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Category Archives: Patrick in Antarctica
Antarctic Sound
Just five minutes ago I was on the foredeck of the Akademic Ioffe watching two humpback whales slowly cross the bow of the ship against an incredible sunset with icebergs dancing on the horizon still catching the last rays of the sun. A spectacular evening in the Antarctic Sound. To turn back the clock to the other end of the day, we woke this morning drifting off Paulet Island which is home to between 60-100.000 pairs of Adelie Penguins. A bit of an uncertain figure since the penguins in this region have been declining lately, but regardless of a downward trajectory in the population, the beach and island is certainly a surging mass of penguins all busily going to and fro from the sea to feed their half grown chicks which add to the loud chorus of a penguin colony. Beside the penguins is a large colony of Blue Eye
Shag which add their own distinctive brand of noise and also their own odour to assault the nose… this many birds in a small space certainly has its own distinctive aroma. The morning excursion was followed up by a zodiac cruise amidst icebergs where three species of seal where spotted as well as a lot more penguins and the elusive snow petrels wheeling amidst the towering bergs. But of course the highlight of the day was hamburgers for lunch. Not often we get hamburgers aboard…
Posted in Antarctic Sound, Patrick in Antarctica, Paulet Island
Tagged Adelie Penguin, Antarctic Shag, Humpback Whale
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The Scotia Sea
Another sea day but this time the Scotia Sea is showing its teeth. We are battling into a severe storm with 50 knot winds and big waves crashing over the bow and sending sprays of salt water up to the bridge window. Daunting weather for a yacht but the Ioffe is charging through towards the Antarctic continent which should be in sight tomorrow morning!
Posted in Patrick in Antarctica
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The Orkneys
The past day we have been skirting a depression in the Scotia Sea that has forced us well to the west of our next objective: the South Orkney Islands. But finally this evening we have drawn into sight of the rocky outlying islands which jut from the ocean and reach for the heavens with sheer sides and forbidding silhouettes. Around the islands are a battalion of tabular icebergs lurking in all directions, each with a small group of penguins standing atop and with whales blowing all about. It’s a shame we cant spend longer in these remote islands, but unfortunately we have to turn to the south and make for Antarctica.
The bird that makes the wind blow
R.C. Murphy once described the albatross as the `bird that makes the wind blow` which is pretty fitting since we visited Prion Island today to look at some nesting albatross while it blew 40 knots of wind. Despite the gale and the driving rain it is breath-taking to see these birds up close. A 3.5 metre wingspan is enormous but almost impossible to judge when the birds are on the wing with an endless horizon behind and a sweeping sea-scape below… but on the nest you start to appreciate how big these birds are, though admittedly the graceful flight at sea is replaced by a somewhat clumsy waddle as they pick their way through the tussock and crash to earth in a stumble.Watching the birds delicately preen each other in greeting andstretch their wings into the wind makes up for their awkwardness… and being the king of the skies there really is no need for them to perform on earth as well – they are creature of the southern winds and are only bound to land briefly to breed before once again taking to the air. Either way it is a privilege to observe these majestic animals up close, and a fitting farewell to South Georgia as we set sail towards the Antarctic Peninsula.
Posted in Patrick in Antarctica, Prion Island, South Georgia Island
Tagged Black Browed Albatross
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Gold
Today was a quick morning stop in Gold Harbour where the elephant seals have claimed the beach in a writing mass of bodies piled atop of each other. Grunts and bellows resound and startle the droves of king penguins and fur seals picking their way through the thrown of large inert blubber wallowing in filth and mud. With the sun beating down the ellies were particularly pungent as they dug into the mud and fling it upon their bodies to protect them from the suns burn. Leaving all this behind I lead a hike up a steep slope into the tussock plateau where the spectacular coastline of South Georgia unwinds below the sheer cliffs where albatross nest and glide out to sea on the unseen wind currents. Really is gold.
Posted in Gold Harbour, Patrick in Antarctica, South Georgia Island
Tagged Elephant Seal, Wandering Albatross
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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.