Thursday, December 22 (Gerlache Strait, Danco Island & Enterprise Islands)

We awoke this morning to a 5 a.m. wake-up call. The ship’s coordinator, Sue, informed passengers that Humpback Whales could be seen feeding. Without hesitation, I jumped out of bed, threw on some warm layers, and headed up to the bridge. What I saw was breathtaking. Two Humpback Whales were feeding on thousands and thousands of krill.

Humpback Whale Tale

Mouth of a Humpback Whale

A Humpback Whale Blows

I learned to detect the whales’ next breach by spotting small bubbles on the sea’s surface that were in fact krill being pushed up by the Humpbacks.

Krill

The dark grey skin of the massive whales against the white snow and ice on the mountains was a magnificent sight. For almost an hour I was in awe of these giant sea mammals that have roamed the waters of Antarctica and the Pacific for millions of years.

At the southern end of the Errera Channel, the Explorer docked for a memorable landing. To begin, we took Zodiac boats on a cruise around ancient icebergs that transmitted a fluorescent blue. The ice in Antarctica is so dense that it absorbs all the other colors except for this blue hue.

While cruising, we encountered Crabeater Seals perched upon the floating ice. One seal in particular was exciting to watch because of its countless efforts to jump out of the water onto an iceberg with fellow seals. Finally, and with much encouragement from our boat, the youthful seal reach its destination.

Crabeater Seals

After an hour of taking in the sea ice, icebergs, mountains, seals, and penguins (not to mention a hot chocolate provided by a staff Zodiac in the middle of the cove), we took for a hike to the top of Danco Island. On our way to the summit, we saw a large Gentoo Penguin colony. The penguins had arranged a systematic travel system via “highways”. These highways were paths created by the penguins to make traveling from their colony at the top of the island to the sea below much easier.

Gentoo Penguin

Penguin Highways

Atop the summit, we could see the navy water, blue sky, and white ice for 360 degrees. The vantage point was startling.

We tobogganed down the hill much like a penguin, to rest and prepare for the next adventure: kayaking.

During mid-day, we explored the Gerlache Strait while making our way to Enterprise Islands. Amid the snow-capped mountains was a whaling ship from 1908. Now, 100 years later, I had the privilege to kayak among this remnant of man that is as rare as the snow petrel which resides only in Antarctica.

Enterprise Bay

At Enterprise Bay, the white and blues against the gray rock and dark water was a sight to behold from our small inflatable kayak. As we paddled around icebergs and sea ice, we encountered three Leopard Seals. These creatures are quite docile, but when they open their jaws to present their sharp teeth, I was reminded never to take their wild nature for granted. You cannot take anything for granted in Antarctica. Once you think you have become acclimated to the wildlife, weather, and conditions, you are confronted with something totally new. That evening we found the ship among sheets of ice in all directions. The National Geographic Explorer continued to more forward, using its ice breaker technology to cut through the ice that caused loud thuds and creeks that created surprisingly soothing melody.

I did not want the destructive breaking of ice to cease. Our main purpose for traveling this route was for the captain to examine the conditions of sea ice in this area. If the ice was weak from warming temperatures, we would not be able to partake in our schedule activity for the next morning: to walk on fast ice (ice that extends out from the shore and is attached to it).