15. Antarctica Part 3. Lemaire Channel, Pleneau Bay and Petermann Island.

Our open air dinner on the top deck specified the dress standard as "Warm", to which we did so without compunction, and once more were blessed with amazing conditions.
We have a new respect for the millions of folk who live in cold climates and endure temperatures far colder than those we have experienced.

View from the dinner table. 

A rarely sighted Antarctic Marine Iguana, a distant relative of the smaller Galapagos Marine Iguana. 

After dinner on the top deck, despite appearances, we were feeling far from blue. 

 So many icebergs with reasonably low access from the water transported penguins.
This one in the foreground has four penguins in a dilemma.

The penguins on the floe pondering about the uneven surface making movement difficult;
and lack of stones to make a nest.
They always look so relaxed!

The sky was an ever changing work of art! 

What an evening! 

Heading back to our cabin just before midnight, we took the following photo from our balcony.
We could have read a newspaper on deck throughout the night in the available light.

Twelve minutes to midnight on the summer solstice, 22nd December, 2019

3.52 the next morning,  23rd December.
Darkness was absent overnight. 

Cruising the 11kms long Lemaire Channel, also known as the Kodak Gap, due to the number of
photographs taken over the years.  The name dates back to pre-digital days when Kodak was king of the photography world.

The green radar screen showing extensive ice in our path.
Meanwhile, the screen to the right gives our location as 65.04 South, 63.56 West.
Speed over the ground is 8.5 knots, however, we were hardly leaving a ripple. 

Our bow to the bottom right, pushing aside car size blocks of ice as we glide through mirror conditions.

Great Scott!!
Mount Scott is a horseshoe shaped massif rising 2,890 feet or 880 metres, named after
Robert Scott who perished on the way back from the South Pole with his entire party in 1912.
Four New Zealanders climbed Mount Scott in 2017.  Kiwis and penguins
 seem to have some similar features. 

Penguins doing their best to prove incorrect the myth that they are flightless. 

Being still does not mean don't move.  It means move in peace.
(Quote by E'yen A. Gardner.)

Mount Scott again in all its glory.
We wonder how many people who visit the wilds of Antarctica see it in conditions such as this. 

One in the air, one entering the water and one leaving the water;
or are the two on the right actually one elongated penguin? 

The lack of wake for 8.5knots was commendable. 

We wondered if the penguins ever face-plant on ice. 

Once through the Lemaire Channel we entered into Pleneau Bay; a bay which looked for all the world like an iceberg graveyard.
Icebergs, some of which have travelled from the Ross Ice-shelf (over 3,000 km) are pushed into the bay by wind and currents to become grounded in the shallow waters.
We spent hours in the zodiacs exploring through the various ice sculptures, plus seeing more wonderful seals and penguins along the way.
The conditions were once more absolutely perfect.

There was banter with the zodiac drivers about who wanted to toss their job in
 and drive under the bridge.
Within five minutes of this photo, much of the bridge had collapsed. 

Like a bridge over untroubled waters. 

Just moments after moving away, we heard the crash as part of the bridge collapsed. 

More of the blue. 

Clear ice blocks

Design based on the fighter from the Independence Day movie. 

Evidently once again, more ice under than above. 

Antarctic Fur Seal disturbed from sun baking slumber. 

But not really caring about our presence. 

Our 8 deck ship dwarfed once more. 

Picture postcard conditions.
Spot our ship!

Closing in on our ship as ripples distort our vision. 

Reflecting on our trip, we couldn't have been happier with the conditions.
Google didn't work, but goggles worked admirably. 

Water skiers paradise.
Just look at those reflections!!

The bow not showing any loss of paint from cutting through the ice. 

Back on board and the view from our cabin.
We loved being on a lower deck which made us feel part of the scenery. 

Must have been in the French Quarter as we passed the Arc de Triomphe. 

The ever changing sky with blues so rich.

