My favourite photos from our Antarctic and South Georgia adventure. So blissful to go back over the photos and memories.
Showing posts with label Antarctica & South Georgia 2023. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Antarctica & South Georgia 2023. Show all posts
2 August 2023
16 July 2023
5 April 2023
Our Antarctic & South Georgia Adventure: A summary with links
We have recently arrived back from the most extraordinary 20 days in Antarctica and South Georgia. It was epic beyond all description, one of the most unforgettable experiences of my life and hard to do true justice with photographs, although I tried my hardest! Below are some of the highlights of our expedition as well as links to posts providing detailed accounts and photos. Hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed curating it. A wonderful way to relive it all, share the experience and immortalise it in my memory.
Getting Ready
- Inspired by photographer, Peter Eastway, during our Arctic trip, we ask Aurora if we can include South Georgia in our Antarctic itinerary. In hindsight, we are so very glad we did!
- We visit Aurora at their offices. A wonderful presentation of our upcoming expedition from Justin and his team really whets our appetite. What an adventure lies ahead!
Researching content for our Antarctic lessons
- Research topics I helped with include geography & climate, early explorers, The Southern Ocean, Antarctic wildlife and the food chain. Doing the research really added to my experience of the trip.
Getting There
- We get to savour Argentinian steak and red wine at a local grill and enjoy it so much, we go back the following night.
- Gavin, Tanya and I meet Matt (videographer) and Jordan (art expert) for the first time and are delighted how lovely they are. The Frosty Five is thus born. What a team!
- We visit an old theatre converted into an amazing book shop. Tanya is in seventh heaven.
- We explore the touristy town of Urshaia and walk along the water, loving the mountainous backdrop.
- We meet up with Aurora and it is with great delight and relief that we pass our Covid test, a requirement for getting on the ship.
- Gavin, Matt, Jordan and I do a rather cramped taxi tour of Tierra del Fuego. There are some great views at the various stops.
Exploring The Antarctic Peninsula
- We embark on our adventure on the Greg Mortimer and navigate the Beagle Channel before heading out into the open sea.
- On the first evening, we get to meet the captain, ship staff, expedition crew and other passengers. Gavin does an introduction that inspires buy in from all on the ship.
- During our sea voyage, we get reacquainted with ship life (opulent and wonderful with endless good food) and adapt to the rather turbulent motion of the ocean. The Drake Passage is not called the Roaring Forties for nothing. Thank goodness for modern drugs!
- We do some briefings and equipment checks to prepare for our zodiac and land expeditions to come.
- From the ship, we enjoy close views of albatross, petrels and whales.
- Landing on Cuverville Island, we are exhilarated to be in the midst of a huge Gentoo penguin colony with over 6500 breeding pairs.
- In Paradise Harbour, we do a zodiac cruise past beautiful icebergs with shags flying overhead and Gentoo penguins porpoising close by.
- The soaring cliffs of The Lemair Channel are reflected in the ocean at dawn. Sublime!
- At Yalour Islands, we have our first experience of a leopard seal close to our zodiac and then we get to walk on the island, enjoying it's gorgeous mountainous backdrop. The island also provides us with our first experience of Adelie penguins.
- In the afternoon, we land on Petermann Island and walk amongst more Adelie and Gentoo penguins. An inquisitive Gentoo stares at our red flag and a mum feeds its pesky chick.
- At Port Lockroy, located on Goudier Island, there is a red hut with Gentoos in front. Very photogenic. We then head onto Jougla Point where a lovestruck Gentoo couple court and mate in the falling snow.
- We return to the ship to do a polar plunge into the freezing ocean. Exhilarating but I didn't stay in for long!
- In the afternoon, we enjoy the sublime views of Orne Harbour on a zodiac before doing a landing. We now have bragging rights that we have stood on the Antarctic continent. All our other landings so far have been on islands.
- In the evening, we get to feast on a succulent barbecue while whales bubble feed in the harbour and the sun sets. Indescribable!
- Hydrurga Rocks provides us with our first experience of Chinstrap penguins while seals bask on the land and play fight with each other.
- At Cierva Cove, a zodiac cruise gets us close to sculptured icebergs, some with perfect arches framing other icebergs. Photographers heaven! A leopard seal skins a penguin by shaking it violently while birds flutter above to get some scraps. Macabre but mesmerising.
