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Published: January 12th 2023
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We have had the most amazing day!! First of all, things got much much calmer and we only needed to administer one pill to the most vulnerable/dramatic member of our party. And we finally got that sleep we’d apparently been craving all day yesterday via multiple naps.
The crew kept saying how smooth we’d had it, specially compared to what was predicted, and today we really got to appreciate it. The sun was out, the waves were virtually non-existent and we got to enjoy some time on deck seeing black brown albatrosses and multiple whale blows in the distance. Enjoyed some lectures on penguins and whales and Beeb attached herself to the ornithologist Lyn.
After lunch, we began to see islands in the distance, and an iceberg, indicating we were close to our first potential landing spot, Snow Island. A few hours later and we anchored and they sent out a zodiac to check conditions at President’s Head, home of many elephant seals. Lucky we got the thumbs up - excitement overload for our first touch of (officially) Antarctic land.
We were the second group called, so we headed to the mud room for our boots and life
jacket and we’re efficiently loaded onto zodiacs and ferried to shore. A very smooth beach landing and a passage through a large colony of elephant seals, baking themselves in the sun…all the while equal parts bemused and perturbed by their red-coated observers.
We enjoyed watching several groups. Eloise astutely observed that even though they were sleeping and apparently very lazy, they were unable to keep still. No irony there. There were also a couple of gentoo penguins and a solitary chinstrap for our viewing pleasure. I could have watched the elephants seals and their antics all day - grunting, labouring their blubbering masses all around and belching at their colleagues, all the while napping in the sun looking cute. It really sounds like something I would excel at. Do excel at, unfortunately in a less socially acceptable setting.
Back to the ship for drinks and dinner, which were rudely interrupted by a whale and penguin feeding frenzy off the bow of the boat. We all rushed out between entree and main to watch (and shiver) in wonder at the 10-12 humpbacks and hundreds of penguins who were feasting on the krill swarm around the ship. At one point,
there were two pairs of humpbacks either side of the bow. It was noted by the peanut gallery that we needed more eyes to see them with…hopefully at the expense of the mouth. It was truly spectacular watching them roll around, blow, dive and eat.
After about an hour of watching in amazement, we remembered that we were eating too and retreated to the warmth of the dining room, everyone in high spirits, even if a little nervous about the forecast high winds tomorrow. After the day we had today, I’m not sure anyone will even mind!
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