Appearing to be pulling out of jelly.
Note the distance underwater between entry and exit.
These Gentoo penguins are the fastest underwater swimmers of all penguins,
 reaching speeds of 36kph.
Photographing them was a real challenge due to their speed and constant change of direction.

Petermann Island is 1.8km x 1.2km in size largely covered by an ice-cap.
The Argentinians have a refuge hut on the island, along with colonies of Adelie and Gentoo penguins living in close proximity, seemingly without any racial tension or social distancing protocols.

An Argentinian refuge hut built in 1955 and greatly appreciated by penguins
 for giving some shelter from the incredible winter winds. 

Some of our fellow expeditioners can be seen on their way up to a penguin colony.
The zodiacs took ages trying to push through the ice to shore. 

A cross commemorating three members of the 1982 British Antarctic Survey who died
 whilst trying to cross the 10kms from Petermann Island to Faraday Station when the sea ice
 broke up and took them out to sea.
Their bodies were never found. 

Our landing station with a small natural harbour which later filled with ice. 

The competent expedition crew wear red jackets, with one of the ship's doctors from NZ on the right.
All were linked with two way radios plus exhibited great training and common sense. 

Taking every opportunity to take to the skies. 

Note the stalking leopard seal lying in the water waiting for a stray penguin
 or tourist to come into range. 

Nest with a view.

Penguin footprints 

Tobogganing downhill sure beats walking when the slope is steep enough.
Propel with the feet and steer with the wings. 

This is the first time we encountered Adelie penguins.
They were every bit as endearing as the Chinstraps and Gentoos. 

As Richard Nixon said, "Never let your head hang down.
Never give up and sit down and grieve.  Find another way. 
And don't pray when it rains if you don't pray when the sun shines!" 

It is better to look up at every chance rather than be downcast. 

Countdown on for a vertical take-off. 

Checking on the downy little chick perched on the feet. 

Kayakers holding an impromptu meeting on an ice-flow.
Probably to decide whether to walk back to the ship carrying the kayaks.

Paddling was far from straight forward. 

Seeking a clear path.
Note the flying Skua and penguin on ice also in the shot. 

Skua on a mission. 

The left arm of the jackets contain our key-card to allow scanning in and out of the ship
 without the need to search pockets for the key. 

One of seventeen time-lapse cameras in the Antarctic Peninsula region,
although we have no idea how any photos can be taken due to icing over of the lens.
This one is located in the centre of the Adelie penguin colony. . 

Posing at the time lapse camera. 

Ice filled the bay alarmingly during the few hours we were ashore.
This is taken from the same location as the earlier photo with the l
Leopard Seal lying in wait. 

Penguin highway and bi-ways to the heights.

Zodiacs heading ashore to ferry us back to the ship as the weather and ice closes in. 

Don't pay the ferryman until he gets you to the other side!!

The Yamahahaha outboard simply laughed at the ice trying to impede our progress. 

Flying ice-block. 

A frozen tsunami passes across the bow of the Greg Mortimer. 

Penguins with full tummies sprinting back to the colony for chick feeding time.
Meanwhile, we headed back to the ship for our feeding time. 

Upon arriving back on board after each shore landing, we followed a strict protocol of scrubbing our boots in one tub before stepping into a disinfectant trough to ensure no contamination was transferred from one site to another.
We then proceeded to the mudroom for unloading the boots and life jackets. They were all dry each time we returned for another outing.

Scrub in the first trough, before moving to the disinfectant trough. 

Mudroom for unloading all the heavy outdoor gear with lockers for storage and drying.

Back to the cabin to slip into the comfort of thermal scuffs and watch the ice flow past. 

We move on to among other incredible experiences, a visit to the only mail dominated enterprise in this far south; a British Post Office at Port Lockroy.
This is the one post office with a waiting list for those wanting to work the summer behind the counter, but no takers for the delivery of mail.

Until next time, God bless and take care.
Cheers, Don and Carrol.