- To our disappointment, we miss out on climbing the volcano at Penguin Island due to large swells.
- Passing Elephant Island and Cape Lookout, we head for South Georgia, three days away. During the voyage, there are lots of interesting lectures to listen to and Gavin also does an inspiring presentation to the ship.
- We play lots of games of cards. Our favourite expression is "Let me show you how it is done in the pros!" while revealing a winning (or losing) hand.
- From the ship, I get to photograph albatross. They come wonderfully close and I get a real sense of just how enormous their wingspan is.
Exploring South Georgia
- Cruising through the magnificent Drygalski Fjord, we take in the the towering rock walls sprinkled with waterfalls, the soaring ice cliffs and the palatial Risting Glacier ahead of us.
- Cooper Bay provides a Jurassic Park like experience with so much wildlife at close quarters that it fills us with wonder and awe. Macaroni penguins, King penguins, Chinstrap penguins, Fur seals, petrels, pipits, pintails, elephant seals, a leopard seal. An experience none of us will ever forget.
- We have our first experience of a King penguin colony. 50 000 beautiful penguins strut their stuff with a perfect mountain backdrop behind them. Huge elephant seals roar on the beach. It's all enough to leave us speechless.
- We explore this old, abandoned whaling town, feeling sad at all the death that has happened here. Fur seals have reclaimed parts of the town as if to emphasise the resilience of nature over a shameful past of slaughter and exploitation.
- We hike up a hill at Godthul to enjoy wonderful views of the bay and close encounters with baby fur seals lazing on the top of tussock grasses.
- A rainy walk along the beach and estuary of Jason Bay. We see King penguins on their eggs facing up to pesky skuas, female elephant seals, blue eyed shags and terns wheeling and diving in the wind.
- Home to over 60000 King penguins, Salisbury Plain gives us another priceless opportunity to walk amongst these beautiful birds as well as seal mums and their suckling pups.
- Elsehul, a small and picturesque bay on the northwestern coast of South Georgia, is an important breeding site for albatross and petrels, making it a captivating destination for a final zodiac cruise and landing.
Day 16 & 17: Sea crossing from South Georgia to The Falklands Islands
- Two days at sea. We are expecting wild weather and turbulent seas but this never eventuates.
Stopping in The Falkland Islands and Returning to Urshaia
- We explore Stanley, capital city of The Falkland Islands.
- In the evening, there is the captain's farewell and photographers' slide show.
- We disembark early in the morning.
- After a sad farewell to Jordan, we hike up a local mountain.
Heading Home
- We explore the water front and enjoy a scrumptious steak dinner in Palermo.
- After a sad farewell to Matt, we catch a 24 hour flight back to Sydney.
4 April 2023
Our Antarctic & South Georgia itinerary
Our route at a glance
- We embark in Urshaia at the southern tip of Argentina.
- A three day sea crossing of the Drake Passage to the the Antarctic Peninsula where we spend 4 days exploring this icy wonderland.
- A three day sea crossing to South Georgia where we enjoy 5 days of land expedition and zodiac cruises.
- A two day sea crossing to The Falkland Islands where we spend a day exploring its capital, Stanley.
- A one day sea crossing back to Urshaia.
An interactive map of our stopping points and sea crossings
- Click the top left corner of the map below for a list of our stopping points for each day of the trip.
- Click on the top right to see the map enlarged.
- You can also view this map in Google Earth. Very cool!
31 March 2023
A night in Buenos Airies on the way home
The highlight was a sublime steak dinner. Every mouthful was ecstasy. The perfect way to celebrate an extraordinary adventure.
30 March 2023
Day 20: Disembark in Urshaia
We disembarked early in the morning. We went for a stroll by the water before saying a sad farewell to Jordan. Later in the day, we went for a hike up the slopes of a local mountain. Lovely to stretch our legs.
Climbing a local mountain
28 March 2023
Day 19: Final night on the ship
After the photo slideshow, we all met in the bar. One of the crew was a wonderful singer so entertained us with some great tunes. A celebration of an unforgettable experience, it also felt sad that the next we would be saying goodbye to such a wonderful group of newly made friends.
