Journey to the End of the World

---

Antarctica was beyond everything that I dreamed. Our party of 7 - including myself, my parents, a couple of their cronies, my cousin Linda and her 11 year old son Jack - travelled on the expedition icebreaker ship the "M/V Ushuaia" (booked through Antarpply/World Expeditions) from Ushuaia Argentina. Thankfully the infamous Drake Passage was a smooth crossing in both directions. We were unable to enter the Weddell Sea due to the pack ice, so instead did landings in the Antarctic Sound, the Antarctic Peninsula, the Gerlache Strait, and the South Shetland Islands. The various lectures set the scene and built the excitement for what to expect, and every zodiac landing unveiled phenomenal and awe-inspiring wonders. It was nesting season and we saw heaps of penguins - Gentoo´s, Adelie´s and Chinstrap´s. It was fascinating to watch their rituals for nest-building, feeding, and swapping nesting duties. Also saw Weddell and Elephant seals, lots of birdlife, and humpback whales. It´s pretty hard to take a bad photo here. The trip was made extra-special by a wedding of 2 crew members conducted by the Captain.

---

Photos

zodiac landing party
getting ready to load into the zodiac for one of our twice daily landings

el pinguino
Jack in his penguin onesie

nest building
Collecting rocks to place on the nests to keep the egg dry

Leucitic penguin
My cousin Linda spotted this rare leucitic Adelie penguin, which has a condition of diluted feather pigments (not albino)