South Shetland Islands – Penguins

At first light we arrived in the South Shetland Islands that lie at the northern end of the Antarctic Peninsular. I set the alarm for first light but initially was in for a disappointment, it was foggy with no sight of land. However as it became clearer it was obvious that we were in a natural bay, Yankee Harbour. Mountains and glaciers spilling down to the sea, with small ice flows passing the ship, surrounded us. It was phenomally beautiful, an absolutely pristine environment. While observing a humpback whale moved across the bows of the ship, and I successfully captured it as it rose from the sea. As soon as you venture on deck you notice the smell of the penguin guano, rather like a pungent gents urinal is how I can best describe it.

We are assigned colours that determine when you land. We the Red Group were about10:30, so well in advance we were dressed in our Antarctic gear. It turned out that this was needed for the zodiac ride as much as the time shore-side. We then proceeded to a locker room where we changed into our boots. We then walked down some steps to the landing pontoon for transfer to the zodiac. Despite there being quite an amount of swell the step to the zodiac was easy. Marion was particularly reassured. The zodiac transfer was exciting, bumping at speed along the top of the waves. We landed in a calm bay protected by a pebble promontory. Just feet away were Gentoo penguin colonies, there are estimated to be five thousand breeding pairs in this area. There were lots of chicks of a few weeks old being protected and also being very teenage and threatening to stray from their parents. The penguins walked within feet of you, totally unaware. I must admit that before the cruise I thought that this was marketing and never happened, but absolutely if I had reached down I could have touched them. They are such beautiful, funny creatures.

 

Further along the beach were two enormous fur seals just luxuriating in the sunshine amongst the penguins. Again they were ideal photographic models as they smile and stay still. Marion returned in a zodiac and I walked the 800 metres or so along the promontory to alternative zodiac site. On the way I saw a Chinstrap penguin. Quite what this lone bird was doing amongst the Gentoo’s, who knows. There were skuas overhead on the lookout for lunch though we did not observe any feeding. All the time we are surrounded by mountains and glaciers tumbling down to the bay.

The zodiac ride back was very bumpy and I really got quite wet, the protective clothing did its job however. After a good lunch, as the cold had made us hungry we settled down in the coffee shop to observe the scenery. I climbed to the front observation deck to just marvel at the scenery and take more photos of the lovely surroundings. The two photos I have included do not do justice to Yankee Harbour.