The sun dipped below the southern horizon for the few hours that we slept. Our ship, National Geographic Explorer, continued to make her way south overnight and not long after breakfast we crossed the Antarctic Circle. The day had no real plan but could not have worked out better even if we had wished for the perfect day.
A small group of killer whales swam ahead of the ship shortly after crossing the circle as we headed down Mather Strait and crossed Crystal Sound. Kevin Schafer presented some outstanding images from his assignments with National Geographic. The grandeur of the ice-covered mountain around us just became larger, more extensive and even more impressive as the day progressed.
On reaching fast ice in the back of Lallemand Fjord, three penguins were noticed to appear larger than the rest. On closer inspection they were confirmed to be emperor penguins. While we were having lunch Captain Skog pushed the ship firmly into the sea ice and the ice was tested to ensure that it was sufficiently firm for us to walk on. A trail was established out towards the emperor penguins and we were all able to head out on the ice to photograph these wonderful birds. Although we stopped some distance away from the penguins it wasn’t long before their curiosity got the better of them and they came over to see who all the strange red-jacketed visitors might be.
I was excited to hear the captain and our expedition leader had chosen to explore the area just north of the Gullet which is the narrow channel that separates Adelaide Island from the Antarctic Peninsula. The closely-packed, broken sea ice that we found here was ideal territory for seals to feed and rest. Killer whales know this and before long we spotted a family of twelve or more of these magnificent animals on the hunt for an unwary seal. Our ship followed them in the ice for some time before we became distracted by an enormous female leopard seal resting on the ice. Just another extraordinary day on National Geographic Explorer!
