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This is the life
Not much better than the life style here right now. It starts early with a run in the zodiacs onto a surging beach with strong wind making things interesting. Then we throw the anchor out, hop ashore and spend the first few hours of the day lounging on the beach with little fur seal pups nibbling on our ankles and king penguins wandering by. A quick wander over the coastal plateau to take in the green grass and wilderness then the first hike sets out to retrace the last stage of Shackletons walk over the jagged interior of South Georgia where the winds burn your skin and the views burns an image of beauty into your eyes that is hard to forget. But this in only the start! Next stop is Myviken where we land beside an old sealers cave for another long walk past lakes and over saddles and ridgesuntil we make our way to Grytviken – yet another relic station from the days of sealing and whaling that is now the administrative centre of this isolated island with a handful of dedicated staff putting up with one the most 
spectacular offices in the world! Now I’ve had time to wind down in a sauna and will shortly be cracking open a cold beer on the back deck as we celebrate another superb day with a BBQ overlooking a bay filled with playful seal. Just fantastic!
South Georgia looms from the mist
This morning we were surrounded by the same thick fog that has clung to us for days except this morning the silence of the fog was pierced by a cacophony of seal cries echoing off the sheer cliffs that peeked through the white mist. We have arrived at South Georgia Island! This is an absolutely incredible place… like nothing on earth. We started the day with a zodiac ride in Elsehul harbour were we cruised past a swarming mass of fur seals all stridently crying out and barking. Above us albatross wheeled through the mist and grey headed, black-brow and light mantled sooties perched amongst the tussocks above us on their delicate nests. Macaroni penguins charged down the hills into the surging waters and king penguins stood proudly in the their neat colonies on the smooth shingle beaches. Meanwhile giant petrels feasted on the carcasses of fallen elephant seals only feet from their comrades still lounging on the thick rafts of kelp washed ashore. The entire busy beach is also bathed in the peculiar chummy odor of fur seal which brands this as South Georgia.
This introduction was followed by a visit to Salisbury Plains, home to the second largest king penguin colony in the world. Picture tens of thousands of stately penguins splashed with gorgeous colours of sunset orange spilling out from the beach into the green tussock. At the base of the colony juvenile kings in their scruffy coats of brown down wait patiently for a feed while occasionally engaging in a detailed investigation of a passing tourist. Stopping to gently mouth a proffered finger. Unfortunately to get to the colony you have to run the gauntlet of grumpy fur seals who have missed out on the seasons breeding and are looking to take it out on the soft looking bipeds wandering around in a daze. Only a couple of close calls for me but 200 kg of angry seal is something to treat with respect!
It’s good to be back after two years!
Heading for Shag Rocks
Another misty day on the Southern Ocean but we are making good time towards South Georgia. Later this evening we should pass by Shag Rocks which are a spectacular sight – sheer pinnacles of rock raising from the Southern Ocean in the middle of nowhere with birds wheeling around the air and seals and whales milling in the water taking advantage of the high productivity around this mountainous feature in the deep ocean. I just hope the fog will lift so we can see it all!
Otherwise we are all preparing for the surf beaches of South Georgia where whe waves pound and the beaches are a riot of penguins and seals. First priorities are to ensure that our waders do not leak (all our waders leak) so that we can stand in the surf and catch the boats as they buck around in the waves, then we have to make sure the new staff are prepared for the seal. Right now fur seals are still defending territories on the shore and will be aggressively attacking these strange aliens that turn up on their territory. They are mostly harmless and will charge as if they have murder on their mind until at the last moment they turn away … well as long as you stand your ground. If you run away they think they have won and will keep charging until they have had a taste of your rear end. A fur seal can give a pretty nasty bite!
Very muck looking forward to getting to the island and drinking in one of the most abundant wildlife experiences on the planet!
Posted in Patrick in Antarctica, Shag Rocks, South Georgia Island
Tagged Antarctic Fur Seal
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Slipping through the mist
Today we are pushing though gentle winds and calm seas blanketed in fog. The albatross are wheeling momentarily into sight then disappearing like wraiths into the white gloom hanging over all. Hard to tell which way is which let alone where we are heading but all aboard have an air of excitement and expectation as we know we are slowly drawing closer to South Georgia Island and one of the most beautiful and biologically rich places on earth. Two days of traveling ahead but the goal is nigh…
Falklands
What a way to start the New Year! This morning we pulled into the North West islands of the Falkland group and got ashore to wander amidst the fantastic avifauna of the Falklands set amidst rolling green hill and intense aqua blue water that is crystal clear and inviting despite being just a tad to cool for a swim. The first stop was a pretty spectacular location – Saunders Island. Here we see Gentoo Penguins with well-grown chicks nesting on grass with Striated Caracaras and Turkey Vultures prowling around looking for a free meal. Kind of strange seeing the penguins on a green backdrop after a month of seeing them on the clean white blanket of Antarctic 
snow … well clean except for the deposits of pink guano. After a while looking at the Gentoos we were then free to roam around the shore amidst the Magellanic Penguin burrows towards the cliffs where the Rockhopper Penguins have staked their territory just next door the Black-browed Albatross nests. The Falklands is the largest and most important breeding site for both these species, with the albatross in particular representing 80% of the global population. Just stunning to watch these majestic animals glide in and then greet their mate and chick with delicate mutual preening displays and calls. And that was just the morning! In the evening we landed at Carcass Island and managed to stretch our legs while walking through the tussock grass to the local homestead where we were plied with home cooked cake and tea in the best English tradition. All up we saw 28 species of birds including two endemic species, the Cobb’s Wren and the
Falkland Steamer Duck which are both found no where else on the Earth and former are becoming hard to find even here due to the introduced rats, cats and mice that make an easy meal of these incredibly trusting creatures. My favourite bird for the day is the Tussock Bird, which is happy to sit on your toes and twitter at you … no wonder the cats have a liking for them! And talking of twittering… after the silence of the Antarctic it is pretty special to hear the song of birds flitting around the trees on New Years. Very sweet music to greet 2011.
