Point Hope, Point Wild, and Lots of Penguins- We Finish Our Visit to Antarctica

After our continental landing at Neko Harbor, we steamed in a northerly direction (the farthest south we were was 64° 47’) all night and the morning of the next day for another visit to the mainland at Brown Bluff.

An Adelie out for a walk

At Brown Bluff we were to go ashore to see Adelie penguin colonies.

Wheeeeee! Belly surfing!

Adelies are all black and white and easily identified by the white circle around the eyes. These are the penguins that many people refer to as ‘being dressed in tuxedos.’ We entered the Antarctic Sound, a body of water between the northern shore of the Antarctic Peninsula and the outer islands, just before noon.

Huge tabular iceberg

As we were finishing lunch we started to pass some massive tabular icebergs.

Immense!

These icebergs were at least 50-60 feet high (remember, that is only about 10% of the iceberg’s mass and 90% is below the waterline) and at least one-half mile long by one-fourth to one-third mile wide. That’s a lot of fresh water. These icebergs have a flat top (i.e. tabular) and are formed when a section of an ice sheet (defined as a glacier floating on the water) breaks off and is taken away by the current.

Iceberg jam!

They are immense!

Adelie greeting party at Point Hope

And we encountered 3 of them jammed together at one point. One can experience icebergs in the Arctic Ocean and North Atlantic, but tabular icebergs can only be formed from ice sheets that are much less common in the Northern Hemisphere.

Hey! Everybody to the other side!

We continued on our way to Brown Bluff as we encountered more icebergs, some of them tabular, and experienced increasing wind, waves, snow, and blustery conditions that made a Zodiac landing more questionable.

That's just great! You woke them up.

Arriving at Brown Bluff, conditions had deteriorated to the point where a landing would not be possible.

Anyone know where we're goin'?

The captain and expedition director decided to investigate a more protected area at a place called Point Hope.

C'mon in, water's fine!

Normally a landing is made near an Argentinean research station, but we were told that the Argentineans were ‘busy’ and didn’t want us landing there (real friendly folks!).

I'm going to stick this landing!!

Our captain went further into the bay and found a suitable spot for a landing the view Adelie penguin colonies. However, all of this repositioning reduced the amount of time ashore to about an hour, but the Adelies were so numerous and animated that great penguin viewing didn't require more time. Back on board, we had an enjoyable dinner and drinks with friends at the piano bar, before turning in for the evening.

Through the night and next morning we sailed toward our next destination, Elephant Island, arriving at noon.

We could eat this penguin!

Just before our arrival we attended a lecture on the past and present fisheries around the Antarctic continent, and a cooking demonstration with the ship’s German executive chef.

Fun with fruits and vegetables

The dish was curried vegetables and it was very good. While the chef was cooking, an assistant was carving vegetables into various birds and animals, and the star of the show, naturally, was an eggplant penguin. Jane was captivated by the newfound use for eggplants.

Point Wild peak

Elephant Island is in the outer reaches of the South Shetland Islands, about 780 miles southwest of South Georgia, 580 miles south of the Falkland Islands, and 550 miles southeast of Cape Horn.

Penguins at Point Wild

There is no significant flora or native fauna, but migratory Gentoo and Chinstrap penguins and seals appear seasonally. A lack of a safe anchorage has prevented permanent human settlements, but Brazil maintains two scientific research stations with up to 6 researchers each during the summer.

Statue of the rescuer captain

The island is famous as the desolate refuge of British explorer and adventurer Ernest Shackleton in 1916. Shackleton’s expeditionary ship, Endurance, became icebound in the Weddell Sea and had to be abandoned. The team of 28 men reached Elephant Island, after a number of setbacks and harrowing ordeals with drifting ice floes. They established a camp at Point Wild from which Shackleton and 5 men set out in a converted lifeboat in route to South Georgia where whaling ships could provide rescue.

High tea service

The remaining 22 men endured extreme hardships and lived under two overturned lifeboats, eating penguins and seals for 135 days before Shackleton returned. Shackleton’s voyage to South Georgia is considered one of the most incredible feats of sailing and navigation in maritime history, and miraculously not one man was lost. A statue of the captain of the boat that rescued the men commemorates this event. Unfortunately, very high winds (which often reach up to 100 mph on the island) prevented the launching of the Zodiacs, so we could only get snapshots from our balcony and observation deck. Turning north, we headed back into the Drake Passage on our way to the Falkland Islands.

I see you!