spotted on the port side, so we quickly dashed outside to see a small pod travelling at the surface. They kept their distance from the ship but gave us our best views of the voyage so far and a reasonable chance of getting a few decent record shots, I suspect they were much closer when the watch officer on the bridge spotted them!

After an alfresco lunch out on deck we had a landing at Mikkelsen Harbour, which is home to a gentoo colony and a small Argentinian refuge, which to be honest consisted of nothing more than a small hut. We also found a small haul out of Weddell seals on some ice and a couple of crab eating seals on the pebble beach which were slightly more active than previous seals we had seen. The colony had no shortage of predators either, with not only nesting skuas, but a few pairs of southern giant petrels.

Back on board we assumed that was it for the day, however an announcement was made that due to the favourable weather they were going to try for a third activity, a zodiac cruise of Spert Island. Spert Island is very rarely accessed due to its position, it is situated in open waters which are notorious for large swell, making zodiac cruising virtually impossible for much of the year. There seemed to be a real excitement amongst the crew about this site, many claiming that it was a favourite due to its unique characteristics, evidently there is nowhere else like it on the peninsular. Therefore, we delayed dinner and boarded the zodiacs once more to start our exploration of this fascinating area. As we crept closer in zodiacs, narrow waterways were revealed, providing access to a hidden network of grounded icebergs, towering archways and maze-like water. Other zodiacs created a sense of scale whilst the cape petrels nesting high in the rock arches provided the soundtrack to the iconic scene around us. On reflection, I can completely understand why there was great excitement about this site, in terms of landscape this was by far the most dramatic and unexpected, it was not what most would imagine of Antarctica.

After dinner was complete we went back out on deck for another hour or so, just continuing to soak it all in. Words, photos and film just cannot do it justice.

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The ninth day of our senior travel advisor’s trip to Antarctica involved a spot of ‘penguin gliding’ and ‘polar plunging’, in calmer conditions than one might expect from educational cruise expeditions to Antarctica like those that WILDFOOT can offer.

Day 9

To the surprise of many I had the best night’s sleep of the trip thus far and in fact only woke to the sound of my companions packing up. In my opinion there is no better way to be at one with nature than sleeping out, I would highly recommend the camping and promise you that it is not half as cold or uncomfortable as you might expect. Back on board it was time for a hot shower and a spot of breakfast before the morning landing on to Cuverville Island, thought to be one of the largest gentoo colonies. Of course, the penguins occupied us with their funny rituals and behaviour, however it was the view from the top which stole the show. Looking down over the penguin rookeries and out to sea we could spot the Sea Spirit dwarfed by huge ice bergs and surrounded by glistening brash ice, it is the shallow waters between Cuverville and Ronge islands that trap and ground these icebergs. For those that couldn’t face the quite challenging hike to the top, (due to the thick fresh snow), there was plenty to keep them occupied at the shoreline with brown sub Antarctic skuas doing their best to steal eggs from any parent who was careless enough to leave their nest unguarded. In fact there was quite a plethora of birdlife to be spotted including the southern giant petrel, Antarctic petrel, Antarctic fulmar, Wilson’s storm petrel, rock cormorant, kelp gull and the Antarctic tern.

We cruised to Orne Harbour over lunch and the weather just seemed to be going from strength to strength, there was barely a cloud in the sky and not a whisper of a breeze to be felt. Once again we had to pinch ourselves that we were actually in Antarctica, supposedly one of the harshest environments anywhere in the world, we certainly hadn’t seen any evidence of it so far. Although Orne Harbour is thought to host a hardy colony of chinstrap penguins, this afternoon’s focus was not necessarily the wildlife but the view. The view from the saddle reaches to the southern Gerlache Strait and Wiencke, Anvers and Babant Islands, it is also one of the few places where you can step on the Antarctic mainland. After a bounty of photos had been taken, many of us tried all sorts of ingenious methods of descending the mountain, the most popular being the ‘penguin slide’, face first on your stomach with your arms behind you – once again the atmosphere of the group was electric.

