Wednesday 29th January Stepping on to Antarctica

Overnight our ship travelled to Portal Point, a rocky narrow point in the northeast part of the Reclus Peninsula. Located on Portal Point is Cape Reclus which was a British refuge hut which operated for a couple of years in the 1950’s. It was here we were to first step onto the Antarctic continent. The guests on the ship have been split into 4 groups for the management of the excursions. Our group was to board our zodiacs in the last time slot and luckily for us, by the time it was our turn the wind had abated, and the conditions were very calm. (Earlier in the morning they had been very strong, so strong in fact that the kayaking group had to be cancelled.) We managed the “wet” onshore landing from the zodiacs with ease and enjoyed the magnificent scenery of this incredible place. Snow, ice, glaciers etc. We only spotted one lonely penguin and a couple of leopard seals during this visit although the birdlife nearby was abundant. We completed a walk up a hill to get a better view. This was pretty easy, with the only difficult part being the fact that the snow and ice which covered ground was slippery. After an hour or so we returned to the ship for lunch and we sailed on to our next destination, Wilhelmina Bay. We once again enjoyed a wonderful zodiac cruise in the bay, observing abundant birdlife and a few seals. The highlight of this cruise was spotting and watching about 4 humpback whales who were just playing and really putting on a show for us. These magnificent creatures were mesmerising and made all sorts of noises including squeaking, squealing, and noises that at times sounded like an elephant trumpeting. We spent around 20 minutes just observing them up close from our zodiac. We could have stayed out there much longer, but we needed to return to the ship. Following this wonderful experience, we were offered the “polar plunge” experience, where you could go for a quick dip in the ocean. Rob and I opted out of this activity but Millie and Geoff both bravely had a dip and survived. Following a delicious dinner, we spent time watching some more magnificent humpback whales, putting on a show close to the ship.