Blogs from South Shetland Islands, Antarctica, Antarctica - page 5

Antarctica - Background So, Antarctica....the White Continent....the Seventh Continent, the Cold Continent (I made the last one up)....but more importantly, for me anyway, it would be my home for the next 11 days. But what can I tell you about the place to kick things off? Well: -Over 99% of Antarctica is covered with ice, which equates to approx 90% of world's fresh water -It holds record for coldest (-89C) and windiest place (320km/hr) on earth (hopefully this record would still stand after my trip) -If it's ice sheets melted, the world's oceans would rise by 60-65 metres (not good folks) 'That is all very impressive' I hear you say 'but will you get to see penguins and polar bears?'...and what's that?...you want more facts?...seriously? ok... -Of all the Continents, it is the most isolated ... read more

Saturday morning as we were approaching Hope Bay there was a thick fog and you couldn't see much of anything. But when we got there at 7:30 A.M. the fog lifted and there was beautiful sunshine. This is the tip of the actual continent of Antarctica. Up until now we had been visiting islands. Hope Bay in the Antarctic Sound. The large research base is Esperanza Station. Built in 1975, the base houses 55 inhabitants in winter, including 10 families and 2 school teachers. There are 43 buildings in all. 4800 gallons of fuel are used annually by the 4 generators to produce electricity. Esperanza Base has some measure of fame because it is the birthplace of the first person to be born in Antarctica. Hope Bay on Trinity Peninsula, is 3 miles long and 2 ... read more

When we awoke the next morning the Drake Passage had been cleared and we had sailed up the Bransfield Strait into the South Shetland Islands. The ship dropped anchor in Discovery Bay, a bay off Greenwich Island, sheltered from the Bransfield Strait by Robert Island, which lay opposite. It was from Discovery Bay that we had a Zodiac (rubber dinghy) cruise around the coastline. Although the seas were calm, it was still pretty choppy. As I was positioned at the front of the boat, I soon had a tasty mouth full of Antarctic water! As the Zodiac cruised around the bay, penguins swam next to us. They swam in a very strange but 'penguin' way, almost dolphin-like as they dived in and out of the rolling swells. There was plenty of bird life sitting on the ... read more

The wind picked up again as we approached Penguin Island, creating a short, choppy sea. By 9.15 a.m. Lisa and I were ashore on the rocky beach and set out to climb to the top of the 170m caldera; unfortunately, the way up was too crowded with petrel and albatross nests for us to pass without disturbing the brooding birds, so we spent our time along the beach and up on a headland with a large Chinstrap Penguin colony. For the first time we saw baby Chinstraps still at nest - the Chinstraps make a gathering of stones in which to lay their two eggs. And I watched a Brown Skua as it surveyed the scene from a big rock in the centre of the colony and then made a sudden dive for a chick when ... read more

Merry Christmas - ho ho ho!!!!... read more