Whales to port
Today we had a pretty wild windy day at Dorian bay and made our way to Fournier Harbour which is a large sheltered bay surrounded by glaciers tumbling into the sea. As soon as we arrived the wind started to dive down and we were surrounded by feeding Humpback Whales. The engines on the ship were lowered and we coasted into the very thick of a churning mass of feeding whales gorging themselves on the dense krill just thirty meters below the surface. As we lined the rails of the ship we saw spiraling bubbles emerge from the depths and float towards the surface in concentric circles until a large whale surged through the centre of the rings with water spurting from its baleen plates and krill scattering in all directions. The lead whale would soon be followed by two younger whales learning the game of bubble netting and taking advantage of the skill of the lead whale. Also notice that as the whales charge to the surface they have their eye close, no doubt to keep our the krill and to prevent damage from the wheeling seabirds overhead taking advantage of the craft of the whale. It was a pretty spectacular fair well from the Antarctic as we once again turn our bows towards the Drake Passage and Ushuaia.
Posted in Dorian Bay, Fournier Harbour, Palmer Archipelago, Patrick in Antarctica
Tagged Humpback Whale
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Boxing Day
Today the ship was a bit subdued after last night celebrations but we still were up early for a landing and a later ship cruise. Nothing to clear the head of celebratory fog like tearing through ice-cold air in a speeding zodiac. Right now we have cancelled the planned nights camping at Dorian Bay due to a screaming wind from the north. As it turns out the wind is doing most of its screaming through the rigging of two yachts anchored in a nearby bay which makes me green with envy … despite the rough weather I look forward to the day that it is Widdershins standing proud in the cutting Antarctic wind.
White Christmas
Christmas in Antarctica is always a blast… but not much time for a lazy day sipping beer with friends and family. Up early for blast around Danco Island to play with Gentoo penguins and to work up an appetite for Christmas lunch by scaling the peak of the island to chill with the penguins which have also decided to scale the height on their short stumpy legs … actually there is a reason for that – the snow high up melts early and allows the penguins to lay their eggs at the first possible moment. Seems absurd to see the penguins climbing so high but mother nature always has a cunning plan! After Danco we did more cruising and a walk around Dorian Bay where the Minke whales came to visit … and while we were all out in the boats the ship crew were preparing the Christmas BBQ on board which finished the night with revelry, fun and much good cheer in the form of various beverages…
Posted in Danco Island, Dorian Bay, Palmer Archipelago, Patrick in Antarctica
Tagged Gentoo Penguin
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Rainy day in the South Shetlands
We arrived in the South Shetland Islands today and began the day with a landing in pretty windy conditions blowing rain into our eyes as we zipped between land and the ship in the zodiacs. But when we got ashore I noticed something odd. Halfmoon Island, where we landed, is normally a pretty riotous affair due to the chinstrap penguin colony. Chinstraps are an agro bunch and are normally busily picking fights with their neighbours in a noisome squabbling fray. But today the colony was strangely subdued. On closer inspection the reason was apparent. The first chinstrap chicks of the season had appeared the last night and the parents were busily tending to their tiny fragile charges, with the small grey chicks waking into a wet cold world and meeting the Antarctic weather for the first time.
Meanwhile back on the ship we were doing quite the opposite and changing the atmosphere from subdued to festive. With Bing Crosby blaring over the speakers we decked the decks with Christmas cheer and prepared for the merry season by setting up Christmas trees and introducing some season’s cheer to the Akademik Ioffe.
Right now I am preparing to fall into an exhausted sleep after another landing in Deception Island in the rain. Immediately afterwards we spent an hour lugging garbage and fuel between our vessel and another passing ship as a favour and now I am pleasantly exhausted while I sip a pint of Guinness and prepare to say goodnight to the world.
Back on line
Hello again… my apologies for the break in the updates to the website but one of the hazards of being on a boat in the middle of the Southern Ocean is the inability to rectify computer issues by calling in your local IT professional. Our ship the Ioffe has, in fact, been floating around the Southern Ocean for almost a week with no way of getting in touch with the rest of the world, save through expensive satellite phone calls. Which is not always such a bad thing – these days we are so reliant up being “networked” that a few days cut off can give you back time you never realised you had.
And I have been busy! We finished our last trip amidst strong winds after successfully traversing the iceberg-strewn Lemaire Channel, returned across a placid Drake Passage, stopped briefly in Ushuaia to pick up a fresh load of passengers and are now in sight of the South Shetland Islands ready to start a new series of explorations in Antarctica. This time the snow covered islands and glaciers are the scene of a Christmas festival as we bedeck the vessel with Christmas trees and tinsel and prepare to celebrate in style. Not that this will interfere with the adventure though! Landing on half moon island first thing tomorrow!