Whales

Like seals, whales were once hunted extensively in Antarctica. In 1937 – 1938, approximately 46,000 whales were caught in the Southern Ocean.

Those who’ve seen Happy Feet might recognise the enormous barrels used to render whale carcasses into blubber. Other pics show abandoned equipment and penguins playing ring-a-rosy round some whale bones.

We saw Minke and Humpback whales, with the Bridge recording as many as 80 whale sightings per day during our cruise. A birder even claimed she’d spotted 200 whales before lunch on a previous voyage, so it’s good to see that whale populations are recovering.

Seals

We saw Crabeater, Elephant, Weddell and Leopard Seals. While all species feed on krill and fish, Leopard Seals also eat penguins and deserve their reputations as the Big Bad.

On separate occasions, we watched two Leopard Seals prey on penguins within centimetres of our zodiacs. Leopard seals toss penguins’ carcasses violently to ‘skin’ them (i.e. turn them inside out to expose the organs). This process attracts scavengers such as skuas, gulls, and petrels, and creates a feeding frenzy.

One of the Leopard Seals was more interested in playing with than killing its penguin, and it was heartbreaking to watch the injured penguin swim slowly away each time only to have the seal retrieve it the way a dog would a stuffed toy. Children in one of the zodiacs cried, “Save the penguin, save the penguin!”

(Pics: A Leopard Seal, and my seal-on-a-rock impression)

Skuas

Skuas harass penguins, nick their eggs, and attack those whose youth or injuries make them vulnerable.

Penguins

If there were Antarctic smellavision, it would reek of penguin poo. Fortunately, low temperatures prevent this from achieving maximum pongy-ness

Penguins are a determined lot. They hop to great heights to secure prime nesting locations, despite their clumsiness on land which causes them to fall frequently. They just pick themselves up and waddle on. We could learn a thing or two from them penguins.

We arrived at the end of the Antarctic summer, when penguin moms and dads were moulting. During this phase, adults fast and rarely move except when chased by their adult-sized chicks for food. These fledglings had shed their inhibitions with their down, and would approach us to peck at bits of clothing and gear.

There were marked differences between the species. The friendly Gentoos were as curious about us as we were of them. They would investigate bright colours and movement, and one even pushed a passenger’s feet apart to nestle between. In contrast, Adelies got stressed if you so much as looked at them. Chinstraps were bossy, and would quarrel over iceberg ownership!

Breathtaking Scenery

The scenery, when we reached the Antarctic Peninsular and surrounding islands, was magnificent. We saw icebergs taller than our vessel, and glaciers carving.

Heading out in our Zodiacs (Antarctic Taxis), we explored a variety of landscapes – pebbled beaches, volcanic sand, rocky outcrops, glaciers and snowy mountains. Penguins populated them all.

The Cold

We made 10 landings over five days, and were blessed with glorious weather for all but one, when 30 knot winds combined with -0 temperature to produce a wind chill factor of -15. On another occasion, the wind raged so fiercely I was quite literally blown away, and saved only by Warren who snagged my hand as I flew past. If you look closely at the photo above, you’ll notice it’s supporting some of my weight (rather more significant than normal after the addition of seven layers on top and four below).

The cold would eventually penetrate these layers (including the windproof ones), but my fingers would freeze before that happened, so my mission was to take as many photos as possible before that occurred. I think we did pretty well between us, and averaged about 500 photos per landing.

Warren fared better with the cold. When we were given the opportunity to have a warm ‘bath’ dug on a thermal beach, he decided to swim in Antarctic Ocean as well.

The Drake Passage

“An Antarctic expedition is the worst way to have the best time in your life.” Apsley Cherry-Garrard, The Worst Journey in the World (1922)

Ships approaching Antarctica must pass through regions of strong westerly winds that sweep almost unhindered around the earth, and we were forewarned crossing the Drake Passage would be rough. “The ship’ll tilt so severely you’ll see crew members walking its walls”, they said. We were told of a girl who wanted to jump overboard to end her sea-sickness, and had to be strapped to a bed in the medical centre for the duration of the crossing. These sounded like urban Antarctic myths, but experience proved otherwise. We saw furniture flung across the room, along with those sitting on and around them. Dinner on these occasions was entertaining, as wait staff performed feats worthy of Cirque du Soleil.

Those who felt up to it attended lectures and movies about Antarctic wildlife, climate and exploration. However, I concluded the lurching was best tolerated when ones centre of gravity was low, and used this as an excuse to read in bed. Even whilst horizontal, you would be rocked
from side to side
from head to toe
in a (strange) circular motion

These movements generated a sense of weightlessness. So, when sleep eluded me, I would flip onto my belly and pretend I was flying. Some nights, however, even flying was impossible. Passengers shared their stay-on-bed techniques: Warren clung to the sides of his bunk, one lay diagonally, and another assembled a lifejacket barricade.

We would venture out on deck when animal sightings were announced and, on those occasions, were able to appreciate our insignificance as the horizon formed an unbroken circle around us, and the sky a dome above.

Ushuaia

Our ship, Ushuaia, was named after the Southernmost city from which we embarked our cruise. The city looked and felt like a frontier town, but had some swish restaurants which served the local delicacy – King Crab – in a variety of ways.

Life on board the Ushuaia was fun. We were served three course meals between lectures or landings, and the crew did their best to entertain as well as educate us. Passengers hailed from around the world, but there were a large number of Europeans and quite a few Australians.