The daring amongst us then headed back to the boat for the famous ‘polar plunge’. Having resisted the temptation to swim in ice waters on such trips previously, I’m not quite sure what came over me today to make me do it, I can only put it down to the great sense of camaraderie that had formed between a big group of us, as they say ‘all for one and one for all’.

A perfect day was only to be topped off by a superb humpback sighting after dinner. The vessel was literally surrounded by these gentle giants, in every direction there were blows to be seen, glistening in the beautiful evening light, it was simply magical.

Could our senior travel adviser’s latest trip to the Antarctic become any more spellbinding? It certainly could, with their visit to the astonishing site of Brown Bluff on day seven of their holiday. Below, they detail their experiences. Enquire now to WILDFOOT about booking your own Antarctica wildlife cruise.

Day 7

I woke particularly early this morning and decided to draw back the curtains to my balcony, only to find the most picture-perfect scene before my very eyes, we were surrounded by beautiful tabular icebergs, gleaming in the early morning light. Once again, we were being treated to fabulous weather which was allowing ‘Plan A’ to be executed this morning, we were going to land at Brown Bluff! This magnificent site is known for its large penguin rockeries and dramatic scenery however it also has a notorious reputation for bad weather and quickly shifting ice flows, to the point that the Sea Spirit didn’t manage to land there last season with any level of success, making our visit even more special. Within minutes of us landing it was quite clear to see why this was a favourite site amongst the expedition staff, the sheer size of the nesting colonies was quite something to behold. Within just a few metres of the shoreline there were nesting gentoos and Adelies as far as you could see, it is thought to be one of the largest colonies on the peninsular. Despite being early in the season, we were lucky enough to see several induvials with chicks, some just a few days old. It can be somewhat overwhelming at these colonies, not knowing where to look as you are surrounded by activity, personally I think the best option is to find a suitable spot to take a seat and let the action come to you. If you keep moving from one place to another, you are likely to miss the finer intricacies of these adorable animals. These little charismatic creatures are an endless source of fascination and entertainment and quite rightly deserve the attention they get. Our landing is aborted slightly earlier than expected as the Captain spots that the ice is rapidly encroaching the ship, so thinks it is best we make a hasty exit to avoid getting blocked in – a gentle reminder that we are very much at the mercy of Mother Nature.

Back on board lunch is served out on deck to maximize the glorious weather, these al fresco dining sessions are always well received. As we sail to our afternoon landing site of Gourdin Island we pass countless tabular icebergs, each totally unique but equally beautiful. These incredible floating towers are the result of caving in the Weddell Sea, some of the bergs we pass are three times the height of our ship and almost a kilometre in length, it is difficult to convey their sheer size in a photo alone.

This afternoon is a split landing, two groups of fifty, as determined by IATTO’s guidelines who state that Gourdin Island is of a particularly high environmental importance and vulnerability. En route to the island, our first leopard seal is spotted playing amongst the icebergs, the speed and agility it shows in the water hinders any great photography chances unfortunately, but we are left hopeful that this might not be our only sighting of this incredible predator. As we pull up to land there are a couple of inquisitive Weddell seals waiting for us, more than happy to pose for our cameras. Gourdin Island is home to all three brushtail penguins and a small hike to the top allowed for wonderful views down the Bransfield Strait.

Today, has certainly been a day to remember with some of the most stunningly beautiful scenery I have ever had the pleasure of witnessing and of course more penguins than I could bear to count!

Most of those who travel to the Antarctic would hope to spot penguins, and that certainly proved the case for our own travel adviser on the sixth day of their journey to the region. Read about their exploits before investigating our currently available range of Antarctic adventure cruises here at WILDFOOT.

Day 6

This morning was slightly more overcast than previous days, but certainly of no concern by Antarctic standards. After breakfast, we headed out for a zodiac cruise, where we managed to get our first glimpse of the true Antarctic penguin, the Adelie. Unlike many of the other penguins you can encounter in this region, the Adelie, is one of the few that is restricted to Antarctic coastal waters and won’t be found at high latitudes. We also managed to spot out first Weddell seal, hauled out on the ice next to a juvenile elephant seal, both relaxing as only a seal can. From here we crossed a shallow channel to make our way over to the Great Wall Station, where we had kindly been invited. The Great Wall Station was built in 1985 and is the biggest of four stations China is currently operating in Antarctica, it is operated by CHINARE, the Chinese Antarctic Program. Currently the base was running on skeleton staff as it was still considered to be their ‘winter season’ however we were assured that as of the 16th December the place would be a hive of activity as by then their ‘summer team’ of scientists would have arrived.

During lunch we sailed south to the aptly named ‘Penguin Island’ where the plan was to explore the rocky coastline and for those feeling energetic there was the chance to climb the Deacon Peak, which is considered a relatively fresh volcanic cone. For many, the landscape of this island came as a surprise, most people expect Antarctica to merely be ice and snow however here we were struggling to find signs of either. The island consisted of dark volcanic matter which was just starting to host its first lichens, so there was a green tinge to much of the lowlands. For those that made it to the top they were rewarded with a panoramic view which was certainly photo worthy. At the base of the volcano there were lots of whale bones to be seen, a very real reminder of the whaling that was so prevalent in this region in times gone by. Once again the wildlife was abundant with plenty of gentoo and chinstrap penguins waddling up and down the beach, posing for their adoring public and also a large haul out of elephant seals. For the birders amongst us, we were happy to spot plenty of skuas, Antarctic terns, fulmars, cape gulls, sheathbills, rock cormorants and some nesting southern giant petrels, to which we gave a very wide berth as they will desert their nests at the slightest provocation.

Although it is tempting to linger over dinner or head to the bar for a nightcap, if you want to make the most of your adventure, head out on deck at every opportunity. For most people, this is a ‘once in a lifetime’ trip and it goes by far too quickly so seize the moment. The daylight at this time of year is almost 24 hours so you will need to pace yourself, or within a few days exhaustion can set in, but being outside for as long as you comfortably can will pay dividends and it did for us tonight! This evening’s delight was in the form of some humpbacks bubble net feeding alongside our vessel, it is such a joy to watch these ocean giants working in unison at close proximity, a very humbling experience with which to end the day.

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For avid travellers interested in Antarctic expedition vacations like those we can offer here at WILDFOOT, this latest story of a journey to this incredible part of the world by one of our travel advisers should make for fascinating reading. In this blog post, our intrepid staffer reflects on days four and five of their trip.

Day 4

I woke early and made my way out on to the front deck to grab some fresh air before breakfast and was pleasantly surprised to see blue skies and relatively calm seas, were we being treated to ‘Drake Lake’ as opposed to the much feared ‘Drake Quake’, and if so, how long would it last? It so happened it lasted much of the day, we couldn’t have asked for a better crossing. Consequently, most of us spent the day flitting between the various lectures that the expedition crew were doing and out on deck looking for cetaceans and birds. Drake’s Passage is a hot spot for tubenoses and we were not disappointed with good sightings of sooty shearwaters, Wilson’s storm petrels, black-browed albatross, southern giant petrels, slender-billed prions and white-chinned petrels and one of nature’s ultimate flyers, the wandering albatross. Unfortunately, the only hint of a cetacean was a distant blow, which no one felt confident enough to give a positive ID of, however little beats the feeling of not knowing what you will see next, anticipation was high!

Day 5

We woke up to the good news that we were slightly ahead of schedule due to the favourable weather, so an afternoon landing looked likely. Therefore, after breakfast we all headed to the lounge for the mandatory IATTO and zodiac briefing in preparation for this afternoon’s activity, this involved us being taught the ‘do and don’ts of landing in Antarctic. Mid briefing, an announcement came over the tannoy letting us know that our first iceberg, and with this the solid land of the South Shetlands, was now in sight, which as you can imagine, caused a flurry of excitement as people dashed to get cameras and get out on deck.

After lunch it was time to don our waterproofs and muck boots and head to the back of the boat to board the zodiacs. Our chosen landing site was Barrientos, a part of the Aitcho islands, it is situated in the English Strait between Robert and Greenwich islands and offers some of the most dramatic scenery in the South Islands. It is home to both nesting gentoo and chinstrap penguins so was the perfect starting place.